Calhoun County kicks off inaugural youth football program

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EDISON — The Dirty South Bucks traipsed through uncut, knee-high grass and around distractions from neighborhood kids when they first stepped onto the field to practice football in the early summer months.

The players in the youth football league, made up of 5- to 14-year-olds, ignored the grass and the commotion at the James Gibson Sports Center and played ball. Their shoulder pads were heavy with the responsibility of being the first youth football league in Calhoun County. For most, it was their first time ever playing the sport.

They were eager to learn — eager for an outlet.

Sedrick Rowe, the coach and creator of the UAA league, said there weren’t many activities for kids in the area. Rowe is the athletic director and a coach for the Georgia Patriots, a nonprofit AAU youth football, cheer and basketball program in nearby Albany. Not only do the athletes play sports, but they serve the community through trash pickups and community gardens, mostly in underserved neighborhoods, he said.

One day at a practice, Rowe heard that two of his players traveled 40 minutes from Early County into Albany to be able to play. He started to think about expanding these efforts and creating a program in Calhoun County.

“I go through there a lot, and I saw that they didn’t have nothing for the youth going on around there,” he said. “A lot of the kids were inside so much.”

There are three schools in Calhoun county with about 500 students. The district’s minority enrollment is 100% with the nationwide average at 55%, according to Public School Review. About 66% of the students are economically disadvantaged, meaning they are eligible for free and reduced meals, according to U.S. News and World Report.

Rowe knew accessibility and affordability had to be a focus. He started putting flyers up around Early, Randolph, Clay and Calhoun counties.

About 30 kids joined the summer league, he said. Then about 30 more began in the fall. The league is drawing students from surrounding counties like Early. Rowe didn’t charge the students what he called “typical football prices.” Registration is $35. Families had to pay for the uniform, and Rowe supplied the helmets and shoulder pads.

Next came fundraising. Two car washes at the only grocery store in Edison allowed them to raise enough money to rent the facility they practice at as well as buy new apparel or rent vans for traveling, Rowe said.

A lot of parents work on the weekends and aren’t able to travel for away games, he said. He wants to be able to support them so that they aren’t missing out on any opportunities.

“We leave no child behind,” Rowe said. “I don’t want parents to have to worry about being financially able to let their kid do something great.”

Fundraising also brought community awareness to the team.

“It was also about just getting out there, and letting people see what I’m trying to do for the kids,” he said.

Rowe said football was critical for him while growing up. After graduating from Westover High School in 2009, he attended Fort Valley State University on a football scholarship. Playing football as a young kid kept his interests in something productive, he said.

It’s a difficult sport, Rowe noted. Heavy equipment, intense physical contact, working through exhaustion and southwest Georgia’s muggy heat all combine to mold toughness and perseverance.

“It made me not give up,” he said. “It made me able to make good decisions under pressure. It taught me how to respect another man and discipline.”

The sport also provided him with strong male role models through his coaches and camaraderie through his teammates. Rowe said he hopes these lessons are cementing with the Dirty South Bucks.

Traveling for games is a great way to get the kids outside of their hometown, which not many get to do, he said. Football also provides opportunities in other areas and keeps the youths productive and out of potential trouble.

“You never know what football might lead them to in life,” Rowe said. “We teach the boys more than football. We teach them how to be young men, to be respectful, to not quit.”

It’s also about bringing something positive into the community, Rowe said.

“The youth bring the community together,” he said.

It’s clear at practices and games how the community shows up for the young players.

Practices are a family affair, with parents and siblings on the sidelines. They bring coolers full of cold water and shout at their kids from the sidelines, making sure they’re behaving and properly dressed.

Shonta Butler, a lifelong Edison resident, acquired the “team mom” title early on. Although she argues all the moms are team moms.

One of her sons began playing football when he was 5. They traveled to Cuthbert in Randolph County before the Dirty South Bucks’ creation. Having a league locally means an easier time getting to practices and home games.

When she first heard about the new league, she said she knew she wanted to get involved.

