NATCHEZ — Fall is still months away, but football will be in the air this week for many young athletes in Natchez.

The Natchez Falcons youth football team had its first day of spring practice Monday at the David Steckler Multipurpose Center.

The week-long spring training will be used to teach football basics to the children ages six to 12 who plan on participating on this year’s team, coach Darryl Smith said.

“(Spring practice) is to go over some of the fundamentals of the game,” Smith said.

Smith said the goal of spring is to do some drills and teach the players what to do so they won’t get hurt when full practices start in June.

The Falcons, who will participate in their fourth season this fall as a member of the Mississippi Youth Sports Association, are separated into teams for three different age groups. There is a team for 6- through 8-year-olds, 9- and 10-year-olds and 11- and 12-year-olds.

Last season the team had approximately 120 children participate, Smith said. The 9- and 10-year-old team advanced to the playoffs last season and they year before the 6- through 8-year-old team made it to the semi-finals, Smith said.

The team will continue spring practice until Friday, Smith said. They will start back in June to prepare for the start of the season in mid-August.

Smith said the majority of the teams the Falcons play are from Jackson.

“It’s good to get a team in Natchez to play versus teams from Jackson and Vicksburg,” Smith said. “It gets the fear out of them (for when they get older), and gets them used to playing against different people.”

Smith said former Cathedral and Ole Miss star, as well as NFL defensive back Von Hutchins founded the Natchez Falcons about four years ago.

“(It’s important) because it keeps kids off the streets and (they can) have a good time when they are not in school,” Smith said.

The team also has its own cheerleaders, and Smith said the competition in the MYSA is pretty stiff.

“It’s very competitive,” Smith said. “One team had its own band, and the parents all follow the kids around.”

The Falcons play their homes games at Tom Williams Memorial Stadium on Saturday mornings starting in August and playing through the first of November, Smith said.