First Southside football camp big success

Published 6:18 am Tuesday, June 24, 2025

By Jason O. Boyd

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CHOCOWINITY, N.C. — It’s the start of something Southside High School football coach Andrea Quinerly hopes will only get bigger and bigger.

Quinerly and the football staff at the school were joined by some of the current members of the team at this week’s football camp. Children from third through eighth grade came out to the two-day event to learn about the sport, the rules and how to play.

“It was a starting place, and the ones that were here had a great time,” Quinerly said. “And we talk about it all the time, me and my coaching staff, about changing the culture a little bit. And that starts with the youth.

“So we got them here, and we get them to try to love some Seahawks football, and they enjoy themselves. And it was great having players like Hundley Stallings come back from Benedictine College, and he came out here and helped. He was a huge help.

“So it was just a great, fun time, and it’s something we’re looking to grow on each year to double our numbers each year.”

The camp is just one of many things that Quinerly has installed to promote not only football and the school but also the athletes. He also has had former NFL star KeAndre Jones, who is from Pamlico County, come out to speak with the team along with some college coaches and assistants.

The children who took part in the two-day camp got to execute plays and drills on the field despite the wet weather. They picked up a vast amount of knowledge off the field, too. That included hitting the weight room and learning about ways to take care of themselves as athletes.

Then came the fun part: a hot dog lunch and the presentation of certificates of accomplishment from the staff at the end of the second day.

“We’re looking forward to next year because he (Jones) has volunteered to help promote and run it, help run the camp next year,” Quinerly said. “So we’re looking forward to that, along with getting some more of our former athletes and our current athletes to help because we’re trying to make it a community thing, a cultural thing.

“Yes, that’s part of the culture we’re trying to instill in these kids. We want to change everything because we want to teach them to be young men. We want to teach them to be productive citizens within our community, and I’m a firm believer in that. I learned that from my coach (former Greene Central High School football coach Spence Grantham).

“He taught me that. He didn’t just teach me football. He taught me how to be a great person, a good father, a good husband, and that’s what we have to do for all these kids, and we want to catch them while they’re young.”

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