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The intrepid kicker was also spotted earlier this year at an IMS basketball game. Kaeding came to see his cousin (on the Cooney side of the family) from Louisa-Muscatine play and was impressed with the IMS basketball team.
"IMS was really good," said Kaeding, who noticed that the IMS team, though small, played with great heart. "They're like a true Iowa basketball team. I was impressed with how they handled the ball - they shoot and pass."
Kaeding, who was also a soccer player before becoming a star kicker at the University of Iowa, said that he loved all sports and just liked to stay active.
"Whatever it was that kept you active," said Kaeding, "I played football in junior high and high school and just messed around kicking the ball because I was too skinny to play any other position - I would have been torn in half."
Kaeding also remembers coming to Mid-Prairie and attending some of the quality camps put on by Don Showalter and the coaches of the Mid-Prairie basketball team.
It's that camp experience, and the competition with other athletes from around the state that Kaeding looks back to.
"Those are the things you love," said Kaeding, "Just get out there and play the game and get active."
And that's the kind of experience that Kaeding and a number of other current and former University of Iowa athletes are planning to offer young people this summer.
"Training With Nate Kaeding" Youth Camp offers a one-of-a-kind experience by allowing kids (ages 7 - 14) the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities rather than focusing on a single sport.
The camp, which will run July 12-14, will give children the opportunity to experience a number of different sports. Each camper will experience three different sports: soccer, basketball, and football.
Nate and his team will be utilizing the Character Counts! initiative with an emphasis on the six pillars of character (www.charactercounts.org).
The six pillars of character, according to the initiative, are: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.
"We really focus on developing character in the players as they are younger," said Kaeding, "Sometimes those character issues get lost as you think about winning the game."
The camp will focus less on technical skills and more on just playing the game. "The activities will really be geared towards the competition sides of it," said Kaeding, "Just playing the games."
While the campers will pay $150 to attend the camp, none of the coaches or athletes participating in the event will be compensated financially. The money raised by the event will go to help fund the "Hope Lodge", a facility that hosts families of patients going through treatment at the University of Iowa Cancer Treatment Center.
For more information and registration forms, you may log on to www.natekaedingcamp.com.
