The third annual free football skills camp put on by Super Bowl Champion, and former Blue Darter, Jalen Carter was the biggest and best yet, organizers said.
Last Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Jalen Carter, the Apopka football team, and every kid interested in football in the area gathered at Apopka High School’s Roger Williams Field. The free skills camp, for kids aged 8-17 in the Apopka and surrounding areas, saw a crowd that rivaled fall football games.
More than a hundred kids competed and learned together from the best football minds in Apopka, from coaches and players to Jalen Carter himself. This was the first year the camp was without Jeff Rolson, former Apopka football head coach, and the first year with Marcus Neeson, rumored incoming Apopka football head coach who was Apopka’s defensive coordinator last season.
Neeson said the camp went great and that heading it was no challenge for him with his background working in elementary schools for 11 years. He said when Carter’s team reached out to him, they said the team and the school have done so well with the event in the past.
“And when talking to his reps (Carter’s), they said, what we’ve been doing has been good, and don’t change it up,” Neeson said.
But this year, the camp had some fun new additions for the kids. The camp had a gaming truck where the kids could take a rest from the hot sun and drills for a quick game of Madden or NCAA and a dunk tank. Neeson said the kids loved both.
Neeson was mainly happy with the outcome of the camp and what his players, as well as the kids attending the camp, walked away with from the experience.
“Overall, the camp was good,” Neeson said. “I think our guys did a good job of coaching up the young kids. I put them in charge of running the stations, and I told them earlier in the week that you learn best when you can teach it to someone else. So, when you can reach one, teach one.”
The camp started with all of the kids running out of the Apopka tunnel to make them feel like real Blue Darters before stretching and warmups. After that, groups of Apopka players and coaches held different training stations focused on different offensive and defensive skills.
For offensive skills, they had drills on throwing and catching, ball security, and blocking. On the defensive side, they had drills for footwork, tackling, turnovers, breaking into the pocket, and interceptions.
“We split them into older kids and younger kids, like your middle schoolers and your incoming freshmen, and then your elementary school kids,” Neeson said. “The little kids did stations, county fair style. So we did defensive emphasis down on the little kids’ side, and the older kids did offensive and individual drills.”
Neeson said he saw a lot of young talent out there and made sure to talk to the kids during the camp about wanting to keep the Apopka athletes playing for Apopka. He used the camp as an example of what being a Blue Darter is like and gave young players a peek inside of a program with a rich history.
After the drills, the real fun began. They held seven-on-seven games before letting the kids have free range to use the gaming truck, dunk tank, as well as have fun and play with friends and other campers. They finished off the day with tug of war competitions and awards to campers who shined the most during drills. Free pizza, Chick-fil-A and flavored ice were provided for attendees as well.
The camp’s focus this year was saying no to drugs, as Carter used the camp as a way to reach out to the Apopka youth. Crater’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, was also present at the camp and talked to the players about the importance of staying on the right path and how sports can bring structure.
“You can do whatever you want with this simple formula – stay out of trouble, respect your parents and coaches, and hit the books,” Rosenhaus said. “Athletics is amazing whether you play high school, college or professional. It teaches you discipline and toughness. You can’t accomplish anything in life without hard work and discipline.”
Neeson said this was the best turnout yet and only expects it to be even more extravagant next year. He and the coaching staff joked that next year, they might just have a foam pit and a Ferris wheel out there, too.
The Apopka Chief asked Jalen Carter and his team for an interview at the camp last week, but he said he was too busy and had to leave.