During his heyday as a bruising linebacker for the Super Bowl XX champion Chicago Bears, Otis Wilson was known for his relentless tackling and determination on the football field.

Now, some 20 years later, Wilson is helping Chicago's youth tackle problems involving their general health, fitness, nutrition and self esteem.

"I work with a group called ASC- Athletic Sports Camps," said Wilson. "We do hard core football camps, and we are currently in six to eight cities across the country. We work with young men from the ages of 8 to 18 in contact football. After doing that for a number of years, I have noticed a trend in athletes. Their mind set was: 'We have to get as big as we can and as strong as we can.' But in reality, they weren't concentrating on being fit enough. These guys would be huge, but fat and overweight and pretty much out of shape."

Wilson said he would watch the youngsters in the cafeteria of these football camps and noticed their eating habits were atrocious. The camps would provide nutritious food, but many of the young men would settle for the quicky snacks and bypass the fruit and vegetables.

"At that point I said to myself, 'Let me really start carving out a niche here and help these young men get physically fit.' I wanted to get them straight mentally, physically and spiritually so that they could focus on nutrition and sports. That is what I call the total package."

With that plan in mind, Wilson went to work to try to change attitudes and habits as it pertains to conditioning the bodies of young people.

Wilson added a program to his personal foundation called "55 Alive."The program centered on fitness and nutrition for young men and women from ages 7-17 in summer camps. He began working with young people in the Bellwood, Ill., community, realizing that obesity among America's youth has become a serious issue.

Wilson has approached Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and is trying to get his support for the fitness initiative throughout Illinois. The dialogue continues with the governor. "And the good thing is that he hasn't said no. So some good things might happen down the road," said Wilson.

He took his idea to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who suggested he get involved in the Chicago Public School's "After School Matters" program.

"Mayor Daley said: 'This would be a great vehicle to give more credibility to your foundation,'" Wilson recalled. He now has access to 35 schools and aspires to be in every Chicago Public school.

The multifaceted sports component of the "After School Matters" program includes an opportunity for young students to learn how to become scorekeepers, timers and life guards. Wilson decided to add the fitness aspect to that program, as well as the sports and coaching features.

After an 18-week period of training these high school students, Wilson plans to have the youngsters visit an adjacent middle school and have the high schoolers mentor and train the younger kids.

"What I like about this idea is that you are teaching these high school students how to be responsible," said Wilson. "You have also given them some job skills as a referee, coach or a personal trainer."

Wilson later went to the Kinesiology Department at the University of Illinois-Chicago and encouraged them to become a part of his program, as well. His goal is to have college students working with high school students, and high school students working with middle school kids - with the emphasis on fitness, nutrition and sports.

"It's not just about baseball, basketball or football. My motto is: 'Make the right life choices. Eat healthy, stay active and help somebody else,'" he said.

Wilson has been involved in this mission for the past four years - three years in the Maywood and Bellwood area, and this past year in the Chicago Public Schools.

"I am really excited about this, because we started out in two schools and now we are in 16, with access to 35 schools," he said.

Wilson is not insisting that these youngsters become a well-conditioned athlete, as he was during his younger days, but he is challenging them to eat healthy, stay active and make sound choices.

"Just like you feed that brain, you have to feed those muscles," said Wilson.

"I have been blessed with a great career. Chicago has been great to me. I love what I am doing here. And working with these young kids helps me pass on my experiences."