Southwest Georgia Elite taking local football talent to Pylon 7-on-7 national championships

A first-year program called Southwest Georgia Elite in the Albany-Lee County area has produced a team of 15 boys that will be traveling to Chicago during the first week of July to compete for the Pylon 7-on-7 Football National Championships in the 14-and-under division.

Southwest Georgia Elite players were working hard Saturday with a car wash on Dawson Avenue in Albany to raise the funds and then were on the field at Lee County High School Sunday afternoon at practice honing their skills to compete for that national title.

“We’ve got a special group of athletes,” said head coach Clifford Johnson, who is assisted by Jeremy Tanksley, Richard Faircloth and Daniel Cruz. “We have been practicing since January and had some really cold practices and now here we are in June when it’s really hot and all of them still show up. They are talented and they work hard.”

Most of the boys go to school in the Lee County system, but there are some who attend school in Albany. The team went to the regional competition in Knoxville in May and won the regional title and earned that spot in the national tournament.

Pylon is a 7-on-7 league that began in 2006 and has seen more than 3,200 of its competitors go to Division I universities and more than 300 who have been drafted into the National Football League.

“It is more than just football,” said the coach. “We try to teach them some life skills, we feed them and when we take these kids places we try to make it an experience for them. We don’t stay in cheap motels and we try to do the activities offered in that city. We are hoping to take them to some museums in Chicago.”

Johnson said most of the boys come from single-parent homes with parents that are trying to find opportunities for their kids and keep them away from trouble.

“We are definitely trying to be a good influence,” the coach said. “And we want them to turn around a be a good influence. The boys are going to be listening to somebody, so we want it to be a positive influence.”

Johnson said the team has no sponsorships and has been raising money through car washes, community donations, the personal pockets of the families involved and the coaches. They have no additional fundraisers planned before their planned trip to Chicago, but would welcome donations to help the team pay for the expenses. Anyone wishing to donate can use the cash app @$creativeroads.

Once the national tournament is over, the boys will go right into football practice with their respective schools. There are 40 boys in the program total right now, with plans to expand to more teams next year that will include all of southwest Georgia.

Joe WhitfieldJoe Whitfield

Joe Whitfield