Despite taking on additional responsibilities as the new head coach of the Calgary Stampeders, Dave Dickenson was determined to forge ahead with his annual camp for young football players.

“I didn’t consider not doing it,” he said of the Dickenson Passing Academy, which kicked off its eighth edition this weekend. “I’m feeling busier but I’m also realistic that I have to allow other people to do a little bit more for me. I’m going to let (Stamps quarterbacks) Bo (Levi Mitchell) and Andrew (Buckley) do a little bit more of the coaching on the quarterback side this year anyway and see how it goes.”

In addition to the two Stamps QBs, current and former players such as Jon Cornish, Marquay McDaniel, Anthony Parker, Jabari Arthur, Ryan Thelwell and Jackie Kellogg provide instruction for aspiring quarterbacks, receivers and running backs.

“We believe we do something different than any other camp because we incorporate a classroom teaching session and then we bring that teaching session to the practice field,” said Dickenson, who recently took over the head coaching reins for the Stamps after having served as offensive coordinator.

The classroom sessions happen in the very same McMahon Stadium meeting and film rooms used by Stamps players during the CFL season.

“I’ve got to give a bit of a plug to the Stampeders,” said Dickenson. “They’ve allowed me to take advantage of this facility and our resources here to really give the kids great coaching and visualization instead of just talking.”

In addition, New West Truck Centres is the camp’s main sponsor and ex-Stamp and Spolumbo’s co-owner Tony Spoletini is a big supporter. It’s important to all parties that talented young players have access to the camp.

“Financially, if you can’t make it work for your kid, there are programs and people in place who help sponsor a kid,” noted Dickenson.

The former CFL Most Outstanding Player believes his camps have had a positive impact.

“I really feel it’s helped football throughout the city,” he said. “What I’ve been told is that the kids that make the big jump from year to year and are having great seasons have some tie to the camp.

“My whole goal is to try and get a kid a college scholarship. Just find kids who like the game and try to get some school paid for.”

Some of the campers who have gone on to play Canadian university football include Denzel Radford, Boston Rowe, Duncan Little and Alex Basilis of the Dinos, Seb Britton of the Regina Rams and Des Catellier of the Manitoba Bisons.

There’s also Dante Djan, the St. Francis Xavier quarterback who attended Stamps training camp in 2015 as part of the CFL’s quarterback development program and Chris Merchant, who is south of the border at the University of Buffalo.

But the students aren’t the only ones getting something out of the camp.

“It’s fun for me, too,” said Dickenson. “I don’t get to coach technique as much with pros. I like going back to the basics — the starting points. If you can catch a kid when they’re young, you can develop the throwing motion. If you get them when they’re older, it’s too late a lot of times. You can tweak it but you can’t change it.”

So how much longer will the Dickenson Passing Academy stay in business?

“Selfishly,” Dickenson said with a smile, “I want to keep it going at least until my son (Cooper) gets a chance to run through there.”