The annual Tiger Pride Junior Pro Football Camp was held last week, and the future of the gridiron sport in DeKalb County looks bright. The camp had 90 young participants on the field, many donning the pads for the first time.

"We’re teaching the fundamentals of football to the boys," Junior Pro Football League President John Kilgore told the Review. "We’re also helping them get an interests in football here in DeKalb County. There’s a lot of sports to compete in here in DeKalb County, and we just want to give the boys a chance to come out and see what football is all about. They come out, put pads on, and see if it’s a sport they want to play or not."

The camp is held each year, for young players to come out and familiarize themselves with the game. DeKalb County High School Football Tigers Head Coach Steve Trapp and several players with the Tigers are involved in the camp, teaching the kids techniques and skills.

"Steve was pleased with the way the boys listened this year," Kilgore said. "They really paid attention and made some progress. We’re working on fundamentals and conditioning, and getting them ready for the effort and attitude it takes to play good football."

Kilgore said that Junior Pro Football will condition young players, and have them ready with the fundamentals of the game before they enter the middle school program, and eventually the high school program. "We want them to have an understanding of the correct stance, and of hand-offs, as well as the importance of sportsmanship."

I want to thank Coach Trapp and the high school players who have been out helping with the camp.

Junior Pro Football starts in a few weeks with signups already underway. Kilgore said that the league is seeing some changes this year, very welcome changes. "Our first ballgame will be on August 2, playing in Cookeville in a bowl game. Our Football Jamboree will also be here in DeKalb County this year instead of at Tennessee Tech. We’ll have eight counties represented here during that weekend, and we invite everyone to come out and watch some good football."

The league is also bigger and better than ever this year with the addition of some new teams. "The president of the conference is from Smith County and he’s done a good job, adding four new teams to the conference. We won’t have to play the same team twice this season."

To sign up for Junior Pro Football you can stop by Kilgore’s Restaurant on West Broad Street in Smithville, or call 215-8249.