BILLINGS — Dozens of young kids donned their football gear for the first Hope Huddle, an all-inclusive football camp designed for kids with special needs.
Rocky Mountain College Assistant Head Coach Joe Dunning expressed his excitement for including young athletes with disabilities.
Watch how kids play football at this mini-camp:
“I know our players love the game, and we want to share the game with everybody,” Dunning said Thursday.
Dunning and Rocky football players led the drills throughout the day.
“(We’re) doing some functional movement drills, football-specific catching, throwing, running, a lot of touchdown celebrations,” Dunning said.
Bergen Mysse, a sophomore player at Rocky, shared his joy watching his two little brothers participate in the camp.
“It's really special to have them out here and doing stuff that they don't always get to do because of their special needs,” Mysse said. “They were really excited.”
Nathan Dick, a former Rocky football player, who also joined in to help, reflected on the camp's significance for kids with disabilities.
“I grew up with my oldest brother who has cerebral palsy, so these kiddos obviously have a special place in my heart,” Dick said.
Dick acknowledged that many kids with disabilities often don’t get the same opportunities.
“They probably watch a lot of football on TV and stuff, but they might not be able to go play football or go be able to have those opportunities,” Dick said.
The camp aimed to impact the lives of these kids positively.
“They will just light up,” Dick said, highlighting their experience.
Tim Huck, the founder of The Spectrum Hope Fund, explained his motivation for creating this initiative.
“Our main goal is to provide financial assistance for families in our community for ABA (applied behavior analysis) therapy for autistic kids,” Huck said.
He said that ABA therapy can cost around $200 per hour, with some children requiring 40 hours of therapy per week.
“Mine did,” Huck said.
This fund was created last August and became a nonprofit 501 c3 foundation at the beginning of 2025.
Through the community and grants, The Spectrum Hope Fund has already provided three scholarships to local families for ABA therapy.
