Selma football players will have to pack their sleeping bags, toothbrushes and pillows to prepare for a three-day football camp starting  Aug. 4 at Selma High School.

In a camp that head coach Leroy Miles says will help team unity, players will sleep at the school and are not allowed to leave or have visitors. Miles said when he was at Shelby County High School, the camp was something the school did every season and he has wanted to implement it at Selma since he started with the school.

“We have great facilities and our kids are able to take showers, so I think that will be great, because we have the facilities,” Miles said. “I’ve always wanted to implement this but I had to get the program to the point where the kids had bought into the program. Now, the kids are buying into our football program, and it was easy to make the transition.”

Miles said when he asked his team if they would be interested in going to camp, all of the players raised their hand. He is excited about what the camp environment can accomplish for his team.

“I think we will get a lot done and I also think it is a chance for the kids to get to know each other. When you sleep together and eat together, you are supposed to get along. It is to build trust in each other,” Miles said. “We are going to have some nights where we have some devotions, where we will invite some of the local ministers out to speak to our kids at night.”

Although the schedule isn’t completely mocked up yet, Miles said the team will hit the field in the morning and afternoon for practices.

Since those practices will be the first of the season for the Saints, the team cannot wear pads. Under Alabama High School Athletic Association rules, the first two days of football practice must be in only shorts and helmets.

“We want to cover all of our special teams those first three days, because you won’t be in pads,” Miles said. “It is just the basic fundamentals of football, getting in your stance, and doing a little conditioning.”

In between those practices, Miles said his team will have meetings where they will go over the playbook and look at film from previous games to find areas needing improvement.

Although football is the main focus of the camp, Miles wants his team to have fun as well.

“We also want the kids to bring their video games and that kind of thing, so they can have a chance to have fun too and at the same time get ready to play football,” Miles said.

The Saints first game of the season is scheduled for Aug. 30 against Southside High School.

Selma will also play in a  jamboree at Keith High School Aug. 23.