Macon Magazine

October/November 2024 | maconmagazine.com 79 H E ' S I N O U R CAM P STORY BY CLARENCE W. THOMAS, JR. | PHOTOS BY MATT ODOM N F L s t a r B u d D u p r e e 's c o m m i t m e n t to C e n t ra l G e o r g i a T here is a multitude of things veteran NFL linebacker Alvin "Bud" Dupree of the Los Angles Chargers could have been doing on a Sunday morning in July. Instead, he chose to present a free football camp for Central Georgian middle and high school players. But consistent with who he is, Dupree not only co-sponsored the event but was there in the trenches with the youngsters, instructing, encouraging, and displaying the skills it takes to make it to the NFL. Proof positive that the Wilkinson County native is committed to community. It is summer in Macon. It is Sunday morning. School is out. This combination would tether most mid-state middle and high school football players to their beds. But because the second annual "Skills and Drills" Football Camp is free to attend – and most of all, presented by the Macon-Bibb County Department of Parks and Recreation in partnership with NFL player Bud Dupree – the 100 camp participants in attendance are gladly at Henderson Stadium instead. The goal of the camp is to help keep student-athletes' existing abilities sharp or improve upon others. It is an interactive learning opportunity in every sense of the word for these 13–17-year-olds. "Nice job," Dupree yells to a couple of hard hustling players. "Good work fellas," he says to another group as they prepare for the next set of drills. Parks and Recreation provides the registration and staging platforms for "Skills and Drills." Athletic coordinator Chris Austin oversees the process with the approval and support of department director ABOVE Bud Dupree poses during the Skills and Drills camp.

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