Two
hundred and thirty kids from age 5 to 18 came out on the field at
Deerfield Beach High School (DBHS) last Saturday, July 9, to be a part
of the Lace Up Football Camp, put together by the Shoelace Foundation.
The
kids all ran drills, did ladders and other circuit training in their
T-shirts provided by the organization. They split up into age categories
and ran races to see who was the fastest. They battled the hot sun, but
they were all smiles.
This
was the second year for the event created by Jacksonville Jaguars
football player Denard “Shoelace” Robinson, a running back and wide
receiver. Robinson knows this school. He knows this community. He grew
up here, and started school at Park Ridge Elementary and eventually
graduated from Deerfield High. For him, this event is all about giving
back.
“I love my community,” he said. “I want to be the change I want to see.”
Shoelace
Foundation board member Jerry Jasmin added, “Denard always wants to
give back. He is in a unique situation in that he plays in the same
state he is from. He wants to empower underprivileged children to become
better citizens.”
Besides
local kids, children and teens from other cities, like Lauderhill came
out to participate. Coach T. Anderson coaches youth football in the 7U
category there. Two of his grandchildren, age 7 and 8, participated in
the camp and he sat with other parents on the sidelines beneath tents in
the shade.
“I
love it,” he said of the event. This is a great thing for our youth …
to have a positive role model. We need more of this all the time.”
DBHS
student 16-year-old Joell hopes to play football in college. He is a
linebacker right now for the school. He loved doing the drills.
“[My
favorite part is] we had to run inside the box [ladder] and outside of
it and do burpies,” he said as he described some of the drills.
Nine-year-old
Mickeelah, who was one of the few girls in the group, came out because
Denard is her cousin. She normally gets to see him only on holidays so
this day was special.
“Racing
is my favorite part. I did some drills. Some of them were hard for me,”
she said, adding, “[For lunch], we had a hot dog, Pringles, a granola
[bar] and some juice [among other items available].”
Volunteer Bruny Colquhour felt the event went well.
“Everything
is very organized. The kids look forward to it every year. Shoelace is
doing great for the community. It inspires the kids to dream big,” she
said.
Besides
Denard, there were other well-known players who attended either the
event this day or the 1st annual basketball event that happened the
night before. They included Robinson’s teammates from the Jaguars,
including wide receivers Tony Washington and Rashad Lawrence; J.T.
Thomas from the New York Giants; Rashard Robinson from the San Francisco
49ers, Adrian Witty from the Cincinnati Bearcats and rapper Ace Hood.
Denard not only helped kids to improve their skills, but taught them the importance of education.
He
explained to one student who did not like to read, “In order for you to
play football, you have to have your education first. You have to use
school to get you there. If I could do all this work in football, I can
do it in school.”
Besides doing football drills and having lunch, students got to enjoy themselves jumping in bounce houses.
He
didn’t let students leave without delivering one last powerful message,
saying, “Always have a role model. My role model was my dad. I want to
be that person [for you all]. If I see somebody I look up to, I always
want to be better than them. You all can do whatever you want. You can
be president; you can be an astronaut; you can be a football player … It
is here for the taking. Never do it for the haters. Every time I step
on the field, I do it for love. I do it for people who support me. Do it
for the people who support you.”
Story By By Rachel Galvin
