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Rochelle News-Leader | Football: Hubs return for start of summer skills camp
Carson Lewis hands the ball to Grant Gensler as Jack Pavlak leads the blocking lane during the Rochelle Hub varsity football team’s summer skills camp on Monday. (Photo by Russell Hodges)
Returning Rochelle players preparing for 2023 season
ROCHELLE — The Rochelle Hub football team returned to action this past Monday for the start of its summer skills camp. Athletes ranging from incoming freshmen to returning seniors are practicing three days a week and participating in the Hub Power strength and conditioning program at Rochelle Township High School as the team moves toward the 2023 season.
“It’s always good to get going and even though football won’t be played until the fall, we start during the first week of June,” head coach Kyle Kissack said. “The kids are excited, our staff is excited and this is the start of what we hope will be a successful season. There’s a long way to go, but the daily process of finding days to get better and stacking those days on top of each other will help us as the season approaches and we put our kids in more difficult situations.”
The skills camp will run every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, with sophomore through senior athletes practicing from 8:30 to 10 a.m. and freshmen practicing from 10 to 10:30 a.m. The football team also kicked off its four-day lineman camp on Monday, with the offensive linemen, defensive linemen and tight ends putting in extra work from 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. through Thursday. The skills camp will run through Monday, July 10 with one week off scheduled for July 3-7.
“We’re replacing our entire backfield so that’s where we’re starting,” Kissack said. “We have a lot of kids rolling through and we’re getting quality reps in. We’re trying to keep things as simple as possible and we’re moving some players around so they can become more well-rounded. We got better on defense as last season went on and we have a lot of momentum on that side of the ball. There’s a lot of excitement on that side that we haven’t had in the last few years.”
Rochelle’s summer schedule includes 7-on-7 workouts with Ashton-Franklin Center on June 29 at RTHS as well as 7-on-7 workouts at Kaneland on Tuesday July 11, Sterling on Thursday, July 13 and Byron on Friday, July 28. The Hubs will hold their two-week padded camp from July 17-27, with Forreston coming to RTHS for a combined practice session on Wednesday, July 19. Rochelle’s annual Lift-A-Thon and Team Together Night will be held on Thursday, July 20.
“We’re introducing all of our coverages right now and getting different looks in front of us in terms of offensive sets so our kids can align and understand the proper techniques,” Kissack said. “We play a very difficult schedule, whether it’s on the Interstate 8 side or the Kishwaukee River side. It’s a great challenge as a program on a week-to-week basis and there are a lot of really good football teams in northern Illinois. It’s a great challenge and the kids are excited.”
Rochelle will kick off the 2023 season with a road game against Woodstock on Friday, Aug. 25. The Hubs will return home for consecutive games with Morton and Johnsburg on Sept. 1 and Sept. 8. The team is looking to build on back-to-back postseason appearances as well as a 9-3 overall record last season, where Rochelle reached the quarterfinals of the IHSA 4A Playoffs.
