NFL vets host cool football camp on a hot day in Bamberg

BAMBERG – It was hard to tell on Friday who was having more fun in the Bamberg heat, the NFL players or the local kids attending the Dream Big Live Big/Dream Big Work Hard youth football camp.

Native sons and former Bamberg-Ehrhardt and Clemson football stars Ricky Sapp and Da’Quan Bowers took time away from their summer and considering their individual NFL free agent contract offers to host the sixth-annual installment of their football camp at their high school field inside Leon Maxwell Stadium.

The hot weather, upward of 98 degrees through the four-hour camp, didn’t keep nearly 100 youth football players from leaving the cooler temperatures of home to run skill drills and learn from team-building activities. They smiled, gave the effort, took water breaks and kept going until it was over.

Bowers believes the annual free football camp is a win-win for all involved.

“The kids enjoy it, the community enjoys it, and we enjoy it,” he said. “The heat is one thing, but they want to be out here and we want to be out here.

“Any time we can give back, we try to do so. None of us had this kind of camp when we were coming up. So, it’s a blessing to be able to give back. We just want them to know that, anything they want to do in life, it’s possible. Anything they put their mind to, they can do.”

Along with football, Bowers admits they take every opportunity to talk life management advice to the young kids.

“Every year we have a great turnout with the kids; we’re just thankful” Sapp said. “Me and Quan have been blessed to do this. We just give all the glory to God for being able to play in the NFL and to come back and help these kids out.”

Sapp and Bowers have done other charitable events in the Bamberg community. In February the Ricky Sapp Foundation and Da’Quan Bowers Foundation hosted their Annual Celebrity Basketball Charity Event, which allowed kids to see Sapp and Bowers, along with friends and teammates in the NFL. Their foundations have also sponsored backpack drives, Bamberg’s Future Business Leaders of America, uniforms for the Bamberg track-and-field teams, along with Thanksgiving meals to those in need.

“We get other ideas of things to do; and one thing about me and Quan, we get so excited about our hometown and helping the kids,” Sapp said. “These kids are our future.”

Hard work, proper techniques and football fundamentals were being taught throughout the camp, as boys as young as 6 years old were working on drills on one end of the field and rising high school players from B-E and other area schools were practicing skills on the other end.

“If they can come out here and go hard in this heat, and enjoy it, they can push themselves to do anything in life,” Sapp said. “That’s one main thing we want to teach these kids; you can do anything you want to do, but you have to put the work in to get there.”

For all but one of the camps, Sapp and Bowers have been joined by fellow former Clemson standout and former Seattle Seahawks “Legion of Boom” defensive back Byron Maxwell, a former Fort Dorchester High School standout. The sixth-round pick of Seattle in the 2011 NFL Draft recently signed a six-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.

“This camp shows kids that, yes, guys from here did go on to have success,” Maxwell said. “But it’s a certain kind of success, making it to the NFL. These kids need to be told that they can have success in whatever they dream of doing.

“They can dream and go get it. This success is tangible, real, you can touch it. Each of these kids can be determined to go after what they want to in life. And, today, getting outside and getting exercise, that’s important. You need to have a healthy body and a healthy mind.”

Many current and future Red Raiders players were in attendance at the camp. James Gainyard, a rising sophomore running back and linebacker for B-E, was at the front of the line to start many drills.

“It’s a great experience to get to work out with Ricky and Da’Quan, to build our talent and our skills,” Gainyard said.  “We look forward to it every year. NFL players don’t have a lot of free time. But they take their time to come back and work with the kids and the community.”

Fellow rising B-E sophomore Kymari Bingley, a nose tackle, believes each camp is a learning experience.

“You learn something new every year,” he said. “If one person makes a mistake, they tell the whole group what to do to improve, and you get to try again to get better.”

Among the camp staffers was another B-E alum who was glad to lead some drills for the kids. She wore a shirt with a Wonder Woman logo and, unlike Sapp and Bowers, has her football contract signed for the upcoming season.

Tiara Elvin (formerly Donaldson when she graduated B-E) has been signed by the Washington Warriorettes, the women’s team formerly known as the Baltimore Charm in the Legends Football League, which once was known as the Lingerie Football League. The league is playing televised games now on Fuse, but the Washington franchise (coached by former Redskins great Gary Clark) will begin play in April 2016.

“I was signed to play running back and cornerback from a tryout with the Charm, was named to the top 14 on the team, and next season I will play for the Warriorettes,” Elvin said. “This is the first time I’ve had the chance to help with the football camp here. I just wanted to come back (from her home in Virginia) and help give back to the kids here.

“The style of football in the LFL is really hard hitting. I encourage people to check it out on Fuse and on YouTube. It’s important for kids to have proper techniques in football. So I’m glad I’ve been able to help teach some of that today. These kids look up to all the NFL guys, so this camp is great.”

Bowers mentioned that a charity softball game may be in the works for Bamberg. He and Sapp are proud of the Bamberg-Ehrhardt area and it shows.

“Any time we can help out the community, we will,” Bowers said.

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