For Immediate Release Contact:
Kurt Wehrmeister, Director/Communications & Public Affairs,
Moose International Phone 630/966-2229;
email kwehrmeister@mooseintl.org

MOOSEHEART, IL – As he surveyed his team as it walked off the practice field for the first time in the 2006 preseason, Mooseheart football coach Gary Urwiler had one instant assessment:

“We’re not in very good shape yet,” Urwiler said.

But that's one of the main reasons the Red Ramblers are at Camp Ross, a secluded 150-acre facility owned by Moose International just southwest of Mt. Morris, some 70 miles west of the Child City campus. Urwiler and the Mooseheart team opened practice Wednesday (Aug. 8) and are scheduled to practice at Camp Ross through midday Friday in a setting not unlike a true college or pro football camp.

“I don’t know if any high school in Illinois has the chance to go to a facility such as Camp Ross, which we own, to do nothing but think about football for three days,” Urwiler said.

The Ramblers need some time to get reacquainted. While most Illinois high schools spend at least some of their summer utilizing the 25 “contact days” allowed by the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), the Ramblers do not practice at all in the summer.

The reason for that is simple – the majority of the student body leaves the Child City in summer and returns home. This means Urwiler and his team are in a race to get ready for their Aug. 25 season opener at Hoopeston. And given the fitness work the team was already going though in its first morning of practice, Urwiler’s assessment of his team’s physical fitness may change quickly.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do and I know those other teams have been working hard,” Urwiler said. “We’ll work hard too and get ready.”

The Ramblers have a turnout of roughly 34, Urwiler said, which may fluctuate a bit up or down before the season starts. As usual, that figure will be more than half the male population of high school students at Mooseheart.

Urwiler said there are a half-dozen freshmen out for football this year. But he said the returnees are already taking hold of the concepts being taught.

“The guys coming back seem to have retained a lot of what we did last year,” Urwiler said. “That’s good and we’ll build on that.”

Mooseheart finished the 2006 campaign with a 6-4 record and qualified for the IHSA Class 1A playoffs for the first time since the 1997 season.

Urwiler begins his seventh season as Mooseheart coach this fall. He is in his third season in his second stint as coach of the Ramblers. He coached from 1996-2000 and his teams went to the playoffs in 1996 and 1997. A 1987 Mooseheart graduate, Urwiler has a 33-32 career record as Ramblers coach.

Mooseheart Child City & School is a 1,000-acre community and school for children and teens in need of a secure home, located just south of Batavia, IL, between Illinois Route 31 and Randall Road.

Founded in 1913, Mooseheart is supported completely through private donations - the great majority of which come from the 1.1 million men and women of the Moose fraternal organization, in more than 1,900 Lodges and 1,600 Chapters located throughout the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and Bermuda. Moose International headquarters is located on the Mooseheart campus.

Since its founding, Mooseheart has operated a complete, accredited kindergarten-through-high-school academic program, plus art, music, vocational training and interscholastic sports. It is an extremely nurturing and student-tailored program, with an average student-teacher ratio of 12-1.

Mooseheart students who complete their studies with a 3.0 GPA or better (4.0=A) are eligible for up to five years of annually renewable scholarship funding, covering tuition, room and board in an amount comparable to that required for an in-state student at an Illinois public university.

Mooseheart is currently home to nearly 250 students, ranging in age from preschoolers to high school seniors. Applications for admission to Mooseheart are considered from any family whose children are, for whatever reason, lacking a stable home environment. Mooseheart boasts its own U.S. Post Office and a fully functioning branch of Fifth Third Bank.

In addition to Mooseheart, Moose International also supports Moosehaven, a 70-acre retirement community near Jacksonville, FL founded in 1922; and conducts more than $90 million worth of community service programs annually.

Founded in 1888, the Moose organization has long offered its members an opportunity to do good for others while celebrating life, with family, social, and sporting activities. For more information on the Moose organization, visit the websites at www.Mooseintl.org and www.Mooseheart.org or call 630-966-2229.