NEWTOWN — The Mingo Central football team and head coach David Jones recently announced dates for a three-day youth football camp in July.
The camp will be held atop Miner Mountain at James H. "Buck" Harless Stadium from July 20 to July 22. This will be the first camp held under the regime of coach Jones, who was hired in late January.
The camp is available for any area youngster between kindergarten and 8th grade. The cost for the camp is $50 per camper, and $25 for each additional sibling.
The first two days of the camp, July 20 and July 21, will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on Miner Mountain while the third day of the camp on July 22 will be 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
On the final day of the camp awards will be given out to campers and a pizza party will be held. Registration for the camp will be on July 20 beginning at 5 p.m.
For more information on the camp and for the registration form visit the Mingo Central High School Facebook page or contact coach David Jones.
In other Miner news, coach Jones recently finalized the coaching staff for his first season on the mountain.
Returning to the football program is previous head coach Josh Sammons, who will serve as an assistant head coach, offensive coordinator, and coaching the varsity defensive line.
Sammons was head coach of the Miners from 2018 to 2020 and led the Miners to the Class AA playoffs in two of his three seasons. The only year they didn't make the postseason was the COVID shortened season in 2020.
Sammons finished with a record of 18-8. He was also previously served as an assistant coach for Mingo Central under coaches Joey Fields and Yogi Kinder and was on the staff when the Miners won their only state championship in 2016.
Also returning to the staff is Michael Shepherd who has been an assistant under Chase Moore the past two seasons. Shepherd is listed an as assistant head coach, defensive coordinator, along with running backs and linebacker coach.
Also returning is coach Terry Jo Harrison who has served as an assistant under every head coach the Miners have had. Harrison is listed as a varsity offensive and defensive assistant.
One of the new faces on Miner Mountain will be former West Virginia Tech coach Bob Goble, who will be the head varsity coach of the offensive line.
Two other new faces for the Miners will be assistants Chris Burns and Garrett Bevins. Burns is listed as the head junior varsity offensive line coach and an assistant for the varsity o-line while Bevins is the head defensive line coach for the junior varsity and an assistant d-line coach for the varsity squad.
Mingo Central is set to begin the summer three-week practice period on Monday, June 12.
HD Media reporter Jarrid McCormick covers sports in Southern West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky.
