Oak Mountain inspiring new generation of players with youth football camp

Published 10:29 pm Thursday, July 27, 2023

By Andrew Simonson

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By TYLER RALEY | Special to the Reporter

NORTH SHELBY – The Oak Mountain Eagles football program hosted over 150 young football players for the Oak Mountain Youth Football Camp from July 26-27 at Heardmont Park.

The campers spent a lot of time learning skills from the players and newfound coaching staff, who are in the middle of preparing for fall practices themselves as they approach the 2023 football season.

For new varsity head coach Shane McComb, this camp was a huge opportunity for the kids to expand their knowledge of the game as a whole.

“With this camp, you want every kid to leave with learning how to tackle, you want them to leave with learning a fundamental from each position group,” coach McComb said. “It’s about taking a fundamental from each position and learning how to tackle, and then have a little bit of fun at the end.”

The future competitors of the football team took part in learning many of the basics all over the field from the Eagle players and the coaches who they have been idolizing throughout their childhood. The players were able to use this opportunity to help make fun memories for not only the kids, but for themselves as well.

McComb said that having 40 of his players help teach the skills and fundamentals will help the team better understand what they do on the field come Friday nights in the fall.

“When they can come out here and teach the younger kids what they’re working on and getting taught in practice, number one, you learn it better when you can teach it, and number two, you start to understand why you’re doing what you’re doing when you teach it,” coach McComb said.

The camp made an early statement of success, as the number of campers was more than the staff expected. The program hopes that this experience can help continually grow the sport of football in the Oak Mountain community.

Being the third head coach for the Eagles in the last four seasons, coach McComb believes that this time was just one small step down the path of good things to come at “The Mountain.”

“Football is huge in this area,” coach McComb said. “It’s a community thing. Everybody in this community, I want them to take football as a very important thing because it’s more than just the sport, and once they understand that it’s community, it’s a culture and it’s everybody having each other’s back and that’s what Oak Mountain is going to be about moving forward, I think we’re going to be going in the right direction.”

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