Friday, July 20, 2007


Jul. 20, 2007 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) --
Todd Bates only became a full-time football coach Thursday, but he's not wasting any time imparting his expertise to area players of all ages.

Today marks the opening of the two-day Todd Bates Football Skills Camp, which takes place at the City of Heflin football field. Bates, the former Cleburne County and Alabama defensive end who is now an assistant coach at Talladega High School, said he expects close to 150 players from ages 6-18 to participate in the camp.

Bates said that more 130 players were signed up for the camp, but that a few spots were still available as of Thursday afternoon. The camp is divided into two sessions: ages 13-18 today and ages 6-12 on Saturday.

'I want the kids that come to this camp to be able to learn skills that will help them become better football players,' said Bates, a co-captain on the 2004 Alabama football team. 'A lot of high school coaches don't have the time to teach things like speed and quickness drills because they have to focus on winning. We've designed position-specific drills and have coaches that can help guys at every position.'

Bates, 26, has put together a coaching roster of local and state-wide stars, including fellow Talladega assistant coach Freddie Roach, a former All-SEC linebacker at Alabama who also spent time in the NFL. Also confirmed for the camp are former Jacksonville State All-American Deon White (offensive line) and former Alabama players Brandon Brooks (special teams/wide receivers) and Darius Gilbert (linebackers) a former Oxford High School standout who now coaches on the Yellow Jackets' staff.

Each day will feature a different guest speaker: former Alabama and current Green Bay Packers defensive back Charlie Peprah today and Heflin native and current Alabama senior Tyrone Prothro on Saturday. In addition to learning to be better football players, Bates said he wants campers to learn off-field skills as well, such as concentrating on academics and staying out of trouble.

'Our speakers will express the right way to carry yourself on and off the field,' Bates said. 'If you have good character, good things follow and vice versa. We've seen instance after instance over the last year or so.

'I know a lot of the young guys look up to Michael Vick and Pacman Jones as football players, but we want to teach them how to stay out of trouble and stay and in a positive light.'

Since his Alabama days ended after the 2004 season, Bates has made several attempts at a pro football career only to have his body betray him. He had all but made the Tennessee Titans' active roster during the summer of 2005 before a badly broken hand caused him to miss the season.

Then this past summer, he was all set to play in NFL Europe, but a severe ankle injury kept him on the sidelines again. He finally called it a career and took a job as a volunteer assistant at Talladega while working on his master's degree in marketing at Jacksonville State.

Unable to play football, Bates has spent the past two years living in Nashville, Tenn., and working as a personal trainer. It was during that time that the idea for a football camp occurred to him.

'I was going to play as long as I could, but every time I tried to extend my career, I'd get hurt,' said Bates, who said he expects to teach driver's education and business education at Talladega in addition to his coaching duties. 'I've always wanted to do something like this; I felt like I was chosen to do it. My experiences molded me to do it. Hopefully, this will be the start of a long career.'

About Creg Stephenson
Creg Stephenson covers the University of Alabama for The Star.

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