Bainbridge High School head football coach, Jeff Littleton, told Rotary Tuesday that he sees things coming together for his third season at BHS.

He commented on the work the kids are doing to improve, working the weight rooms and eating a nutritional diet, thanks to help from the Touch Down Club. The kids attended football camps in the summer, all of which he believes have caused the program to grow significantly from what he saw in his first year here.

He now has 131 players in grades nine through 12, and based on two recent scrimmages, played with Cairo and Pelham, he thinks they are executing well and moving in the right direction needed for their opening game this Friday with Early County and throughout the season.

He described Early County as a team with a lot of experienced players that will make the game challenging.

After giving a rundown on all the positions, both offense and defense, he opened the program to questions.

In answer to the question of who pays for medical care if a player gets hurt, he responded that there are records kept on each one covered through family coverage, and any supplemental coverage is supplied by the school system. He later addressed the issue of medical care being available during the games, saying there is an athletic trainer on the sidelines and an ambulance on site, plus there are usually doctors as spectators in the crowd.

He assured the group all varsity home games would be played at Centennial Field this year.

He was asked to explain the process of colleges looking at players. Littleton said he keeps prospect sheets, complete with stats, on all the kids. He sends these out to multiple sites. Some colleges, such as Auburn, have visited us already. The players are also transported to satellite camps run by colleges, which he described as the best way to gain recognition. The cost of the camps is not prohibitive as they are usually $30 to $50 per student and the coaches personally provide the costs and transportation.

A question was asked about the academic average colleges expect, to which Littleton replied there is a 2.3 GPA minimum for Division 2 schools, while junior colleges just require a diploma and be in good standing. Top schools require 3.8 or 3.9 GPA. Littleton admitted he rarely gets a kid that is well rounded academically, as well as athletically.

Asked his opinion of the Big 44, he replied, “It is what it is. You try to satisfy as many as you can, but it’s all about travel. Let’s just play football.” He added that from top to bottom he thinks our region now is better than before

And one last answer to a question……”Yes,” he prays with the kids and it’s not an issue.