McHenry Community High School’s McCracken Field was the host site for a recent Chicago Bears flag football clinic to help players in the newly sanctioned girls sport get ready for the inaugural season.
About 45 players, mostly from McHenry but also from Jacobs, Hampshire and Dundee-Crown high schools, attended the July 31 camp to work with flag football instructors and coaches, including former Chicago Bears linebacker Jim Schwantz.
Read more about the clinic in the Northwest Herald.
The Bears clinic was part of McHenry’s launch of their own flag football program, which included a six-day summer camp for interested players. Practice starts Aug. 12 for flag football, along with the other fall sports.
The camp marks the first time coaches and athletes were able to gather to prepare for the season. At all of the camps, including the Bears camp, athletes will work on skills and techniques, as well as learning about the overall game of flag football.
McHenry is one of several schools in the area to start a program following news earlier this year that the Illinois High School Association is adding the sport to the fall lineup. The Chicago Bears organization has been instrumental in starting flag football in Illinois.