GREENVILLE – The Greenville Senior High School football program is holding a three-day football camp in preparation for the upcoming 2026 fall football season under second-year head coach Steve Channell.
The three-day high school football camp serves as an end-of-school camp.
“You can start getting days in for the summer starting mid-May,” said Coach Channell. “There was a rule change several years ago, so we are taking three days here at the end of the school year before kids get away for the summer. If I wait until the summer, some of these kids wouldn’t be here for various reasons, whether it be baseball tournaments, or family vacations, or whatever, so since school is in session, I chose the last three days of school to do a camp in the evenings for grades nine through 12.”
Coach Channel and his staff are using the three three-hour days to work on fundamentals of the game.
“We are teaching our base fundamental defensive concepts and offensive concepts and throwing the ball a little bit,” said Coach Channell. “The other big factor is trying to get kids put in the right position for them, so if a young man is a fullback, but he really would be better suited on the offensive line, these three days you evaluate those kinds of situations.”
Along with a new season and some first-time players, Coach Channell and his staff work to get the athletes to buy into the program.
“It’s a daily process, that is why you spend a lot of time in the hallways and the cafeteria,” said Coach Channell. “There are 16 kids out here tonight who did not play football last year, and that’s for next year’s grades 10, 11, and 12. The freshman, most of them played eighth grade, but we have some new freshmen too, so you can see the numbers are very good. Our roster right now, if everybody were here would be 67, and last year we started at 55, the year before that it was in the mid to high 30’s.”
To be a good team, every player has to dress the same, everybody has to look the same, and everybody has to think the same. But often, with young athletes, it can be difficult to get everyone on the same page and to buy into the program rules set down by the coaching staff.
It was very clear that every Greenville athlete at the three-day camp had their shirt tails tucked in.
“First of all, I have to shout out to Greenville Federal – they were gracious enough to purchase all the kids a T-shirt for our camp, so that is why you see every kid in the same shirt, and the first thing I had them do was tuck their shirt tails in,” said Coach Channell. “One young man asked me why, and I told him to tuck his shirt tail in – because you were told to, and that is the exact example that I want kids to understand. Our expectation is, you’re going to do what you’re told to do, so a lot of that is just the team building, the following directions, being on time, doing what you are supposed to do, so that was the first step this year in getting them to understand, when you are told to do something, the expectation is you’re going to do that.”
Coach Channell is big on a weight program and has spent time sprucing up the Greenville weight facility.
“Good, the numbers at the end of the school year,” said Coach Channell. “Our summer lifting program will start on Monday, June 1st, where we will lift three days a week in the mornings. The numbers have been good, but I expect them to be better for the summer because you’re not dealing with a lot of other conflicts and people’s schedules.”
Coach Channel responded when asked if Greenville students were still encouraged to come out for the football program, even if they had never played the sport before.
“Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely,” Coach Channell said emphatically. “We invite all young men to come out, and if they have any questions, they know where to find me.”
Coach Channell took over the Green Wave football program last year following back-to-back 0-10 winless seasons. The varsity team went 3-7 the first year under Coach Channell.
“Looking forward to another season and working towards the progression of making the program annual improvement,” said Coach Channell. “This year our numbers are up, and I have been saying since I got here, it’s a numbers game. Last year we had some success, we competed, this year we have our numbers up, so we want to continue that process.”
Also beginning a second year as the Superintendent at Greenville City Schools is Julie Sroufe Jones, a former GHS DI college athlete who has an eye on the sports programs, bringing excitement to her alma mater.
“The school year starts in the fall and if the fall can have a good competitive successful season there can be carry over effect into the other sports and hopefully we were able to start that snowball starting at the top of the hill and getting it rolling downhill – baseball and softball has had a good year, basketball, I know is going to improve so we are excited, we’re looking forward to it – and this summer before you know it we’ll be on bus traveling to Eaton,” Coach Channell concluded.
Greenville opens the 2026-2027 regular football season with a non-conference road game against the Eaton Eagles. Greenville opened the 2025-2026 season with a 24-14 victory over the Eagles, snapping a 22-game losing skid.
