VENICE — For the fourth consecutive year, there will be a unique opportunity for area youth football players to learn from a number of players that have experience playing at the college or professional level.
On Saturday, May 18, former Venice High players Hayden and Weston Wolff — along with a number of other Venice alumni — will host a youth football camp at Letson Stadium in Venice.
The Wolff Elite Football Camp will run from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., for ages eight to 14.
“This is our second year in a row doing a big camp, but we’ve been doing something like this for three or four years now,” Hayden said. “I just think it’s a really unique opportunity for kids in this area to work with a coaching staff that’s from the area and has made it to one of the highest levels of football.”
All positions are welcome at the camp, and each position group will learn skills specific to them from a coach that plays the position.
In addition to Hayden (Western Michigan), who will oversee the camp as a general manager, there will be eight coaches that makeup the staff.
Former Venice players in Weston Wolff (South Florida), Myles Weston (Mercer), Tyrone Barber (South Florida), Thomas Schrader (Appalachian State) and Colin Blazek (Ball State) will all be involved in teaching kids the in’s and out’s of each position.
Additionally, Venice alum and former NFL player Dri Archer will be in attendance as well.
“Being able to build a coaching staff with a bunch of local guys is rare,” Hayden said. “Especially since most of them have graduated high school within the last five years and most of them are still playing college football. Having the opportunity to come from Venice and hire people like this is huge.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun for the kids. They’ll learn key fundamentals at each position, we’ll have a combine-type of thing to start the day, and we’ll also have relay races, 7-on-7 drills and we’ll give out awards as well.”
In addition to the coaching staff, there will be a number of volunteers present that will up the staff number to around 35 total.
Registration for the event is $75 and closes on April 30. However, late registration (May 15) will be available, and that cost will be $100.
Registration includes all the camp activities, a T-shirt, lunch and an autograph session following.
What excites Hayden the most about the camp is the amount of growth it’s seen in such a short time.
“Last year at this time, we had around 25 kids registered,” he said. “ Now, we have around 50. By the time camp rolls around, we expect between 90 and 100 kids to participate. A large majority of the kids are from the Venice and Englewood area, but we had some from Port Charlotte, Fort Myers and Tampa as well.”
The Wolff brothers have lived in Englewood and Venice — having played at Lemon Bay and with the Indians — and, for them, being able to offer their services to an area that provided so much for them is critical.
“Giving back to the communities that poured so much into us means a lot,” Hayden said. “It wasn’t always easy making the transition from Lemon Bay to Venice with my brother, but so many people in the community were there for us, so we thought it was important to use our platform to give back.”
The Wolff brothers plan on getting even more involved with the community after their playing days are over.
The plan includes a training facility where area athletes can show up and get better on a daily basis.
“This is a company we’re going to look to grow and expand into a number of other things,” Hayden said. “I’ve been doing group and one-on-one sessions with area players for the past five years, and we hope to continue to do that. We also want to open a training facility that’s available to the youth and senior population as well.”
THE LEAD MAN IN KALAMAZOOThis fall, Hayden will be a starting quarterback in the Mid-American Conference.
After transferring to Western Michigan from Old Dominion last season, Hayden didn’t initially have that starting spot prior to the 2023 season.
However, midway through the campaign — with the Broncos visiting Mississippi State — the then-redshirt junior was thrust into the huddle after a struggling start for the offense.
Hayden brought a needed spark, going 27-of-35 for 262 passing yards, three touchdowns and one interception against the Bulldogs.
Hayden would be the starter the rest of the season, going 148-of-226 for 1,505 passing yards, 10 total touchdowns and five interceptions.
“It wasn’t an easy transition to Western Michigan,” Hayden said. “I missed spring ball, so I was kind of forced into the fire during the summer and into camp. I always knew that I would play, it was just a matter of getting comfortable, and how much time that would take me.”
With a veteran team that’s hungry to improve on last year’s 4-8 record, Hayden believes the Broncos could be one of the surprise teams in the MAC in 2024.
“I’m fired up,” Hayden said. “We have more than 20 six-year players that have played in more than 30 games at this level. I think next year could be really special if we put everything together.”
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