By Michael Butler

This will be year four of Derrick Ansley’s Driven Athletes Football Camp presented by the Henderson-Ansley Foundation. The camp for 5–14-year-olds will be from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 27 at Tallassee’s J.E. “Hot” O’Brien Stadium.

“The camp is for the whole river region,” Ansley said. “It’s a family environment. We have some NFL guys around. It’s for those kids to see, you may not be an NFL player but maybe an NFL coach someday.”

That was the case for Ansley, who grew up in Tallassee and played for the Tallassee Tigers, leading the 1999 squad to a 13-1 record and state semifinal appearance as a quarterback and safety. Ansley was passing game coordinator with the Green Bay Packers in the NFL last year. This season will be his first with the Dallas Cowboys.

“Those two organizations are bluebloods, very similar to Alabama,” where Ansley also coached under Nick Saban. “When you talk about championships, Green Bay’s got a bunch. Dallas has a bunch.”

The annual youth camp is always a reunion for Ansley with former coaches and players. This week, Ansley reached out to all former THS head coaches from the past 50 years and expects to see some at their old stomping grounds on Saturday.

“I know the impact those coaches had on me. Having all those guys back in one location would’ve been really cool. We didn’t bat 1.000, but we’re going to work on it for the future. We’re peers now. It’s a respect thing.”

Ansley’s high school coach Mark Rose makes the camp every year and will be in town this weekend.

Another former Tallassee coach, Steve McCord, was on the opposite sideline for Ansley’s final high school game 27 years ago. McCord was coaching at Jemison in that ’99 playoff game at O’Brien Stadium. Ansley spoke with McCord this week, but the game from Ansley’s senior year was not discussed.

“It’s kind of a sore subject,” Ansley noted. “One of the things I haven’t gotten over is us not finishing the job in ’99. I’ve won a national championship at Bama on the last play (against Georgia). I’ve lost one on the last play against Clemson. I’ve seen every spectrum of emotion in football.”

Ansley expects at least 200 kids in attendance Saturday. Participants may sign up on-line or at the event. There is no fee and all kids receive a tee shirt and complimentary lunch.