Small towns, big stars

Six-man players get unique instruction from former NFL players.Most high school football players dream of being on the field with professional and college players. In Gholson, that dream became a reality for more than 90 kids — most from the six-man ranks, at the Gholson Celebrity Football Camp.The camp was free for students from sixth through 11^th grades, and football Greg Hill, James Cannida, Rasheed Baker, Dennis Smith and Kevin Thomas gave back by coaching and giving inspirational talks.Students from Aquilla, Cherokee, Gholson, Iredell, Irving Universal Academy, Jonesboro, Liberty Hill, West, Axtell, Penelope, and Paint Rock attended, getting instruction on stretching techniques, blocking, receiving, ball control and various other skills.But it was a two-way street. The coaches, who were unfamiliar with six-man football, learned about the sport from their students. When the participants were separated for stations based on their positions, the six-man players were unsure where to go. One raised his hand and asked, “What if we play multiple positions on both sides of the ball?” A quick show of hands revealed that this was the case for most of the players, amazing the instructors.“If you are blessed with a talent, and don't share it, it's not really a blessing,” said James Cannida, a former defensive lineman for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts. “I've done this camp for the past three years to share my football knowledge with young men that love this game.”In the end, the students gained valuable instruction, and six-man football gained some new fans. In fact, some of the instructors asked for the schedules of teams near them.Special thanks to the coaches for donating their time, Mickey Petty and Reese Goates for putting everything together, Gholson ISD for allowing their facilities to be used, and all of the financial sponsorsCowboy Parks is the co-owner of SixMania.com and a special contributor to TexasFootball.com.