Clatsop County football players set to return to the gridiron

NFL players have recently returned to the gridiron after a long offseason. Clatsop County athletes are set to follow suit.

With the first games of the new high school season slated to begin on Aug. 28, local athletes have returned from family vacations and will trade in sandals for cleats. The week of Aug. 10 will see Astoria, Seaside and Knappa athletes return to the field in anticipation of the new season.

Seaside takes the field behind new coach

The Seagulls will return to action with new coach Dennis Olstedt at the helm.

After serving as an assistant coach on Principal Jeff Roberts’ staff a year ago, Olstedt finally gets his chance to be the head honcho. Olstedt and the rest of his coaching staff will put around 40 high schoolers and 70 youth players through drills and other early season activities.

“The theme of our camp will be fundamentals,” Olstedt said. “We focus on fundamentals, mainly blocking and tackling. Make sure the kids get comfortable with the new tackle rules — and we also get to gauge both the newcomers and returners.”

According to Olstedt, the Seagulls have a good mix of freshmen, seniors and new kids coming out who have never played football before.

“With this being my first year as head coach, I’m just excited to see who’s coming out and getting to work,” Olstedt said.

The high school camp will begin on Monday, Aug. 10 and run through Thursday, Aug. 13. Times for the camp will be 4 to 6 p.m. everyday for the high schoolers. The youth football players are set to step out on Aug. 11 – 13. Times for the youth camp will be 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Action will take place at the Seaside High School football field. Cost of the camp is $45 per player.

Astoria football players finally get a taste

After helping out with the youth football players this week, the high school players will finally get to scratch their itch.

The Fishermen are set for their commitment camp on Aug. 10-13. This camp will take place at the Astoria High School track and run from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Similar to Seaside, the coaches will put the players through four days of football skills, position training and conditioning. All of this is intended to help players get in shape and gear their focus towards the football season.

With a restructured Cowapa League, both the Fishermen and Seagulls will face an even tougher road to the 4A state playoffs. Coaches from both schools are hoping to use these camps as an early practice session, so they can hit the ground running on Aug. 28. The camp costs $40 per participant/family.

Knappa provides community event

The theme of Knappa’s football camp can be summed up by the phrase “as one.”

The Loggers camp is set to begin on Tuesday, Aug. 11 and run through Saturday, Aug. 15. Tuesday through Friday, the camp will be from 6 to 8 p.m.

Saturday will be a day for the community with football practices plus a barbecue. Action begins at 8 a.m. with high school and junior high instruction. From 10 to 11:30 am , the K-6 camp will take place.

After the instruction, Knappa’s football camp will put on a fundraising barbecue. The barbecue is set to begin at noon and run through 1:15 p.m. Food included will be pulled pork, cole slaw, soda/water and macaroni salad. The cost is $15 a plate. Donations are also welcome. The day will conclude around 2 p.m. with a high school jersey presentation. Cost for the camp will be $30 per camper, and includes a free t-shirt.

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