Colts player hosts camp at alma mater
LOGANSPORT, Ind. (AP) - American novelist Thomas Wolfe once wrote that you can't go home again, but for one Indianapolis Colts offensive lineman on Saturday, that's exactly what happened.
Kitt O'Brien, the former Walton resident and 2009 Lewis Cass graduate, was back at his old high school June 25 to host his own youth football camp.
Dozens of kids participated in the first ever "Camp O'Brien" at Lewis Cass's Owens Memorial Field. The camp was free and open to kids in grades three through six.
After running 40-yard dashes and going through position drills, the boys and girls finished the two-hour camp with a game of flag football. And for O'Brien, the camp was made even sweeter because of its location.
"It's unbelievable," he said. "The turnout just goes to show you the community support we have in this area. I've had a blast."
For Kitt and his wife Sarah, Saturday's camp was about community.
"He wanted to take it all back where he came from," Sarah said. "He started in Pee Wee here and had been playing football since he was 6 years old. Now 20 years later, he's able to give back to the community that's given him so much."
And for this homecoming, O'Brien brought along teammate Denzelle Good. Good said he understood how important camps like this are for the hometown crowd.
"I feel like it was great for them to have a role model like Kitt," Good said. "I have a similar thing with my town, coming from a small town. He shows you can come from anywhere and do great things."
And it's that type of interaction that Sydney Williams loves to see in these camps. Williams is a Fundamentals Program Coordinator for USA FUNdamentals, which is a part of USA Football. USA Football provides grants for NFL athletes to organize youth football camps across the country, Williams said.
"Each NFL athlete can submit an application for a camp and turn it in to the NFL," she said. "The NFL gives me the list, and I get the ball rolling. The best part about this program is that these NFL athletes are able to come back to their hometowns and provide a free clinic for the kids in their community."
Williams also said USA FUNdamentals provides the registration systems for the kids, the camp insurance for the facilities and all the equipment used during the camp. There are currently 184 USA FUNdamentals camps around the country this year alone, she said.
And for one of the coaches leading the drills, it was a trip down memory lane. Scott Mannering was O'Brien's coach at Lewis Cass. The recently named Twin Lakes coach was leading quarterbacks drills in the older age group on Saturday, but he had time to reflect on what it was like to coach O'Brien.
"Kitt has always had an unbelievable personality," Mannering said. "He was on the best team I've ever coached. We played for the state championship his senior season. He's such a great ambassador for this community. Good kid. Good family. Married well. He's the type of guy, as a coach, you like to see come back and do this."
And while the campers were busy on the field, friends and family were also closely watching the action.
Dave Price's 9-year-old son, Brady, was one of the campers. While his son was participating in position drills a few feet away, Price was soaking it all in.
"I told Brady at the beginning of the day to just go out, have fun, listen and just learn as much as you can," he said. "These camps are what helps them become better."
Price said his oldest son just graduated from Pioneer and he can remember taking him to Lewis Cass football camps.
"Now I'm starting all over again," he said, smiling and pointing to Brady.
Kari Lennon was also paying close attention. Her two sons have been playing football for about two years, she said, and she thought O'Brien's camp was amazing.
"To even have somebody from the Colts to come out and take time like this is phenomenal," she said. "They learn a lot from coaches at school, but to learn from someone in the NFL that they see on TV, it's exciting."
After camp ended, O'Brien signed autographs and took pictures with each camper. And for some of those kids, Camp O'Brien showed them that the possibility of being in O'Brien's shoes on eBay might not be that far-fetched.
"He came from Cass," 11-year-old Ethan Johnson said. "It's pretty cool someone came from our school like that."
And O'Brien said that was really his goal for hosting the camp at Lewis Cass.
"The underlying theme is that it doesn't matter where you come from or what size of school," he said. "If you put your mind to something, you can do it."
___
Source: (Logansport) Pharos-Tribune, http://bit.ly/28YWfnm
___
Information from: Pharos-Tribune, http://www.pharostribune.com