On Thursday, the Troy University football coaching staff was back at work on the field.

The players on the field were not the ones who dawn the cardinal and white uniforms every Saturday, however.

The annual Troy Youth Football Camps were being held at Veterans Memorial Stadium and in them, a chance for future football players to learn what it takes to play the game they love.

“This is always a lot of fun,” Troy head coach Larry Blakeney said about the camps. “Here kids come to learn about the basics of football and what it takes to be successful on and off the field.”

The two camps were composed of kids between the ages of six through eight and nine through 12.

During the camps, the Troy coaching staff talked to the campers about everything from the right ways to stay in shape to the correct ways to tackle. “We worked on a lot of the fundamentals of the game,” Blakeney said.

“We broke the kids down into different offensive and defensive positions to let them get a feel for the game.”

But there was another aspect of the camp that Blakeney said was just as important as learning the game.

“I talked to the kids about the importance of school and respecting their parents and teachers and exercising.

“Athletics are a big part of kids lives, but school is something that will last forever and it’s important that kids know what should come first,” the coach said.