Greyhounds Conduct Camp for Kids, Help Clean Portales

PORTALES, N.M. — The Eastern New Mexico University football team participated in a pair of community service projects on Monday, Aug. 8, as the Greyhounds held a free Football Camp for Kids and helped clean up downtown Portales and nearby residential areas. The entire ENMU team was involved in the day's activities, as every coach and player helped out with one of the events.

Approximately 60 football players and coaches contributed to the clean up effort. They gathered two truckloads of trash, doubling the amount gathered last year during what has now become -- after three consecutive years -- an annual community service project for the Greyhounds.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team led more than 80 local children through various work stations, teaching them fundamentals of football at the ENMU practice field. The young athletes also had a chance to play 7-on-7 games to test out some of their skills and athletic abilities.

The ENMU football team, which opened preseason practices on Aug. 4, will take on the University of Central Arkansas in the Hounds' season opener at War Memorial Stadium (53,727 capacity), in Little Rock, Ark., at 6 p.m. MST on Thursday, Aug. 25. Eastern's home opener is set for Saturday, Sept. 3, at Greyhound Stadium against Southeastern Oklahoma State University at 6 p.m. MST.

ENMU has recorded seven consecutive winning seasons, including back-to-back Lone Star Conference South Division co-championships in 1999 and 2000. The Greyhounds are under the direction of Head Coach Mark Ribaudo, who begins his first season at the helm of the program after serving as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator the past eight years.