Since his arrival in Demopolis, Tom Causey has worked hard to bring continuity into the city’s football program. That effort, in Causey’s estimation, begins with the local youth league and works fluidly all the way through the high school ranks.

Over the last few years, the Demopolis High School coach has encouraged good fellowship between the high school and youth league programs, a practice that will continue July 13 when the DHS team hosts a football camp for the Demopolis youth.

The camp will see some current Demopolis players team with DHS coaches, former Tiger standouts and a handful of current Crimson Tide players to provide instruction to youths aged 7 to 13.

“I don’t know if it will help the level of coaching or not, but those guys will be able to tell these youth league kids about their experiences,” Causey said. “It means more coming from those guys than from us.”

“We couldn’t do the camp without them,” Demopolis Youth Football League president Mark McVay said of the involvement of the Demopolis High School players and coaches. “It’s just huge. It really helps the kids. It is big in the development of the kids because we’re trying to get them used to the high school system.”

The camp is set to last from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. and will cost $25 per child.

“All the money goes to the youth football league,” Causey said.

While the young players in Demopolis will gain from the event, Causey believes his players will also receive great benefits from their involvement in the camp.

“It’s just like how the elementary school classrooms adopt our players,” Causey said. “If you’re going to be out there talking it and preaching it, you’ve got to live it. So every opportunity our kids have to get in front of these kids is a good thing.”

Causey also said he believes the youth league, which utilizes the same offensive schemes as the Demopolis High School Tigers, will pay great dividends to the parent program down the road.

“This year we finally got one youth league in Demopolis,” Causey said. “It is going to be great for our entire system. The boys will play together from seven years old all the way through. I’m excited about it.”

“It is going to help tremendously,” McVay said of the consolidation of the Demopolis leagues. “All these kids will be playing together when they get to middle school and high school and this will help to get them more familiar with each other and get them used to playing together as a team.”

Registration forms for the camp and the Demopolis Youth Football League are available at Omni Sports. Registration for the league is $50 per player and is due by July 31. Camp registration is $25 per player and goes to $20 for those registering for both the league and the camp. Camp registration can be turned in the day of the event but early registration is encouraged as organizers are making an effort to provide each attendee with a camp T-shirt.