With football season looming closer each week, the Dragon High School football team is starting to put things in motion for an exciting new season.  Head Coach Coby Crozier, his coaching staff and forty six MHS star athletes are coming off of their week long football camp eager and motivated for the fall games on their upcoming schedule.

Wanting to have 100% of his player’s focus, Coach Crozier not only told his players to pack their football gear, but some pjs, a pillow and blanket and their toothbrush as they were set to stay at the school from the minute the camp began to the very end.  Spending day and night together, Coach Crozier knew that this would be a great time to bring his team together both on the field and off, which was a crucial part of this camp.  “I wanted these players to know who was on the team with them.  It’s easy to just know the few guys you hit against or are on offense with you.  But spending a week together helps them to know everyone on the team,” share Coach Crozier.

A week full of football might sound long and overwhelming, but Coach Crozier had more in mind for his team than just practice on the field.  Aside from football form and plays, the team worked on conditioning, team building, and visualizing season goals and personal goals.

Bringing a little bit of extra fun to their conditioning, the team took to the swimming pool and played games like kickball to get the legs and lungs in shape.  Football requires plenty of strength and stamina, but getting there doesn’t have to be dull or boring.  The team took time out of their camp to serve in the community, helping neighbors move as well as doing a cleanup around the MHS campus for all the students, staff and fans that will be about the school in the upcoming year.  

Coach Crozier took the Dragon players on a field trip, touring the newly renovated Holt Arena at Idaho State University.  After touring the facility and talking with Bengal coaches, Coach Crozier said to his team, “This is where we want to end up.  This is where we want to finish our season.  There is no reason that we can’t make it here.”  With the goal in mind and place envisioned, the MHS Football team is set to be the best of the best this season.

While the camp included a lot of fun, out of the box plays for the team, the coaches and players buckled down to business when they hit the field.  Working around the heat, the camp included two-a-day practices where the team focused on skill drills, foundational form, and game plays to start bringing together a strong start for their upcoming season.  The coaches commented that getting these plays and skills in mind before the season begins, gives them a running start come August.  

The camp has also given the coaches an accurate look as to what their team will be looking like as the season begins.  Coach Crozier is planning to suit up three full teams for the 2023 football season, with the goal in mind of giving his players as much exposure and experience from the very beginning of their high school career.  “I don’t want freshmen to go up against bigger, more experienced guys because the only game they can get in on is a JV game.  And I don’t want them to have to sit the bench the first year or two waiting for their shot.”  

The teams had a chance to get some game time on the field throughout the camp, facing off against West Side and Declo football teams.  Rather than giving his team an easy game and win, Coach Crozier scheduled teams that would challenge his players and make them work hard on every play.  Being able to step up and compete with some of the states toughest teams shows just how competitive the Dragons can be this season.

As the camp was winding down, Coach Crozier asked each player to invite a male role model that they looked up to, to join them in what he called a Caveman Cookout-a cookout  of nothing but grilled meat for the near 100 men to enjoy over the night.  When the plates were all cleaned up and the football season and been well hashed over, Coach Crozier took time to address the team, their fathers, brothers, uncles and friends, to talk about how the MHS program isn’t just about record at the end of the season, but is really about the young men that walk off the field at the end of the season.  To that end, each of the coaches and role models took time to point out talents, attributes and characteristics that they valued for each individual player, to let them know they loved them, and that regardless of what happened in the game, that they were proud of them.

With the camp in the rear view mirror and the season just down the road, Coach Crozier is nothing but excited.  “We have some good talent and leadership coming up this year.  I’ve told the boys there is no reason we can’t have a successful season this year.  We have to believe it and put in the reps to prove it.”