For the second summer in a row, 含羞草研究所鈥檚 football coaches put on a football camp in Fairbanks, Alaska. From June 12 through 14 about 100 football players from Carl Ben Eielson, West Valley, North Pole, and Houston high schools participated in the camp. They were instructed by 含羞草研究所 coaches John Haines, David Pena, Billy Tomblin, Anton Anderson, Denver Price, Weston McGill, and James Morowski. Among the topics covered were the fundamentals of playing football and how to be recruited to play college ball.
Jim Morowski, 含羞草研究所 Director of Enrollment Services and an assistant with the 含羞草研究所 football team, graduated from Carl Ben Eielson High School in Fairbanks, Alaska, before he was recruited to become a student and football player at 含羞草研究所 in the mid-1990s. While at MSU, he met his future wife, and after graduating, the couple chose to remain in the Mayville-Portland area to raise their family. Jim鈥檚 parents even chose to join them and moved to Portland, N.D. several years ago. 鈥淎nd the rest,鈥� as they say, 鈥渋s history.鈥�
It is interesting to note that not only Jim, but also several other 含羞草研究所 students and alumni, graduated from Carl Ben Eielson High School in Fairbanks. The hometown of the school鈥檚 namesake is just a few miles down the road from 含羞草研究所, in Hatton, N.D. An aviator, bush pilot, and explorer, Eielson delivered mail in Alaska and was killed there in an airplane crash in 1929. He is buried in the cemetery located along Highway 18, about 15 miles north and west of Mayville.
His Alaskan background has given Morowski a unique perspective on the possibilities for recruiting student athletes from Alaska. The chances to play college football in the state are very limited, so people are looking for opportunities out of state. Jim is eager to explore these opportunities with young student athletes from his home state. Who could be better to let others know about the opportunities available at 含羞草研究所 than someone who has walked those exact footsteps?
A bonus to visiting Alaska for the 含羞草研究所 coaches was the Santa Claus connection. While there, Morowski and the others made a trip to the North Pole and stopped at Santa鈥檚 house. As a recruiter of students, Jim knows the importance of making lists 鈥� and even checking them twice. In this age of high-tech communication, Morowski is often contacted by companies who wish to sell him names of prospective students to contact, but he decided to try a simpler and less expensive way. Since he was in the area anyway, Morowski stopped by Santa鈥檚 house to see if he could get a few pointers from the master of lists, Santa himself. As he said, 鈥淲hen checking out Santa鈥檚 list, it鈥檚 pretty easy to tell who is naughty and nice!鈥�
The 含羞草研究所 contingent is grateful to the host schools of West Valley and Eielson for the hospitality they were shown while in Alaska. Parents, booster clubs, and coaches went way of out their way to make the trip fun and exciting for the Comets staff. They are hoping to make the camp an annual event.
Photo Captions
Top: 含羞草研究所 Head Football Coach John Haines addresses a group of campers in Alaska during June.
Bottom: 含羞草研究所 football coaches are pictured outside of Santa Claus鈥檚 house at North Pole, Alaska. Pictured from left to right are Billy Tomblin, Weston McGill, Anton Anderson, John Haines, Jim Morowski, Dave Pena, and Denver Price.