The warm weather at Cunion Field in Edgewood, MD last Saturday didn’t stop Baltimore Ravens linebacker Jameel McClain from hosting his 2nd Annual Youth Football Camp and it certainly didn’t stop the kids from enjoying themselves. The camp was open to children ages 5-17 and featured a “Cheer Clinic”. The cheer clinic, a new addition to Jameel’s camp, was hosted by former Raven cheerleader Mark Zinno.
Jameel was joined by some of his current NFL and former high school and college teammates including Ravens rookie WR Dorian Graham, Washington Redskins (and former Baltimore Raven) LB Edgar Jones, Washington Redskins S Tenard Jackson, and St. Louis Rams WR Dominique Curry. Ravens WR LaQuan Williams even stopped by. McClain was also joined by a host of experienced coaches, volunteers, and high school athletes. Jameel’s message to his campers “it’s all about hard work.”
Over 100 kids took the field to practice speed, agility, strength, running routes, catching passes, blocking, and cheer techniques. The kids were thoroughly enjoying themselves while focusing on taking instruction from the coaches and showing off their skills. There was even a point in the day where Jameel and his teammates took a break from football to do a little Q & A with the kids.
Surrounded by an inquisitive group of future athletes Jameel took questions ranging from how he got to the NFL to playing as himself in the ever so popular Madden NFL video game. Check out his intro and first round of questions:
Jameel on how he became an NFL player:
Jameel on girls being football players, Ray Lewis and Ed Reed:
Jameel got more than he bargained for with this Q & A:
After the Q & A the kids returned to field to soak up more knowledge from the coaches and players. From my view of the field the kids relished the chance to go outside the pads with their favorite NFL players, even if only for one day.
Great article. Loved the videos.