Check It Out: Summer camps help kids

By Joan Janzen

Someone defined summer camp as follows: when you spend a small fortune to live like a homeless person. But for kids who attend various camps throughout the region, summer camp means an awesome time of fun activities and meeting new friends. Each camp offers something different, and the volunteers sincerely care about the children they are serving. Summer vacation would not be the same without the opportunity for kids to go to camp.

One camp that was held earlier this summer offered a slightly different camp experience. Sammy Robinson from the non-profit organization Red Zone spoke with Faytene Grasseschi on FayteneTV about the camp.

Red Zone is one organization that serves the next generation by bringing together professional athletes to coach kids and pour into their lives. It’s a day camp for students from Grades 6 to 12. It brings former NFL coaches and former NFL players together with young athletes for a time of skill training and inspiration. The camp was held in Calgary earlier this summer.

Robinson said the camp started with an idea he had to host football camps for kids where they could meet professional athletes, famous coaches and players that had actually won a Super Bowl. “We came to Calgary and rented Mahon Stadium, which is super cool,” Robinson said. “It’s a dream for kids to play where their heroes play.”

Camp opened, and 225 kids came from all over Alberta to join in the fun and learn football skills. “People were driving five or six hours to be part of the camp,” he explained. Not only were kids getting mentored by some top-level players and coaches, but they were also being encouraged by Red Zone’s team of volunteers.

“Staff could see the faces of these kids getting really encouraged,” Robinson said. Many of those middle school and high school kids were desperate for hope. “We did a quick question, asking kids how many suffer from anxiety and depression, and ninety percent of the kids put up their hands. Young people were looking for answers.”

The players shared their personal stories. “Guys were saying life is hard at times, and things don’t go as planned, but there’s an inner strength that you find from spirituality that you don’t find from anything else,” Robinson said. “You can’t remove spirituality from the conversation.”

Red Zone’s marketing and advertising emphasized their motto of “Faith, Family, Football”. “We wanted people to know up front that we’re all struggling,” Robinson said. And the kids were listening.

“Kids were asking how do they get peace, how do they find joy, how do they get hope? And players were saying, ‘this is what I found helped in my life,’ and it was encouraging for those kids,” he said. Campers said it was awesome to connect with coaches and players and have a positive male role model speak into their lives.

“One kid made an amazing catch, and the first thing he was looking for was his coach,” Robinson said. “When he made eye contact with his coach, their eyes locked, and the coach said, ‘Good catch!’. The kid looked like he had just won the verbal lottery! It was amazing!”

Although the kids learned new skills, their parents realized it wasn’t like a typical football camp. One dad said his son was one of the top quarterbacks in Alberta football and attends a lot of different camps, and gets a lot of exposure and training. The camps are usually very competitive and aggressive, but Red Zone was different. The dad said there was such a camaraderie amongst the kids. No one was trying to be the best player, and everyone was celebrating each other.

“That hit home for a lot of parents and kids,” Robinson said. “A lot of things were the same as other camps, but the atmosphere was different.”

Parents and kids weren’t the only ones who noticed the positive atmosphere. “The Management at the stadium host a lot of events, and they said their staff had never been more appreciated,” Robinson said. “There was such a culture of honour. The staff told us it was one of the best events they had ever hosted in their history. After the event, they asked if we’d be willing to host it again. And I was shocked how supportive the City of Calgary was.”

One of the players told the campers that the challenges and things they go through in life will only make them stronger. “God is there for you and with you as you go through your life,” he assured them.

Red Zone camp started with just one idea. Faytene asked Sammy what advice he would offer to people who have a creative idea. “I would say you never know what you have until you try,” he advised. “This idea of creating these events for middle school and high school kids where we could intertwine sports and faith turned out to be bigger than I could imagine. Take some practical steps to your dreams. I really believe our society is looking for these out-of-the-box ideas that could create something incredible for your community. You might make mistakes, but you’ll learn along the way, and you’ll never know the potential of an opportunity until you take a step.”

And you’ll never know how big of an impact it will have on kids who are looking for answers.