Tift County football forming partnership with recreation coaches

Becky Taylor, The Tifton Gazette, Ga.
·3 min read

Aug. 2—TIFTON — Tift County football has started a partnership with Tift County Recreation Department football teams and Blue Devils head coach Noel Dean wants everyone to get on board.

Dean and some of his assistant coaches hosted an initial meeting with TCRD football coaches July 28 at the high school. The talks will continue weekly. "I'm here for you," said Dean. "That's why I was hired."

The program will offer many incentives to the youth coaches and, through them, the youth themselves.

"The goal is to align ourselves as Tift football guys," Dean said to the TCRD coaches. He said he has no demands on how they coach, but wants to share what has worked for him and his assistants over the years. After the July 28 session, assistant Russell Coker demonstrated a variety of defensive drills. Different coaches will be available each week.

Even though they will have the high school staff for these sessions, Dean encourages recreation coaches to continue to be creative in practices and games, referencing the Annexation of Puerto Rico, a play from the film "Little Giants."

He said that even with all his years in football, he learned something every day and that he had learned from the Blue Devils' staff.

Dean said he wanted the groups to be a family. He, his coaches, players and cheerleaders will be doing their part to drum up support for recreation football by going classroom to classroom with forms to promote TCRD football and cheerleading.

There are incentives for coaches and players involved in the Tift-certified partnership.

"If you play rec football, you will not be buying your jersey," said Dean, who said he is fundraising to provide those. Even better, the jersey will be one the kids can keep even after the season, with their name on the back.

For kids wanting to attend Blue Devils home games, it comes with added bonuses: free admission if the child is wearing it and a special food tent with hot dogs and drinks. Two teams each week will come out with players prior to kickoff as part of the Devil Walk.

Recreation coaches working with Dean and staff will get their own benefits. Season tickets are one and, "On top of that, we're going to get you some Devil football gear," Dean said.

"We're here to build a better tomorrow for the children of Tift and for the football program of Tift," Dean said. He said it was time to build. "We have to take the positive energy and get 1,000 kids out for football."

Tift County's football website (tiftfootball.com) has been updated to reflect the unified front, with links to Tift County Recreation Department's sign-up page. Youth players' photos will be featured as the season starts.

"We are going to use it to drive youth football registration," he said. The site is already very useful to the high school team. They were able to purchase Picture Day photos, ticket information and schedules are posted for fans, plus a shop has opened with Blue Devils gear.

On Sept. 17, the Blue Devils will hold Youth Night against Irwin County. "We'll be introducing all coaches and their teams," said Dean. Replica jerseys and shirts for sale on the website highlight another game: Red, White and Blue, set for Sept. 10 against Appling County. Money from this game, he said, will be, go towards veterans living in Tift County.