Football players from Sumter, Demopolis, A.L. Johnson, John Essex, Linden and other surrounding counties were all on the football field Saturday.

The occasion wasn’t a tournament, nor were the teams even competing against each other. It was Demopolis’ first football clinic and the event was the brainchild of Demopolis Nationwide Insurance agents Erick Wright and Antwan Washington.

“We had kids from Tuscaloosa all the way to the outskirts of Demopolis,” Washington said.

In addition to Wright, a former Troy State University and Montgomery Maulers cornerback, and Washington a former linebacker for Arkansas Pine-Bluff, students learned from Indianapolis Colts cornerback Andrein Gent, Montgomery Maulers linebacker and strong safety Ronnie Harper, Troy State University cornerback Jamaine Miller, Southern Miss/Nicholls State running back Anthony Harris and Tennessee Titans running back Amond Galloway.

“I did it for a good friend and it was for a good cause,” Gent said. “Anytime I can come out and work with the kids on their skills, I am there. I’ll do anything for the kids.”

Approximately 70 young men showed up for the event, which was right around the number Wright said he was expecting.

“We had a good turnout and we’ll do it again most definitely,” Washington said. “We’ve already gotten positive feedback from the coaches and the parents and I think the kids really needed this.”

“We had a few kinks this year, but they’ll get ironed out. For the first time, I think it went well,” Wright said. “I told the kids that I want to come back and help us run it so we can keep this going. When we are on our canes, I want them to be the ones out there teaching the next generations.”