Van Buren football clinic held for female fans

 

story and photos by Ruby Dean
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What does SE, WE, NG, and FS mean? No, they are not new texting acronyms or directions.

The 125 women who were at Van Buren’s Blakemore Field during Saturday morning (Aug. 6) clinic know what the abbreviations mean. Even though temperatures were already in the 90s early in the morning, there was no place these women would rather be.

The Van Buren Booster Club and the Van Buren Pointers football team hosted a free football clinic for women ages 18 and over on Saturday, from 9 am until noon.

The women learned the basics of the game, the responsibility of each position, the role of each piece of equipment and toured the field house. There was also a referee on hand to demonstrate the signals used during a game. In addition to the clinic being free, the ladies were given a t-shirt, could win prizes, shop for Pointer memorabilia and lunch was provided. They also got to meet new head Van Buren football coach Brooks Coatney.

The morning began with a meet-and-greet with the new coach followed by going outside to the field and doing a clap-stance-clap drill. The women were then divided into seven groups of about 15 in each group. The women participated in seven different stations in which they learned different stances, positions, ball handling and throwing, and running snap drills.

Why was the clinic held? Coach Coatney said: “We as coaches, husbands, boyfriends, and sons owe this to women why football means so much to guys and what the players are taught.”

He said he wanted the women to “have fun and have a chance to build camaraderie with each other.”

Van Buren High School principal Becky Guthrie participated in the clinic. She considers all students on the football team as “part of her family” even though she has no son playing on the football team. She was not surprised as to the turnout of the women at the clinic and considered it a “great thing for the community.”