Dave’s Play
2009 Chikopi Football – Year in Review - The 90th year of Chikopi Football - By Coach Dave MacNeil
After a one year hiatus, the Football program was back at Chikopi in full force in 2009 and the Chikopi coaches and staff could not have been more proud of the effort that was put into the football program by the Chikopi campers and counselors this past summer.
As you know, the football program at Chikopi teaches the basic fundamentals of the game of North American football (the rules of both the American and Canadian games are explained) and while we practice fundamentals such as passing, catching, as well as punting and kicking, the game played at camp is a little different from the regular game of football and for that reason it is known as “CFL” or the “Chikopi Football League”. While CFL follows certain basic rules of the game of football, it also has a little twist - Once the ball is snapped and the play starts there is no line of scrimmage and a team and its players can pass forward and then backwards and then forward again until touched by two hands of any opponent from the other team. Due to the great athletics abilities of the campers it makes for an exciting game. The game over the past seven (7) years has taken a life of its own and I was happy to hear the chants for “CFL, CFL”, during the dinner periods.
This year also marked the first year that the special football awards were handed out at Chikopi. The award is meant to symbolize both the sport of football and Chikopi all in one and what better way to do that than by having a special Camp Chikopi Football Jersey. Each green jersey had “Camp Chikopi” written on the front of it as well as the number “20” on the front and back, which represents the founding year of the camp, 1920 (see the attached picture).
After a solid performance by all campers in the annual “Punt pass and Kick competition”, I could tell that the 2009 year was one to remember. We had a great group of Junior, Midley and Senior Campers who showed that they had great technical skills and had the heart to learn and play the game. Some campers had never played the game until this year but proved to be very skilled at the game and many campers who had been at camp for many years prior showed such great improvement and that it made it very tough to choose a winner for each age group. In the end the winners in each age group were decided based on the following factors: Overall Effort, sportsmanship, teamwork, skills and most of all heart. In the end it was very close and many campers were vying for the coveted football Jersey. The staff were very pleased to award the inaugural Camp Chikopi football Jerseys to the following campers:
Junior: Mario Mendoza
Midley: Alex McMillan
Senior (Tie)
: Geoff Cloud and David Dubrovsky
I can see that next year’s campers will be even better as they have learned so much and all I can say is that former Chikopi football coach and legend Wally Weber (former University of Michigan Football assistance coach) would have been very proud of this year’s team. We look forward to another great year of Football at Chikopi, as well as all other Chikopi sports, in the summer of 2010.
Keep training football players and we’ll see you on Weber Field next summer.
As you know, the football program at Chikopi teaches the basic fundamentals of the game of North American football (the rules of both the American and Canadian games are explained) and while we practice fundamentals such as passing, catching, as well as punting and kicking, the game played at camp is a little different from the regular game of football and for that reason it is known as “CFL” or the “Chikopi Football League”. While CFL follows certain basic rules of the game of football, it also has a little twist - Once the ball is snapped and the play starts there is no line of scrimmage and a team and its players can pass forward and then backwards and then forward again until touched by two hands of any opponent from the other team. Due to the great athletics abilities of the campers it makes for an exciting game. The game over the past seven (7) years has taken a life of its own and I was happy to hear the chants for “CFL, CFL”, during the dinner periods.
This year also marked the first year that the special football awards were handed out at Chikopi. The award is meant to symbolize both the sport of football and Chikopi all in one and what better way to do that than by having a special Camp Chikopi Football Jersey. Each green jersey had “Camp Chikopi” written on the front of it as well as the number “20” on the front and back, which represents the founding year of the camp, 1920 (see the attached picture).
After a solid performance by all campers in the annual “Punt pass and Kick competition”, I could tell that the 2009 year was one to remember. We had a great group of Junior, Midley and Senior Campers who showed that they had great technical skills and had the heart to learn and play the game. Some campers had never played the game until this year but proved to be very skilled at the game and many campers who had been at camp for many years prior showed such great improvement and that it made it very tough to choose a winner for each age group. In the end the winners in each age group were decided based on the following factors: Overall Effort, sportsmanship, teamwork, skills and most of all heart. In the end it was very close and many campers were vying for the coveted football Jersey. The staff were very pleased to award the inaugural Camp Chikopi football Jerseys to the following campers:Junior: Mario MendozaMidley: Alex McMillanSenior (Tie): Geoff Cloud and David Dubrovsky
I can see that next year’s campers will be even better as they have learned so much and all I can say is that former Chikopi football coach and legend Wally Weber (former University of Michigan Football assistance coach) would have been very proud of this year’s team. We look forward to another great year of Football at Chikopi, as well as all other Chikopi sports, in the summer of 2010.
Keep training football players and we’ll see you on Weber Field next summer. 
