Anthony Colom enjoys working with kids.
As a youth coach, the longtime Columbus resident has been involved with the Columbus-Lowndes Recreation Authority for many years.
Colom also enjoys football, so he recently decided to put two of his loves together and to work with people of similar interests to help the children of Lowndes County.
The project Colom has helped organize is a free football clinic for children 7-12 years old. The event will run from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the CLRA football field at Joe Cook Elementary School.
The inaugural clinic will be sponsored by JVFOOTBALL.net and Southern Athletics Recruiting Agency, in association with the coaches of the Columbus-Lowndes Parks and Recreation football league.
“I figured this would be something the people would really love to see in this area,” said Colom, who owns and operates New Power Magazine and is about to launch Junior Varsity Magazine, a publication dedicated to covering youth sports in Lowndes County. “The park and rec does a clinic every year. This one is separate from what they do. We plan to add a little extra time to it.”
Colom has enlisted the help of Fred Hargrove and Ron Carr, who also are youth football coaches in Columbus, as well as many other local youth football coaches.
“Fred and Ron have been there since the beginning with the other coaches in the league,” Colom said. “We have a lot of fathers coaching their sons and a lot of coaches who don”t have sons in the league, but they still devote time to it. We”re looking to have eight to 12 coaches who coach in the park league at our clinic.”
Their goal is to teach the fundamentals of football to players of all skill levels. Players are asked to wear shorts, cleats, and a T-shirt to the clinic.
Parents will need to sign a waiver before leaving their children at the clinic.
Colom has a son, Dallas, 7, who will play football this year in Columbus. As a result, Colom plans to coach two youth football teams. His JV Magazine will serve as the sponsor to the squads.
Colom said he hopes to make the clinic an annual event. He said he and the other coaches will do their best to help indoctrinate novices to football and to help the more experienced players sharpen their skills.
“These coaches are really concerned about teaching these kids the fundamentals of football,” Colom said. “That is something that has been missing around Lowndes County for a while.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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