CLOVIS, Calif. (KSEE) - There are a bunch of kids in the Stampede youth football program with some big goals.
"I wanna go pro," says fourth grader Zakee Evans.
"Definitely (want) to make it to the collegiate level," adds sixth grader Brady Pok.
"I wanna make it to the NFL, win MVP and win a lot of Super Bowls," says 11-year-old quarterback Liam Martin.
The good news is, these elementary school kids are being taught by coaches who know a thing or two about playing at a high level. Zakee's father, Rashad, is the head coach of Zakee's squad, the "junior" team made up of third and fourth graders.
"He (Rashad) played professional football, he played college football, so he has a lot of experience in this kind of stuff," says Zakee, who finished eighth in the long jump in his age group at the Junior Olympics in Eugene, Oregon over the summer.
Rashad Evans, of course, is a name very familiar to football fans here in the valley.
He left Fresno State tied for eighth in school history with 138 career receptions, before embarking on a pro career that saw him spend some time with the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the CFL.
After moving back to the Fresno area several years ago, Rashad Evans got into youth coaching with the Stampede at the urging of former world class sprinter Josh Norman.
Norman owns the training facility, Athletic Performance, in Clovis.
"Our kids were working out together one day and he sees Zakee, and he said, 'hey, your kid's pretty athletic.' And he was like, 'well, we're playing over at the Stampede, it's a really good program, structure's really good, and you might be able to help out coaching.' And (I) kind of jumped over and never looked back," says Rashad Evans.
Norman is an assistant with Evans' team. And Rashad Evans is not the only former Bulldog receiver helping out with the youth program. His former college teammate, Isaiah Burse, is an assistant with the Stampede "Pee Wee" squad.
That is a team that includes Burse's his five-year-old son, Zane.
"You know, he loves it. Every day, he's bugging me about it. 'Hey dad, let's play catch,'" says Burse about his son. "And I cherish those moments."
Isaiah Burse, who is still Fresno State's all-time leader in all-purpose yards and who also briefly played in both the NFL and Canada, did not plan on being an official coach at first.
"I came out here a few times just to help out," he said. "Just to help out, and if you need me in any drills, I got you."
But that changed when Mike Coward, the head coach of the "senior" team of fifth and sixth graders, decided to push Isaiah Burse towards a more official role.
"You know, I hear Big Mike. I hear Big Mike say, 'Zay Burse, Zay Burse,' he yells at me," laughs Isaiah Burse. "And he goes, 'hey Pee Wees, when we break you guys go with him. You guys go with him.' I'm just like, what? Like, I'm confused. I was like, 'oh, I'm the coach now. I'm coaching.'"
"So what we did was, when you get the good head coaches, good coaches bring in other good coaches," says Coward.
The coaching staff for all three levels now includes several coaches with experience in both high school and major college football.
"I was so excited," says sixth-grader Hoyt Drew, when asked about all the coaches in the program with lofty credentials. "So I can be trained by them, like they've been trained by their coaches."
And these coaches are not only focused on developing their football skills, but also skills that will help them in life.
"To see us coach it and these kids implement it," says Evans. "And them getting excited with each other, oh man it's a feeling that's unmatched."
"I don't need them to come out here and be Stefon Diggs and Randy Moss," says Burse, who just finished up the fire academy program and is interviewing for jobs as a firefighter.
"I don't need that from them, I need them to have fun."