By Michael Butler

Derrick Ansley’s Driven Athletes Football Camp will be on Saturday, June 28 at J.E. “Hot” O’Brien Stadium in Tallassee. Registration begins at 9 a.m.

The free camp will be from 10-1 for kids ages 5-14. Each camper will receive a free t-shirt, lunch and hydration.

“It is sort of a homecoming,” said Ansley. “It’s a group effort with a lot of guys from the River Region.”

This is year three of the camp for Ansley, who played high school ball at Tallassee and college football at Troy. It will be the first year of the camp on artificial turf, something Ansley is excited about.

“Dr. (Brock) Nolin and Coach (L.A.) O’Neal are allowing us to use a magnificent facility,” he said of the stadium renovations. “”Thanks to the city. Hospitality is always first class.”

Hundreds of campers have attended the past two camps. With that, Ansley and other coaches who help, have been able to see progression with the athletes.

“JD McKenzie and J-Man Gordon from Tallassee and Tre Speed from Reeltown, those guys really stood out the first two years,” Ansley noted of camp alumni now playing at the high school level. “I’m looking for the next batch of guys to follow them.”

Ansley still follows his Tallassee Tigers, thanks to technology.

“The WTLS platform to livestream the games through YouTube or radio makes it easier for guys who are not in town to follow the team. Being in professional sports, Friday is really an off night. I can get to the house and put the game on. Hats off to Coach O’Neal and the staff, who came in and in year one flipped the program around.”

The Tallassee head football coach and Ansley communicate regularly.

“We talk two or three times a week,” Ansley said. “We bounce ideas off each other. I have a ton of respect with him coming from a coaching family with Jackie. I’m very impressed with how he carries himself.”

Ansley begins his second season this year with the Green Bay Packers as defensive pass game coordinator. He compared the Wisconsin city to another city where he coached – Tuscaloosa, at the University of Alabama with Nick Saban.

“They both have iconic football programs in the middle of town. In Green Bay, you kind of get the college feel. It’s the hot ticket in town.”

While the two cities parallel in many ways, weather is not among them.

“It does get cold. We do practice outside. It’s a home-field advantage. You do see heaters at practice. It’s a unique environment.”

This week’s camp is only one of the ways Ansley is giving back. His Riley-Henderson Foundation gives a high school scholarship, plus hands out backpacks and haircuts to kids going back to school and provides toys during the Christmas season.

“We have the scholarship in my father’s name. That’s the reason we started the foundation to impact the community the best we can. The camp is a really good way to touch the masses. It’s a group effort. We have a lot of people that donate. I believe if you give back you get the blessings that you give.”

WTLS Interview