Nearly 500 players from 14 different high schools representing three different states converged in LaFayette earlier this week for an intensive skills camp.

The camp is a prelude to the official start of practice for high school teams in the state of Georgia on Aug. 1.

“I’m really pleased with the numbers we had,” said LaFayette head coach Perry Swindall. "The purpose of the camp was for kids to get better fundamentally and hone their skills. I think our kids did get better.”

The camp began on Sunday evening and concluded Tuesday.

LaFayette was the only Georgia team in camp. Chattanooga Notre Dame represented Tennessee while a dozen teams came up from Alabama, a state where Swindall spent his entire previous coaching career before coming to LaFayette this season.

Swindall said that he was pleased overall with the number of LaFayette players who attended. Over 60 varsity Ramblers took part while another 20 from the freshmen squad were in attendance.

Players participated in morning and evening sessions,

working by position with players from other teams. A 7-on-7 passing competition ended the camp on Tuesday with the schools competing against each other.

“We took our guys to a 7-on-7 passing league at Lassiter (Ga.) High School last Thursday and saw some really good competition there,” Swindall added. “We were much improved on Tuesday from where we were last Thursday. Some of our kids fixed some things and really worked on some of their weak spots.”

Swindall has been affiliated with camps in Alabama in the past and said he hopes to make the LaFayette camp – a first for the school – one of the biggest around.

“This camp has the potential to be one of the biggest ones in the Southeast,” he said. “We’d like to make it a week-long camp and bring in even more teams.”

In addition to the benefits for the players, Swindall said the camps are also beneficial to the community.

“It’s a big economic boost,” he said. “You’ve got 500 players, along with coaches and some parents. When you consider gas, hotels and meals, that can really help boost the economy around here. Plus, it’s a great way to show off our town, our county and our community.”

Swindall added his appreciation to the administration at LaFayette Middle School and LaFayette High School for allowing the camp to take place.

“It takes an awful lot of things to run a camp like this, but the biggest one is trust,” he said. “The administration allowed us to use their facilities to house the kids at night and gave them a place to stay. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate them working with us.”