Staff photo / R. Michael Semple. Warren G. Harding head football coach Matt Richardson, left, instructs football campers during the annual football camp on Tuesday morning at Mollenkopf Stadium.

WARREN — The spring sports season may have just ended, but it’s never too early for football at Warren G. Harding.

The Raiders’ coaches and some guests gathered at Mollenkopf Stadium over the last couple days for the 26th annual Frankos Mims-Manoa football camp.

Approximately 175 players gathered to improve their technique and gain insight into the expectations at Warren G. Harding.

“This is our next phase,” Harding varsity head coach Matt Richardson said. “Since Dec. 9, we’ve been hitting it hard in the weight room four days of the week. We finish up in mid June, and now we’re on to the next phase of camp. Mims-Minoa always starts it off.

“Nick Frankos does a great job of running this camp and doing a great job for our kids.”

The on-field drills began on Tuesday with the Little Raiders. The older athletes were on the field Wednesday morning.

This year’s camp was also a return to form.

There was a brief hiatus, but the camp returned last year. It was a smaller experience, but this week’s event resembled camps from the first 20-plus years.

“We’re gonna try and up that number a little more next year,” Richardson said.

That potential increase in participation could come from an expanded program.

Frankos and Richardson said the goal is to invite the “medium” team, which consists of even younger players, next year.

The camp helps build the foundation for the Harding program. The younger athletes are exposed to similar talent and coaching they would experience at the varsity level.

Richardson added that having the older players participate with younger athletes also allows for the Little Raiders to see the relationship between high school players and coaches. He said the high schoolers show through example how to accept coaching.

“When I took over, I said I wanted to change the culture and the behaviors,” Richardson said. “One of those behaviors is when an adult’s talking, everybody’s attending, just something as simple as that. Those younger guys seeing the older guys do that, it’s great for them.”

Now that the 26th iteration of the camp is complete, Richardson and the rest of the Harding coaches hope the athletes will take what they learned onto the field and in the classroom.

“It’s a beautiful day to be from Warren, Ohio, and representing Warren football, from the bottom to the top,” Richardson said. “The kids worked really hard, learned a lot of things. We had guests come and speak to them, which was great. The receivers coach from the Carolina Panthers came, as well as one of our own, Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams — also from the Carolina Panthers — came to speak for the kids. I thought it was a great weekend.”