As QB Shedeur Sanders walked out to greet the 500 youth athletes at Brooklyn Memorial Stadium at Brooklyn High School, he was met with enthusiastic cheers from those in attendance.
Sanders and the Browns hosted a free youth football clinic on July 19 for athletes from across Northeast Ohio and Columbus in third to eighth grade, representing the Cleveland Muny Football League, North Coast Youth Football League, Brooklyn Youth Football League, the Lou Groza Titans and Legacy U.
"It's an amazing day," Sanders said. "Look at the sky. You hear the music. Look at the merch everybody has on. Look at the teamwork that it took for us to all come here and be able to get this done. And I'm truly happy. I'm truly amazed by it. And just one thought came to life, and that's what I just stand for. […] I'm truly excited that they feel excited to see me. […] So, it's about getting in the community and just seeing everybody and seeing the inspiration that we give just by showing up. And it's a very simple task, so I truly appreciate it."
Over the course of the camp, the athletes participated in a number of agility, pass-catching and tackle drills. There were 28 stations set up across the field, in which players from the boys tackle and girls flag football teams at Brooklyn High School and the boys tackle team from Glenville High School coached the athletes through the stations.
As the on-field portion of the camp wrapped up, they held a special competition. All of the athletes participated in a "Simon Says" competition, where both the winner and runner-up were awarded custom chain necklaces by Sanders. The two finalists were athletes from Lou Groza Titans and Garfield Heights Bratz.
"That was just a little thing that I just thought was cool," Sanders said. "I always want to be able to have these different memories, and I like competition overall. I love the competition factor and it's fair. I love fair competition. So that's what we did, and it was hard to figure out a game because you don't want to just race all the time. So that was the hardest thing is figuring out what game we're going to do. But thankfully, to the Browns, everybody helped that out and smoothed over the process."
After the camp, the athletes had the chance to enjoy pizza, ice cream and inflatables on site with their families.
Sanders reflected on how meaningful it was to attend youth football camps as a kid, with his father Deion Sanders running the events. Now, to be in a position to host a camp himself, Sanders valued the importance of holding an opportunity for young athletes to attend the camp.
"I would say throughout everything, these are the people that kept me going, that supported me," Sanders said. "So, I'd be a fool to not give back to those that gave to me when I most needed it. So, that's why I do it. I find fulfillment doing it, by seeing all these different tasks and all these different activities get completed. So, this was just the first one. This is an amazing start."
The Browns remain committed to advancing youth football through accessible programming that helps young athletes build a love for the game while creating lasting memories. Visit ClevelandBrowns.com/community/youth-football to learn more about the many ways to get your athlete involved in Browns Youth Football programming. Follow @BrownsGiveBack and @BrownsYouthFB for news and updates.
