By Bill Reynolds
La Conner Community News

The stars were out in La Conner well before nightfall on Saturday.

A formidable lineup of retired NFL players, most of them former Seattle Seahawks, were here that afternoon to take part in the Thomas Rawls Youth Football Camp hosted by the Swinomish Boys & Girls Club on the La Conner Schools campus.

In addition to Rawls, who holds the Seahawks’ record for the most single-game rushing yards by a rookie running back (209) and the most rushing yards by an undrafted rookie in his first six games (711), the local camp featured notable ex-pros Eddie McMillan, Chris Carson, Randall Morris, Greg LaFleur, Wayne Hunter and Tony Boddie.

They provided the 16 campers, who hailed from La Conner and around the Skagit Valley, with skills instruction, stories from their football lives, and constant encouragement.

But mostly fun.

“When you start working on your techniques, that’s what makes you better,” Boddie, who was the Denver Broncos’ special teams captain in Super Bowl XXII, said prior to the start of drills.

“But the most important thing,” he stressed, “is to have fun.”

All of the camp instructors other than Boddie and LaFleur played for the Seahawks at some point in their careers.

Hunter, who praised the footwork and drive shown in drills by La Conner High linemen and sophomores-to-be Wes Whiteaker and Tucker Claplinger, reflected on Seattle’s stinging 21-10 Super Bowl loss in 2006 to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a contest marred by questionable calls made by the game’s officiating crew.

“I played in Super Bowl 40,” said Hunter, finally able after 20 years to force a slight smile, “the one we lost to the referees.”

Swinomish Boys & Girls Club Director Charlie Edwards coordinated the camp, which ran for nearly three hours in warm and sunny conditions. He plans for it to be an annual event, gradually growing to attract 50 to 70 campers.

“My goal,” he said, “is still for it to be small and family-oriented, where the players can connect with every kid.”

Edwards said Rawls and the other NFL alums are firmly committed to working with the youth here and around the Puget Sound region. As part of the local camp, they autographed large Coast Salish-themed medallions crafted at the Boys & Girls Club from a 3-D printer, which were then presented to each drill group’s most valuable player. Among the recipients was Harrison Alvord, who recently completed fifth grade at La Conner Elementary.

La Conner High head football coach Kirk Melton was pleased that several Braves players participated. He said it was a rare opportunity for them to be tutored by Rawls and his former NFL cohorts.

“All of these guys were phenomenal players,” Melton said. “Thomas Rawls, at his size (5-9, 215 pounds), had no business running over NFL players. But he did.”

Rawls stressed that physicality when working with prospective running backs.

“As running backs,” Rawls told his young charges, “we’ve got to set the tone. We’ve got to be physical, right?”

The retired pros tackled their camp duties with enthusiasm. Hunter gushed over the strides Whiteaker and Claplinger made while drilling on interior line moves, extolling them as quick learners.

“I didn’t have to correct that,” Hunter said at one point. “You corrected yourselves.”

Boddie, a Montana State University Hall of Fame inductee, stressed to the youth the importance of excelling in the classroom as well as the athletic arena.

“If you ever talk to me,” he said, “it’s all about education.”

Edwards said the camp was sponsored by the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, Didgwalic Wellness Center, Swinomish Markets, Team TV Entertainment, CEC Sports Marketing, and the Swinomish Casino & Lodge. He added that tribal fisher Jeremy Cayou caught, donated, and cooked the salmon provided to the campers.

“Jeremy,” said Edwards, “is the biggest Seahawks fan I know.”

He, like all the La Conner camp’s onlookers — a group that included former Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best — are likewise big fans of kids chasing their dreams.

Edwards put it best when he addressed the campers.

“I want all you guys to feel important,” he said.

On that score, the camp’s game plan was perfectly executed.

Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.