Sports

NFL Star Eddie Royal Hosts Westfield HS Football Camp

The San Diego Chargers wide receiver partnered with USA Football to host a free football camp for kids.

When NFL star Eddie Royal was a kid growing up in Northern Virginia, he desperately wanted to attend a football camp, but never could afford one.

Now that he’s reached the sport’s highest level as a receiver with the San Diego Chargers, he’s working to ensure that local children get the opportunity he never had.

Royal hosted his second free USA Football FUNdamentals camp at his alma mater, Westfield High School, on July 13 to give back to his community.

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“I remember growing up in this area and always wanting to go to a camp, but I couldn’t afford to go to a camp, so that’s the main reason that it’s free,” Royal said. “The kids want to do it, but they can’t afford it, so I come back and do it on my own turf, the field that I played on.”

The camp welcomed kids from ages 7-18 and offered the participants the chance to experience the drills that are featured in the NFL’s scouting combine.

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The combine tests the athletic abilities of college football prospects before the NFL draft with a variety of running and jumping drills, giving campers the opportunity to feel like future football stars.

“The plan was to expose them to an experience that would resemble the combine that Eddie went through,” said Gary Morris, the program’s coordinator. “They watch the NFL combine and draft, and that’s a dream for everybody, so we wanted them to have the opportunity to have an experience like that.”

But the camp wasn’t all drills and fundamentals.

“They had some fun with (the drills) and then we played some flag football because, at the end of the day, you just want to get out here and play,” Royal said.

Coaches for the camp also included Donte Davis, a former receiver with Westfield and Syracuse, and Ola Adams, the defensive coordinator for State University of New York Cortland and a longtime friend of Royal’s.

Each member of the camp’s staff worked to ensure that the campers didn’t just learn about football over the course of the day.

“We wanted them to get out here and have fun, and then we sat them down and talked to them about the importance of schoolwork and being a good student,” Royal said. “It’s not just about coming out and playing good football, it’s about being well-rounded and getting good grades also.”

While the program was surely helpful for its participants, the coaches took plenty away from the afternoon as well.

“I think it does more for us than for them, we really got a lot out of this experience,” said Dale Royal, Eddie Royal’s brother and a position coach for the camp. “I think for all of these kids doing this today, hopefully it’ll make them want to grow up and do something like this for the kids in the community, so hopefully it just trickles down.”

Eddie Royal said he’d like to offer the camp every year.

“It’s all worth it when you get out here and you see these kids having a good time, smiling and enjoying being out here on the football field,” he said.


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