They say it takes a village to raise a tribe, and truer words have never been spoken in the East Limestone community. Over the winter months, East Limestone Varsity Football Coach, Clint Woodfin, along with several Quarterback Club members have started a new program called “Fuel the Indians.”

The premise of the program is to prepare the student athletes during the off-season with the proper nutritional content to make them compete at their peak performance level.

“Nutrition is top priority in creating a bigger, faster and stronger athlete,” Coach Woodfin said about how the program affects the players. “Athletes have to fuel up right after a workout, and having our guys get an average of 500 calories after a workout has been big for us. Every player we have in our off-season program is gaining weight and has seen a big increase in their strength numbers.”

Woodfin says it is important to fuel the body after an intense workout, like off-season training.

“Consuming calories after a workout is critical for repairing muscles as well as adding mass and weight to an athlete’s body,” he said. “Other than breakfast, this is their most important meal of the day because of the timing of the meal and the calorie intake they are receiving. They are getting a great mix of carbs and protein in their post work out meals.”

To accomplish this goal, the Indians community is feeding their “tribe” four meals a week right after their workouts. Quarterback Club Member Lee Talbert said East Limestone is a very tight knit community.

“We had to call on community leaders and business men and women in the area to help underwrite the cost of meals four days a week during the off-season,” Talbert said. “And did they ever answer the call.” Companies like Dylan Ames Trucking and Excavating, Tab’s Market, Q-Fit Relentless, Lawlers, Hobb’s Jewlers, Publix, and His and Her BBQ, to name a few, all stepped up and gave either cash or product to make sure that their community was taken care of when they were called upon.

Coach Woodfin said the community support helps the morale of the team.

“We want to make sure that our guys know the East community is behind them and wants them to succeed, and ‘Fuel the Tribe’ is a great example of that because the kids see it every day! It is what makes our community so special.”