Southland currently offers sports programs that offer opportunities to learn the fundamentals of a sport while building upon their leadership skills. | Facebook, Calumet City Chargers Youth Cheer & Football Program
As the current high school football season comes to a close, several South Cook County high school football teams and players are worth following into the next season.
According to Courtland D. Wilson, the president of the Calumet City Chargers Youth Cheer & Football Program and co-founder of the AYF-Chicago Unlimited Conference, the top teams to watch are the Calumet City Chargers, Chicago Spartans, Southland Raptors, Richton Park Raiders, Roseland Vols, and the HF Jr. Vikings.
"These teams are in and of the communities they serve and have been mentoring and developing student-athletes for years with little recognition," Wilson said," They provide a standard of excellence on and off of the field."
Wilson said that the Chargers' top-rated athletic program is the driving force of success that helps these young athletes.
"The Chargers are a team to watch because for nearly 14 years we have taken pride in helping to mold young men and women into well-rounded and active members of our community," Wilson said. "We breed excellence and 96.5% of our athletes graduate from our program, excel in high school, and move on to attend some of the best colleges and universities in the nation."
Wilson highlighted some of these athletes, including Chistion Miller, the starting linebacker and runningback for Thornwood High school and Malyk Jones, the starting linebacker for Homewood Flossmoor High School.
Aside from his duties as head coach, Wilson also helps run the cheer program.
"The Chargers Elite All Stars is a second-year program that offers the all-star cheerleading experience for a modest fee," Wilson said, "These young ladies move from the sidelines to the competition floor and have a 100% track record of their athletes starting on the varsity squad in high school."
According to Wilson, sports in the Southland are "electrifying" and he hopes to see more community involvement in support of state-of-the-art facilities and turf fields.
Additionally, Wilson said that Southland currently offers sports programs that offer opportunities to learn the fundamentals of a sport while building upon kids' leadership skills.
Wilson is the husband of Calumet City Alderman Monet Wilson, who recently made history as the first African-American woman to be elected Alderwoman of any ward in the city of Calumet.
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