GREENCASTLE

A megaphoned voice echoed throughout the stadium as the rain coated the turf field and the players went through warmups and calisthenics.

“Today, you can get better or worse. The choice is yours,” the man said.

On a single-page printout schedule, practices weren’t broken down by which drills and scrimmages would take place at Blackstock Stadium.

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Instead of listing each component to the football camp, every session is catalogued as an “opportunity.”

That’s how Seymour High School varsity football coach Mike Kelly wanted his team to view the chance to work at the Bishop Dullaghan Team Camp — as a handful opportunities.

Kelly took 63 players and a handful of his staff to DePauw University this week to work with some of the best competition in Indiana. It was the first time SHS had attended the camp under coach Kelly.

The three-day camp, which concluded Wednesday, featured programs from Ben Davis, Fishers, Crown Point, Westfield, Lafayette Jefferson and Seymour.

Every team at the camp, except Seymour, was a Class 6A program.

“For us to move up in our conference, we understand that we need to raise our level of expectation,” Kelly said. “I think when you come to camp and see the level of competition here, that raises the bar significantly higher. It gives us an opportunity to get a lot of work in and compete with a multitude of teams in a short period of time.”

Players and coaches stayed in the dorms at DePauw.

There were two “opportunities” Monday, three Tuesday and another two Wednesday. Each session was two and a half hours long. The players were fed in the dining halls and had individual team meetings the first two days.

The “opportunities” gave the Owls the chance to participate in inside drills, one-on-one drills, seven-on-seven drills and some 11-on-11 competitive drills against players from other schools.

Each team ran its own schemes of offensive and defensive plays.

“The process changes every day,” Kelly said. “The opportunities are individual skills and drills we do for the first hour and half of camp. We then get to competition.”

Outside of the high school coaches, the camp was run by former legendary Ben Davis coach Dick Dullaghan and DePauw University football coach Billy Lynch. Bishop Dullaghan camps started in 1974.

According to the camp’s website, it is known nationally as the largest camp in the country for players at all positions. The camp has graduated dozens of All-Americans and numerous NFL players, and last year, the camp attracted athletes from 15 states across the United States.

Former campers include New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton and former NFL quarterbacks Jay Cutler, Curtis Painter and Rex Grossman.

Haden Mettert, a senior offensive lineman for the Owls, said he loved working out at DePauw.

“This is probably the most fun I’ve had playing football,” he said Tuesday. “I love this camp so far. It’s a lot different than the previous camps we’ve been to. I like it better than staying home.”

Seymour senior Caleb Madden said the competition was good for the team.

“We’re struggling a little bit since we’re a little undersized, but we’re fighting and competing,” he said. “We’re getting better. It’s good for us to be out here and experiencing different competition. All of the teams here are tough and similar to some of the teams in our conference.”

Kelly is very familiar with the camps, as he has worked them in the past.

“While I was at Fishers, we came here every year,” he said. “While I was at Fishers, this was a growing time. This was where I first felt that we grew as a program. At the end of the camp, there was a huge leap forward. The competition we have (at camp) can’t be replicated in practices. It reveals what you’ve got. You’ve got guys that are going to compete and guys that aren’t going to compete. A lot of these guys are maturing significantly through the camp.

“It’s a grind. What we’re asking them to do is long and challenging. I think at the same time, they’re appreciating what they’re getting out of what we’re doing.”

Kelly plans on using the lessons taught at camp in the following weeks.

“We are kind of going to reteach what we just did,” Kelly said. “We’re installing a lot of new things right now, a lot of things we are going to do offensively and defensively. Our philosophy is to throw it all up there and see what sticks. We’re going to redo it over and over again throughout the season because a little more sticks each time.”

Like his teammates, senior running back Nathan O’Mara plans on using the camp to bring the players together.

“I want us to build unity and come together as a team,” O’Mara said. “I like being around my football buddies a little bit and getting away. There are no distractions here. It’s a fun time.”

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“For us to move up in our conference, we understand that we need to raise our level of expectation,” Kelly said. “I think when you come to camp, and see the level of competition here, that raises the bar significantly higher. It gives us an opportunity to get a lot of work in, and compete with a multitude of teams, in a short period of time,” — Seymour football coach Mike Kelly on bringing the team to the Bishop Dullaghan Team Camp

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