The skills camp is a great opportunity for our kids to get back into a rhythm before the start of the season.”

Kyle Kissack

ROCHELLE — The Rochelle Hub football team returned to the field earlier this month for the start of its offseason summer schedule, which includes the annual summer skills camp as well as the annual one-week lineman camp for sophomore, junior and senior players. Rochelle will kick off the 2024 season with a home game against Woodstock on Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.

Players ranging from incoming freshmen to rising seniors participate in the skills camp, which runs three days a week throughout the months of June and July. The skills camp and the lineman camp, which was held from June 17-20, are two of the many events Rochelle will hold during the summer. The Hubs are welcoming back a core group of third-year varsity starters including rising seniors Grant Gensler, Kaiden Morris, Jack Pavlak and Xavier Villalobos. 

“We have more numbers in the weight room right now than we’ve ever had,” head coach Kyle Kissack said. “We have a healthy number of football players out as well. The skills camp is a great opportunity for our kids to get back into a rhythm before the start of the season. The skills we’re working to develop this summer are the things we do well. That starts with fundamental things like pre-snap alignment. We want to continue to grow and find ways to be successful.”

Rochelle’s skills camp will carry into the month of July, where the Hubs will compete in 7-on-7 scrimmages at Sterling and Kaneland as well as an 11-on-11 scrimmage at Sterling. Rochelle’s summer schedule also includes a 7-on-7 at Byron on Aug. 2 as well as two weeks of padded camp, which begins on July 22 and runs through Aug. 1. The Hubs will practice with the Forreston Cardinals on July 23 and hold their annual Lift-A-Thon fundraiser from July 22-25.

“The summer is a chance for kids to rise up and take a role,” Kissack said. “It’s a chance for healthy competition, which has never been a bad thing for us. Our focuses on defense are on alignment, assignment and technique. Where are my eyes pre-snap? What’s the worst thing that can happen to me post-snap? We want to play fast and the summer provides our defense with an opportunity to see different movements and formations and respond appropriately.”

The Hubs are looking to build on three straight playoff appearances as well as their combined 24-9 record over that time. In addition to third-year starters, the Hubs are also welcoming back a healthy blend of upperclassmen including seniors Alex Pemberton, Colton Czekala, Jack Carmichael, Ryan Senne, Elijah Harley, Carson Lewis, Brandyn Metzger and Ethan Goodwin.

“We have six kids returning who are three-year starters,” Kissack said. “Those kids have pushed us forward and we’re extremely thankful for their contributions and what they’re capable of doing during their senior seasons. How those core six kids play this season will be foundational for our success this season. We have a lot of complementary kids who will be two-year starters and then younger kids who earned some time. We have a really nice group of kids this year.”

More notable returners include juniors Brode Metzger and Roman Villalobos as well as sophomore Dylan Manning, who earned I-8/KRC First Team honors as a freshman last season. Rochelle’s summer will conclude with the Byron 7-on-7 scrimmage on Friday, Aug. 2. The Hubs will take two weeks off before beginning fall practices for the 2024 season on Monday, Aug. 12.

“I believe in this group and I’ve always appreciated this group’s competitiveness,” Kissack said. “I’m looking forward to seeing how they come together as a group and how well they can play on Friday nights… We’re going to have our hands full this season, but it’s a tremendous opportunity for us as competitors and it’s exactly what we’d want as competitors.”