While the Little Patriot football camps are helping give the youth of the community a good start in the sport, they are also planting the seed for some potential future coaches.

About 40 first through eighth graders participated in the Little Patriots Spring Break Camp sponsored by the Sandhills Optimist Club that concluded on Wednesday. Sixteen members of the Pinecrest football team assisted head coach Chris Metzger and his staff during the three days.

"We're just blessed," Metzger says. "They enjoy working with the little kids. They want to invest in our future. They believe in what we're talking about -- the total community."

Junior offensive lineman Fabian Wilkerson says that he loves devoting his time to helping the kids get better. At 6-foot-2 and 280 pounds, he is an imposing figure to the youngsters.

"I think most of the kids see me as the gentle giant," he says. "Overall, I like pumping up the kids, but at the same time, you have to coach them -- get their technique down."

Most of the Patriot players on hand this week have helped out at previous spring and summer camps directed by Metzger. One of them is junior running back Damien Decatur. He began playing football at the age of five in New Orleans, but did not attend any camps as a youth.

"I think this is my fourth or fifth youth camp (as a coach) and I love it," he says. "I would have liked to come to one like this one. That's probably one of the main reasons I do it. I kind of picture myself that if I came to one of these camps, I'd probably be a whole lot better player."

Sophomores Hunter and Kyle Ocheltree have also helped out at the camps before. Hunter offers hints of a budding coach when he talks about the week.

"Camps helped me learn new skills and new drills, and that's basically what we're doing here with these kids," he says. "It's a good experience -- learning from them, being able to teach them and knowing their views about football -- how they think."

One of those wanting to learn more about football was 10-year-old Trip Chauret, a student at Pinehurst Elementary and a member of the Optimist Football League Steelers last fall.

"The coaches taught us about respect and taught us well," he says. "And I made some great friends here."

For Chandler Woody, another 10-year-old attending Pinehurst Elementary, football isn't his primary fall sport.

"I play soccer and it kind of interferes with the football schedule, but I come to the camps a lot," he says. "There is a lot the same about the two sports except in one you're using mainly your feet and in the other you're using your hands. The skills in football are more specialized, basically."

One of the highlights for the kids is the camp competitions.

"I like playing Air Force football," Woody says. "It's like regular football, but you can forward lateral as much as you want."

Registrations are currently underway for the Little Patriots Youth Football Summer Camp for students enrolled in the kindergarten through eighth grades. The first phase, a technique camp will run on June 11 and 12. The second phase, a full-padded camp is from July 6 through 10. Look for details in the Sports Schedule section of The Pilot or contact Coach Metzger at (239) 248-0808.

For Wilkerson and the other Patriot football players, it's another opportunity to give back and help grow football in the area.

"We've kind of had the same guys," Metzger says, "and they love it. It gives them a sense of what it's like to be a coach -- how to keep the kids' attention and how to keep them motivated."

And after working at several camps it has Wilkerson thinking.

"I do think about being a coach sometimes," he says. "I wouldn't mind coming back and helping Coach Metzger. The kids are great and it actually feels like I'm in their shoes a little bit."