Youth football players in grades 2 through 8, many of whom could be scoring touchdowns and making tackles on the Blue & Gold Stadium turf as high schoolers in the future, got a taste of what is to come under the direction of Newtown High Coach Bobby Pattison and his assistants, along with current and former NHS players, during the Nighthawks Football Camp in late June.

Among the camp counselors is Class of 2021 Nighthawk gridder Jack Street, who quarterbacked Newtown to its 2019 state championship and is headed to Sacred Heart University where he hopes to be throwing spirals in games again beginning this fall.

“It’s awesome developing these little guys. It’s great to be out here,” Street said. “It’s good they get out there throwing the football every day.”

Run through Newtown Parks and Recreation, the camp took place over the course of four days for three hours at each session. Pattison said the camp featured a teaching/learning aspect as well as a competition component. In addition to offensive and defensive drills the participants competed in some fun-filled activities, including relay races, agility tic tac toe, move the mountain (pushing weights across the field), and tug of war.

“We’re having fun, we’re playing football, and we’re learning. I’m happy with the turnout, I’m happy with the energy, and the kids are having fun,” said Pattison who had about 60 youth football players in the camp.

Younger participants learned about stances and using leverage in different positions. For the older campers, some more technical aspects of the game were incorporated. Players were broken up by positions for ball carrying and passing drills with defenders challenging each rush or throw.

The counselors included brothers Dan Mason, a fullback/tight end at Ithaca College in Ithaca, N.Y., and Ben Mason, who was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2021 after a collegiate career at Michigan; Mason, who was on the New England Patriots practice squad later in 2021, is back in the Ravens’ organization and headed to training camp this summer.

Other counselors included Hunter Cobb, a running back headed to the University of New Haven; Connor Breslin, a running back who will play at Southern Connecticut State University, and Jack Zingaro, a defensive back at Salve Regina University in Newport, R.I.

During a break in the action campers had their T-shirts autographed by these former Nighthawk football standouts.

Current Nighthawks who helped out at the camp included Newtown Bee Newtown High School Athlete of the Year Caleb Smith.

Pattison is also working with the current Hawks in the annual summer workout program, which is held for a few hours each weekday throughout most of the summer. Newtown Youth Football and NHS football will get the pads on and start practicing in August, with games kicking off late in the summer.

For those anxiously anticipating high school game action at Blue & Gold, the regular season is set to get underway on Friday, September 9, when Greenwich visits Pattison’s Hawks at 7 pm.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.