J.R. Tidwell/FCT Participants at Phil Campbell’s Future Bobcats Football Camp toss water balloons back and forth in a drill that helps players learn how to catch a football with soft hands. New PCHS head football coach Jason Hill was the main instructor at the camp.

PHIL CAMPBELL — Summer months in Alabama bring two things to the area; record high temperatures and summer camps.

Phil Campbell witnessed both on Monday and Tuesday, as new head football coach Jason Hill hosted his first summer football camp for the town’s youth this week.

“It’s been a hot summer, but we’re doing a good job of keeping the players hydrated,” Hill said.

“The days of coaches not letting their players have water during the summer went away after Coach Bryant and the Junction Boys.”

There were 20-30 campers in the group for older kids that had to brave the heat of the day, but Coach Hill does not think it was the elements that kept more people from coming.

“The thing that has affected attendance the most is the timing of the camp,” he said.

“Whenever I got hired it was after school, so I didn’t get to advertise for the camp as much as I would have liked to.”

Coach Hill may be new to Phil Campbell, but coaching a summer camp is something he has plenty of experience with.

“We’ve done a camp everywhere I’ve been since 1999,” he said. “We’ll try to grow it here every year.

It’s important to bridge the gap between from the young guys to middle school to varsity. To start change you have to start early.”

Coach Hill said that some ways to make the age gaps in football work better together as players get older are such simple things as naming certain aspects of the game the same thing.

For instance, if the act of a defensive lineman lining up in the “A” gap between the center and left guard is referred to as a “1 technique” from youth football to high school, players will learn it early and recognize the position throughout their playing careers.

Another way to bridge the gap is to have the younger players get to know the high school staff early on.

“I’m more than willing to do my part,” Hill said. “I want the younger players to meet me and my coaches and get to know us.

That way maybe they’ll want to play for us when they get older.

This is an incredible opportunity.

I told my coaches you always have to over plan and to try to build up the players as athletes and make them want to play the game.”