Virgen: Unique day for Bonilla

There was a difference of size, speed and agility from one side of the field to the other at Costa Mesa High School. But the determination and the stress of fundamentals appeared to be the same when the West Football Camp conducted a one-day clinic at the Mustangs’ football field.

For Manny Bonilla the day proved to be sentimental. The Costa Mesa High alum, Class of 1989, is on the West Football Camp coaching staff. He had been on the Costa Mesa football staff the past three years.

He was thrilled to be back on his stomping grounds for a special camp for the Mustangs and about 100 kids of the Newport-Mesa Friday Night Lights league.

There were 10 Costa Mesa football players participating. It was a unique experience for Bonilla.

“It was a blessing to be with them because I don’t know if I’ll be able to coach them again,” Bonilla said of working with the Mustangs. “I love everyone of those kids. It’s fun. The kids I worked with, I worked with a lot in the past. I worked with the receivers and the [defensive backs].”

Cameron Curet, the Costa Mesa standout who will be a senior in the fall, was also happy to see a familiar face helping with receiver routes.

“It was pretty cool just to see him,” said Curet, a first-team All-Orange Coast League and Daily Pilot Dream Team selection in the fall.

Curet said Bonilla joked with the players and encouraged them to perform well, helping them during their off-season.

Curet said Saturday was his first time running as hard as he did since the football season because he has been rehabbing a pulled groin.

He and the rest of the Mustangs are doing their best to remain motivated as Costa Mesa is conducting interviews for its new football coach.

Curet, as well as Sammy Swanson and Will Grijalva are on the hiring panel. Grijalva participated, while Swanson, who is rehabbing a torn ACL, did not.

Being on the same field with little football kids and former pro players from the West Football Camp helped Curet and the Mustangs continue to work hard.

Rodney Gatlin, a former El Toro High star who had a stint as a pro with the Raiders, has been in charge and working with the West Football Camp for the past 20 years.

Gatlin said West Football Camp was there to instruct the Friday Night Lights kids but the coaches also wanted to work with the Mustangs.

“He told us to keep our heads up,” Curet said of what Gatlin told the Costa Mesa players. “We are coachless and not homeless, he said. We have to work as a team during the offseason.”

Gatlin, just as the rest of his staff, showed plenty of enthusiasm while teaching the players, young and older.

“Don’t be small, be tall,” Gatlin shouted at a young quarterback with FNL.

“It’s really awesome and really great for them,” Gatlin said of the joy he receives from his clinics. “We are running a business, but we want to see the growth of the players and to share our experience and our knowledge, that’s rewarding.”

The coaches on Gatlin’s staff, which includes former pros Wade Lockett (Raiders) and Joel Williams (Dolphins, Falcons), said they enjoy staying in the game in this capacity, teaching young football players the fundamentals.

Bonilla isn’t sure if he’ll return to the Costa Mesa staff. He said if he were asked to return by the new coach it would depend on that new coach’s philosophies.

Bonilla just might share a passion for the game with the new coach.

“I do it for the love of the game and to be around the young guys,” Bonilla said of being part of West Football Camp. “During the offseason it’s fun to be out with these guys to see the energy and enthusiasm. The beauty of it is, we all go home and later I get to see these guys down the road and play for their schools. It’s fun.”

Bonilla is weighing his options also because of his desire to spend time with his family. You might’ve seen his 2-year-old son Dante dressed up as a Mustang at football games. He also has a 15-year-old daughter, Kassidy, who is a cheerleader at Edison.

For now the camps are fun, and working with kids also provides meaningful moments.

The Friday Night Lights kids did their best to run as fast as they could and follow every word the coaches said.

Many parents are turning toward flag football because of concussion scares with tackle football.

Friday Night Lights’ season kicks off Feb. 27 with 100 teams, just six less than their all-time best 108 in the fall.

Scott Mahaffy, the Newport-Mesa Friday Night Lights commissioner, said there are usually eight players to each team, which equals a multitude of families from the Newport-Mesa community.

A lot of those families have children who also compete in Little League. In many instances there isn’t time for practice, Mahaffy said, and the FNL teams do a run-through before their games.

That’s why the camp on Saturday proved to be helpful for the youth.

Flag football has been a great transition for players who go into tackle football, Mahaffy said, as the young players learn the fundamentals without much physical action.

Bonilla, who said he worked as an official for the local Matt Leinart Flag Football League, concurred and said flag football can be a great alternative for players learning the game.

It’s a game Bonilla loves. Saturday showed that.