Learning ball from a pro
Over 200 children attend Randall Godfrey’s football camp at Lowndes High
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Valdosta Daily Times
Over 200 children attend Randall Godfrey’s football camp at Lowndes High
VALDOSTA – After a year away Randall Godfrey returned to host his annual football camp for kids in the Lowndes County area, and it went better than expected.
Over 230 kids turned out, which was over 100 more than had signed up prior to the event.
“I didn’t think we’d have this kind of response, but it’s great,” said Godfrey while taking a break from running drills with the youngsters.
“We only had 120 kids register early, but we never turn kids away.”
Throughout the day Godfrey and other volunteers took the kids age six through 15 and taught them about the game of football and essential skills like teamwork.
The camp started with morning drills to help the kids learn the basic fundamentals of the game. Then Godfrey, with a bullhorn in his hand, led them to lunch.
Following lunch the kids split back up by age and got right back to work.
The younger players went through some basic drills and then moved on to 11-on-11 games. Rather than setting up teams and plays, the young kids would just play “everybody go deep” for about an hour.
On the other side of the field the older players were learning some basic plays and tips on how to get better at their positions. Then at the end they also broke off into a two-hand touch scrimmage.
“The kids love it. They’re all excited to be out here,” said Godfrey.
“It’s great to teach these kids about the game.”
The volunteers helping with the camp ranged from NFL players to local coaches and players.
Among the NFL veterans were three-time Pro Bowler Dexter Coakley; Charlie Clemons, who was a linebacker with the Super Bowl Champion St. Louis Rams; Washington Redskins defensive end Phillip Daniels; and former Atlanta Falcons cornerback Kevin Mathis.
“This is something I just love doing, I love working with the young people,” said Daniels. “These kids have been great, they’ve done real well.
“We’ve had some tough drills out here, but these kids did great. We have some real athletes out here today.”
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