By Robert Griffin

Sports Writer

It’s the second day of the West Georgia Superstar Football Camp, and instructor Tony Stargell is running drills in the far end zone of Callaway Stadium.

Forming two separate lines, participants in the camp play a one-on-one matchup, with Stargell standing in as quarterback.

The two youngsters dig in and wait for the signal to go.

“Get out of there!” Stargell yells, as the two kids sprint from the line. Stargell heaves the ball in the air and it comes down in the hands of the reciever. “Good catch boy!,” Stargell yells from thesideline, with a huge grin on his face.

Stargell is one of the former National Football League players helping out with the three-day camp that wraps up today at Callaway Stadium.

Others include Tony Stargell, Aundray Bruce, and Steve Wallace, who won three Super Bowls as an offensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers.

Wallace also earned a place of prominence in “The Blind Side,” a book that was eventually made into a movie.

As for Stargell, he’s a former player from LaGrange High School and said that he is “LaGrange all the way.”

When he received a call a four years back from Ruben Hairston asking if he would like to help out and coach at the camp, he jumped at the opportunity.

“This organization means a lot to me as well as the kids,” Stargell said. “I am very appreciative that the parents were able to get the kids out here on a day to day basis. It means a lot to me.”

After leaving LaGrange High, Stargell attended Tennessee State University, where he lettered four years in football as a cornerback.

Stargell was drafted in the third round by the New York Jets, and played for them for two years before moving on to play for the Indianapolis Colts, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Bears.

“I am not doing anything at the moment,” Stargell said, “so with all the free time that I have I like to dedicate it to these kids and give them a good outlook on life because one day these kids are going to go to college, they are going to be professional athletes.”

Stargell stated that the one thing he was trying to do as a coach at the camp was to teach the campers how to be “good young men.”

“To me, that means everything,” Stargell said. “I grew up in a single parent home, and for me to be able to be out here with these guys and be able to give back is what I get my kick from. That motivates me.

The good thing to me is to see everybody out here trying. It means a lot to see everybody trying out here.”

Stargell went on to say that being able to come back to LaGrange and coach the kids at the camp is “a blessing.”

“To be able to look around and see the kids, they very much appreciate the guys coming back to work with them,” Stargell said. “Sometimes it just moves me in a way that almost brings me to tears to see that people are willing to come out here and invest time with these guys. We have a lot of NFL Players out here today that are giving back and that means a lot to me.”

Another one of those former NFL players is former Auburn standout and former Atlanta Falcon and Oakland Raider Aundray Bruce.

Bruce said that he had to give all the credit for him being involved in the camp to his longtime friend Anthony Freeman, who he met while attending Auburn.

” When I attended Auburn in 1984,” Bruce said, “Anthony was a ball boy there. To let you know what kind of guy that Anthony is, we are still friends to this day. So, when he calls any of us, we are here.”

Bruce went on to say that being able to come to a camp like this and be able to give back to the community was a great thing because he never experienced a camp such as this when he was growing up.

“It’s like a deja-vu situation” Bruce said. “I was once in the same place that the kids were at. I didn’t have anybody to come to my neighborhood, or come to my city and give me a fresh outlook on the future. My view is that if we can put something on their minds and in their hearts, and be able to teach them that going to the next level is not easy, and just teach them the little things. I just know that our presence will help, if only half of them end up succeeding.”

Another Auburn alum and former Dallas Cowboy and Miami Dolphin is also on the field helping to coach the participants of the camp.

Tim Cromartie signed on to work at the camp five years ago and its a decision that he has yet to regret.

“Anthony Freeman told me about the camp and how they were looking for guys to come up and help coach the kids and give them some advice,” Cromartie said. “I told him that I would love to do that. I have loved working this camp every year.”

Cromartie went on to say that his favorite thing about working at the camp is being able to see a child’s face light up when he or she works hard and gets something right.

“Just seeing the kids light up when you instruct them and they get something right,” Cromartie said. “They have that “all-right! I got it! Moment. Being able to see that and feel that you reached somebody makes me have a good feeling.”

Ron Stallworth, another former Auburn alum and former Kansas City Chief and New York Jet, said that he loves the change in pace that the camp provides, as well as being able to give something back to the community.

Stallworth said he became involved in the camp through former teammate Nate Hill.

“Even though Nate has passed,” Stallworth said, “I want to come out here and preserve the legacy that he left by helping out. It’s a change for me, because my work is pretty much behind a desk, and its a chance to do something different and be able to forget your work and go back to a time where you used to do this stuff.”

Besides the children at the camp, Hairston said that he was very thankful for the time and effort that the former pro guys give at the camp.

“It makes it a lot easier for everybody having these guys come out and give back,” Hairston said. “Everybody has their own little terminology and the kids have a chance to pick up a little something from each of the coaches. I may have something that I want them to work on, and then another one of the instructors will have another, completely different drill for them to work on and help them out. Everyone of the kids will pick up a little bit here, a little bit there, and hopefully they will leave with something.”

The final day of camp will be today from 9 a.m. to noon.

There is no charge, and boys and girls ages 8 to 18 are encouraged to attend.