The Georgia State football program has entered into a partnership with the National Football League Youth Education Town to utilize the Atlanta NFL/YET facility as a temporary practice site this fall.
Located just minutes from the Georgia State campus at 535 Hill Street, the site includes both natural and artificial turf fields, which are also utilized by the NFL/YET program and the adjacent Martin Luther King, Jr., Middle School.
Georgia State will play its first season of competition in 2010, but the Panthers will begin practice this fall with 27 scholarship student-athletes, along with approximately 50 additional squad members. Players report Aug. 11, with the first practice slated for Aug. 14.
Construction is underway at the Panthers’ permanent practice site, located at 188 Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd., with the two practice fields scheduled to be completed in January, necessitating an alternate facility for practice this fall.
The NFL began its YET program in 1993, creating youth centers in Super Bowl cities that use sports as a means to foster community development. Today there are eight NFL/YET Centers in Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, New Orleans, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa and Atlanta. The NFL/YET Center in Atlanta is managed and governed by Boys & Girls Club of Metro Atlanta.
“This is a wonderful partnership because it provides an opportunity for our student-athletes to give back to the local community,” said Georgia State head coach Bill Curry. “We will be practicing football there in the afternoons, but we also plan to be involved with the young people who benefit from this center. It’s very important that the student-athletes in our program understand that they are role models and they can make a difference.
“We are very appreciative of the efforts of the NFL/YET, the Boys & Girls Club and MLK Middle School in making this happen.”
Monica Trimble is the executive director of the Atlanta NFL/YET. “We’re very excited to have Georgia State football practicing on our field as well as being involved in our mentoring and tutoring program,” said Trimble. “We look forward to a lasting and valuable relationship between Georgia State athletics and the NFL/YET.”
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