by Chris Fore/EightLaces.org
It makes sense if you think about it.
I mean, he did grow up here in Gold Beach, Oregon.
And now he works for the City of Gold Beach, for their Public Works Department.
And oh yeah, he is the Head Football Coach for the Panthers.
So, it makes sense that he is a pioneer of Gold Beach Football Camps.
He is one of less than a few dozen who can say that they were on Kevin Swift’s very first football team at Gold Beach High School, meaning he’s also one of the very first Panthers to participate in the Gold Beach Football Camp.
Before he became a football coach, and before he started working for the city, back in the day Justin Storns was one heck of a football player. He graduated in 1998 after having been recognized as an All-League Defensive Player, and four years of varsity football. He went both ways – fullback and linebacker – like many players do in small towns like Gold Beach. It was that way back then, and it is that way now. Some things never change.
But one thing that has changed with time is the Gold Beach Football Camp that Kevin Swift has directed for the last 19 years. And that camp has helped to change the dynamics and expectations of Panther Football. Two State Championships later (2007 and 2011) and it is easy to look back on two decades of football in the sleepy, coastal town of Gold Beach to see success written during one week in June. But not just ONE week in June; one week every YEAR in June.
“The first camp here was my senior year. There were just a few teams then. We only had enough kids to play a half of a game. At the time when Kevin first started the program and camp, a lot of kids missed a lot of the whole summer. They weren’t dedicated to football back then, running around in the river, running around on their motorcycles. We would have just enough kids for half line scrimmages. There was a transition there with a different set of kids when Coach Swift got here. Kevin changed that person of our football program,” explained Coach Storns.
Jason Storns
He went on to tell me more about the growth of the camp, and how it has helped to grow the Panther Football program. “Camp was nothing like what it is now. And neither was our own program. You never had all of these different sizes of schools back then. It is great competing against the bigger schools, it gives our own kids at Gold Beach confidence. If we can line up against these big schools, we will be ready in our league and our division. We didn’t really have special coaches like we have had here with Kevin. Now we get specialized coaches who come in and work on specific things with our kids during camp. Kevin changed all that.”
Here is more of my interview with Coach Storns.
Fore: How does Gold Beach Football Camps help the program overall?
Coach Storns: My first year coaching for Kevin, back in 2011, was the year we won the State Championship. We were a 150 kid school going against kids from Capital (Idaho) with 2,000 kids in their school. But the kids from Gold Beach, they will line up against anybody. That’s what Kevin has developed here. You have the opportunities to get different looks from these schools here at camp, to get to work on different things that your program needs. It’s a great time, in June to see what your team chemistry is made up of. Now you get to see the team chemistry. Good to see that developing.
Fore: How much different is it as a coach?
Coach Storns: The difference between being a player and a coach here is that you have the opportunity to watch a bunch of different programs as you are here. You can ask them concepts about why they are doing what they are doing. You see a similar offense, steal a wrinkle from them. It’s like a coaching clinic live, right in front of you. As a player, you don’t get that. You don’t see that when you are a player.
Fore: What do you hope for your program to get out of this week of camp?
Coach Storns: The biggest thing for me for this team is chemistry, and becoming a unit together here. We want to continue to grow every day, at some aspect of the game. With a small 2A school here, we just don’t get the look with our seconds. Here at camp we get those great looks from the other teams. Every day practice and spring practice with my level, we just don’t see that because we are against younger kids, the JVS.
Fore: Do your own kids and staff spend the night here?
Coach Storns: We have spent the night in the past. A lot of our kids work at this camp. They are cleaning up after meals, they are lining fields, picking up trash, everything. Most of our kids are “living” here during the week because they are helping to run it. But they do go home at night to sleep for a bit.
Our coaching staff helps out with camp as much as they can to help make it go around. Coach Swift has always had staff directors, asst directors, but we are always around to help him make it happen.
Fore: Do your kids look forward to the camp, or is it different because they live here?
Coach Storns: Our kids can’t wait for camp to get here. They are excited for the kids to come in, they love when they are able to get to hit someone else finally.
Every Saturday during the second session of camp, the tradition is for us, one of the smaller schools, to hit with Capital, one of the larger schools. And our kids, for them, that is a highlight of camp for the week.
Editor’s Note: Gold Beach High School and Kevin Swift are featured in my book, Building Championship Caliber Football Programs which features 108 State Champs from 42 different states from the 2011 season. Buy a copy during camp for just $15. See me personally. Or save $5 online at EightLaces.org with the coupon code GOLDBEACH.
Gold Beach Team Camp 