Passing the Torch: Pintos Varsity Leaders Give Back at Youth Football Camp

MORIARTY  — Standing on the practice field at Moriarty High School on Monday, Pintos head football coach Gabriel Romero watched a group of energetic young players scatter across the grass, some executing drills while the youngest among them tested the boundaries of structure by running in circles.

For Romero and his varsity players, the scene is exactly what the annual, two-day Moriarty Pintos youth football camp is supposed to be about.

“You know, I think it’s just one of those things that we just want them to be out here, just moving around, just having fun,” Romero said during the camp’s opening day. “Hopefully, as they do this, they’ll start to love football, and they’ll kind of progress and play whenever they get older.”

The camp, which runs Monday and Tuesday, serves a dual purpose for the Moriarty program. While it introduces local children to the fundamentals of the sport, it also provides a unique leadership laboratory for the high school’s upperclassmen, who run the drills and manage the various age groups.

It is a task that gives the high schoolers a quick lesson in the realities of coaching.

“I think some of them realize that it’s a lot harder than they think sometimes,” Romero said with a chuckle. “Trying to get these kids to do what they want them to do is not always as easy as it looks. The older ones, they start to see that these kids have some pretty good skills. Most of them really enjoy being out here and putting on the camp for them.”

For seniors like Mario Romero, the responsibility of managing the youngest campers is both the most rewarding and the most exhausting part of the week.

“Probably keeping them all in check,” Mario Romero said of the biggest challenge. “Definitely, the littlest kids are definitely the hardest. They’re the funnest, but they’re definitely the hardest to keep doing what you’re supposed to.”

Despite the challenge of keeping the energy contained, the senior running back and linebacker understands that the camp relies entirely on the presence of the varsity roster to bridge the gap between generations.

“The most fun thing about this camp for you is just really teaching the kids how we play and how to act—keep everyone in check, pretty much,” Mario Romero said. “Without us being here, then there’s not really a camp. The coaches can’t do everything, so it’s important for us to be out here.”

That transition from being a young camper to becoming a community figurehead is a distinct milestone for local athletes. Both Romero and fellow senior Mateo Manley-Griego noted that the realization of their status as role models began to solidify during their sophomore seasons, as their physical development and varsity presence drew recognition outside of school hours.

“I’d want to say my sophomore year is when I started getting noticed around the community,” Manley-Griego said. “It’s just great to have people come up to you and want to talk to you about sports and stuff.”

For Manley-Griego, looking out at the current crop of campers brings a strong sense of deja vu. He was once in their exact position, looking up at the high school players who occupied the same fields.

“It does feel good giving back,” Manley-Griego said. “I grew up in the community, and I remember when I was little in this camp and looking up to the older high schoolers, so to be in the position of the high schooler, it’s really fun watching these kids grow up.”

As he prepares for his final high school season, Manley-Griego reflected on how quickly the years have passed since his own days playing youth football in the area.

“It honestly feels like yesterday,” Manley-Griego said. “I can remember us in the backyard playing recess football. Time flies for sure, so yeah, definitely soak up the moments while you have them.”

The camp concludes Tuesday afternoon, with the Pintos shifting their focus back to their own summer preparations ahead of the upcoming fall season.