Pampa Youth Football summer workouts are set to begin on July 8 for kids in 3rd through 6th grade, and organizers hope it will set the stage to bring youth tackle football back to Pampa indefinitely as there are plans currently in the works to register the effort as a nonprofit.
Originally founded by Tim Dudley and Matt Dudley with the intention of making it a little league, they recently took a step back and handed the reigns over to Brent Roberson, who oversees 3rd and 4th grade, and Oscar Ramirez, who manages the 5th and 6th grade children.
“Pampa’s a big town with a love for football. We just don’t have the support for youth tackle,” Ramirez said. “We have flag football, and football in middle school and high school, but these kids are kind of missing a step.”
The summer workouts are free for kids to participate in, and making sports more accessible to Pampa residents was the impetus behind pushing for the program to become a nonprofit. According to Roberson, signing up for sports through the area optimist clubs can often end up costing parents up to $500 in sign-up fees and other incidentals when all is said and done. They’re not taking sign-ups yet for a league, because they’re currently using equipment from the optimist club and that equipment is about to expire. Ramirez estimated they had one more year to use the equipmemt.
“Growing up, I never played youth sports because my mom couldn’t afford it,” Ramirez said. “There’s always going to be kids that can’t afford it and we want to give them a helping hand as long as they stay out of trouble and stay in school.”
That means the summer workouts they’re running are free. They bring in coaches to teach fundamentals, character, discipline, and how to lead by example once they get to high school. Roberson was quick to add that the big focus at the camps is having fun. They’ll run the kids through drills and work on core things they’ll need throughout the year, and at the end of every camp, they let the kids compete with each other to engage in some friendly competition.
“We really want them to enjoy it. This is where the love of football really comes into play at this age, where you really grow to love the sport,” Roberson said.
Ramirez and Roberson are pulling from their own pockets to establish the nonprofit, and are currently going through the paperwork and establishing their board. They estimate to get it registered they’ll need about $1,000, and are looking for sponsors and donations. They also offer basketball and they have a baseball team this year, and their plan with the nonprofit is to get something similar running in all sports in all aspects of youth.
The Pampa Youth Football camps will be held from 10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Saturdays at the high school practice field and will run until the start of the season. Kids wishing to attend should bring their own cleats and water.
