T. Scott Boatright, Reporter
07-19-2009
There was a wealth of football knowledge packed into Greenwood Park on Ruston’s East End Saturday morning as youngsters were instructed on the fundamentals and fine points of the sport.But the real focus was using football to help teach the game of life.
Around 150 youth converged on the park for Saturday’s second annual Eddie Robinson Sr. East End Football Camp, which is conducted free of charge.
Former NFL standouts like Michael Brooks, Leonard Griffin, Johnny Robinson and Sammie White joined Ruston High coach Billy Laird and Grambling Lab coach Cedric Sherrod among others to serve as camp instructors.
“You guys don’t know how fortunate you are,” Laird told camp attendees. “There’s a lot of football camps going on out there right now. The big difference is that this is free. You can’t go many places and find any kind of free camps anymore.
“These men are taking time from their personal lives to teach you about football and to teach you about life outside of football. Only 5 percent of high school athletes go on to play college sports. And the number gets even lower in the pros. These men have all led successful careers and lives; listen to what they have to say.”
Everson Walls, former GSU and NFL star, served as a motivational speaker during the event and said his collegiate mentor would be proud.
“My life really didn’t start until I came to Grambling State University and Coach Robinson,” Walls said. “This camp is named for him, and what he was all about is what we’re trying to teach these kids, and that’s to be good Americans, good students and the best they can be in everything they do. That’s what he stood for.”
Ruston Police Chief Steve Rogers, a former football standout at Ruston and LSU before playing in the NFL, was on hand for his second stint as instructor and speaker.
“You know, all of these guys out here teaching these kids don’t have to be out here,” Rogers said. “They’re not getting any kind of pay, other than the reward that they’re giving back positively to the community. And that can be pretty rewarding in itself.
“So we teach football techniques and the importance of working hard and staying focused, but we’re also talking to them about life and the way they should live it if they want to be the best they can be, someone like Coach Robinson. That’s why this kind of camp can make a difference.”
Former Louisiana Tech standout Jerry Baldwin, who served as assistant coach at Tech, head coach at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette and is pastor at New Word Living Ministries in Ruston, urged the campers to make God their life coach.
“Statistics say one in seven of you is going to end up in prison,” Baldwin said during his speech.
“We don’t have a drug problem. We don’t have an alcohol problem or a crime problem. We have a living problem. If you don’t know how to live your life, you’re going to end up in negative situations.”
“I’m challenging you young people to fix your living problems by establishing a relationship with the greatest coach of all,” Baldwin said.
Speakers also talked to the youth about things like the importance of education, self-discipline and the dangers of prescription drugs and steroids.
“It went really well, and I think we’re just going to get bigger and better every year,” Eddie Robinson Jr. said. “There were so many people behind the scenes and so many businesses that donated food and supplies and things like that. We can’t thank them or the instructors enough. My father would be very proud.”
Aspiring players and football fans came from as far as El Dorado, Ark., to attend the camp. Marcell Walker brought her son Trey from Winnfield.
“I got lost at first, but I was determined to find it,” Walker said. “I heard about it on the radio and knew we had to come. I’m a football mom, and to have all of those great names and great men out there teaching these kids — it’s something special. That’s why I knew we had to come.”
Arcadia High senior Marcellas Anderson said he picked up a good playing tip from Rogers.
“He noticed something and helped me with my plant move — planting my feet when I make a cut or move — and I think that’s going to make me a better runner,” Anderson said. “It’s my first time, but it’s a good camp. I have fun and I learned.”
And that’s all the instructors like Brooks, who played at Ruston and LSU before moving on the NFL, could ask for.
“It’s about giving back to the community and trying to inspire these kids,” Brooks said. “These kids need that kind of positive focus. Who knows, you might spark something in a kid and find he’s another Eddie Robinson, Michael Brooks or Fred Dean. And if you even just get through to one kid, then it’s still worth it. That’s why we’re out here.”
••••••
Want to go?
College Hall of Fame baseball coach Wilbert Ellis will conduct a free baseball clinic Saturday for ages 4-16 at Fraser Field on Martin Luther King Jr. Street in Ruston.
Registration will run from 8-9 a.m., and the camp itself will run from 9 a.m.-noon.
All campers will receive T-shirts and bags and will be instructed on baseball fundamentals and life skills.
For more information, call 251-1838.
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