The Dolores High School football coaching staff had its hands full last week.

Head coach Chris Trusler and assistants Jamie Biard, Ray Davis and Dylan Ferguson welcomed 72 young athletes to the program’s third annual football camp on Friday and Saturday.

After hosting 26 campers last year, Trusler was pleased with the spike in attendance and noted that there were registrants from Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico.

“I think it was because it was our third year and that people are more aware of it,” Trusler said explaining the growth. “And then we also had various entities helping us promote it as well.”

The 72 kindergarten through eighth graders were broken into four groups and rotated through drills as coaches and players from the DHS football team instructed them on everything from fundamentals like throwing, catching and blocking to more difficult skills like making linebacker reads.

“We break them down by age and skill level,” said Trusler. “That way they’re able to learn age appropriate skills.”

At the culmination of the camp, Trusler and the staff presented each group with awards for the best athlete, best attitude and hardest worker.

“The goal of the camp is to provide kids exposure to football, and for kids that are on the fence about playing, it provides them an opportunity to see if they like it or not,” Trusler concluded. “It’s also a great way for current athletes that play football to come and work on their skills.”