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By Ray Hamill — New Eureka Loggers football head coach Sam Edmonds is doing his best to build a relationship with the local sports community ahead of his first season in charge.

This past weekend, Edmonds and some of his players hosted the first annual Loggers Football Skills Clinic and it’s an event they are hoping to host every year.

The clinic was for local youth football players and was split into two three-hour sessions.

And the immediate response, according to Edmonds, was overwhelmingly positive.

“They told me they wished it was longer because the kids were having so much fun,” Edmonds said of the participants. “I think it was a good community builder.”

The clinic was a fundraiser for the Eureka Loggers football program and 10 of the school’s varsity players helped coach the young players along with Edmonds, College of the Redwoods defensive line coach Marcus Coleman and former Loggers standout Maurice Purify, who also now coaches at CR.

“It was a good opportunity for our players to help teach the young kids,” said Edmonds, who took over the Eureka High varsity team this year from Mike Marcelli. “It was fun for the kids. The kids that came out had a good time.”

Edmonds believe there is a disconnect between some of the local youth football programs and the high schools, and he believes there is a lack of quality camps for the young players here on the North Coast.

“That is something that is missing,” he said. “Why isn’t there more high school camps available (in the area).”

The Loggers camp featured 30 players, including participants from Eureka, Fortuna and Ferndale, and it was unique in the fact that it gave all the players a chance to try out just about every position.

That meant linemen playing some skill position roles and some skill position players seeing what it’s like to play in the trenches.

“It was a good opportunity for each kid to get an opportunity to try each position on defense and offense,” the new Loggers head coach added. “Our main goal was that the kids learned how to get better.

“We even had some kids that had never played football before.”

Edmonds says he is hoping to make the clinic an annual event.

In the meantime, he will now turn his attention to the upcoming season and the Loggers’ fall opener against Arcata in late August.