“He (Rowe) wanted to bring something into this community because it’s something we’ve never had,” Butler said. “It was only right that I helped.”

Butler handles a lot of the paperwork for the team and provides help wherever else she can. The kids know her well, and they listen to her.

Before the Dirty South Bucks, there wasn’t a lot for kids to do aside from the local youth basketball team, she said, adding this hasn’t always been the case.

“We used to have literally everything: softball, baseball, everything for small kids and up,” Butler said. “In the last few years, we don’t have any of it. I don’t know why that is.”

Talks of creating a football team often circulated around the community, but the resources weren’t there and nobody was willing to do it before Rowe, she said. Butler blames a lack of community support; however, she sees a shift starting to happen since the football team picked up.

“People are starting to see what a great experience it is, how it motivates the kids to want to do something and be a part of it,” she said. “They’ll come forth and want to participate.”

Butler’s sons and nephew play on the football team. She also has nieces who cheer for the cheer team.

“It’s a lot of hard work and dedication on every level — as a player, as a team mom, as a coach,” Butler said. “It’s not easy.”

They’re a rowdy bunch. They usually separate into two different age groups with each needing different focuses. At Thursday’s practice, the younger players focused on tackling drills. Launching themselves into dummies and erupting into laughter.

The older ones focus on more strategic elements of the game, repeating them over and over until they’re as close to perfect as possible.

When it’s time for a water break, footsteps — some tiny and some large — jog in from the field, the young athletes huffing and dripping sweat. They stand in line and remove their mouth guards, revealing gap-toothed grins as moms squeeze water through the helmets’ facemasks.

The team has made strides despite being made up of mostly beginner players, Rowe said. While their first few games have brought on some tough losses, they’re learning to play as a team.

One player that stands out to Rowe is 10-year-old Aiden Harris. Originally a basketball player, it’s his first time playing on the gridiron, but Harris carries the team.

“It’s his first time, and the boy is a star,” Rowe said.

Harris plays quarterback. He joined the league in hopes it would help him “toughen up,” he said. But it’s his team that draws him in.

“I like their attitude, their passion and how they don’t give up, even when we lose,” Harris said. “They don’t give up on their team.”

It’s a hard sport; to succeed, you have to really want to play, he said.

The team and the fun are the most important things for 9-year-olds Chasten Johnson and Zaiir Hall, as well.

“I love my team and how they help me,” Johnson said, who is also a first-year player. He travels from Arlington to Edison for practices.

When the game gets difficult, he said, he just keeps moving forward.

“When I catch the ball, I just run down the field; I don’t stop, and I go for the touchdown,” he said. “When I play, I feel happy.”

Hall has played football for two years. He and his family recently moved to Edison from Albany. A lot of his teammates are in his school classes, he said. The league helps him make new friends and build camaraderie.

“If you don’t got your teammates, and you’re by yourself, it’s not complete,” Hall said.

In the team’s first home game on Aug. 5 against the Georgia Patriots, parents, siblings, friends and neighbors offered support from the stands. The parents, Rowe said, have been a huge support.

“A lot of them want their child to do something,” he said. “When there’s nothing around for them to do, they’re in the house all the time. It makes the parents feel happy that they can actually see their children do something.”

Calhoun County High’s athletic department is aiding the program as well, Rowe said. The team started renting a field at the school for practices. The usual rental cost is $800, but the school allows the team to use it for half the price.

Getting away from the old practice field is huge, Rowe said. It gets them away from the neighborhood where many of the players live, and allows them a well-kept space free of distractions to focus on their craft.

“The school is … doing whatever they can to be supportive, which is a good thing,” he said.

Rowe said he hopes the team builds a system where they can stay with their teammates and grow in the sport. Eventually, he hopes the league will become a feeder program for the high school team.

“They can know how to play well with each other,” he said. “That’s how you build a program. Good programs get attention. That’s a recruitment tool.”

Staff Photo: Lucille LanniganStaff Photo: Lucills Lannigan