A cold, windy Chicago morning didn’t stop approximately 100 kids from taking the field with this year’s top 25 draft prospects for the NFL Play60 Youth Clinic. Play 60 is designed to engage and empower youth to take action for their own health by implementing long-term, positive changes for themselves and their schools. The program additionally encourages youth to consume nutrient-rich foods and achieve at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day.
Participating youth had an opportunity to work with draft prospects such as Ezekial Elliott, Jalen Ramsey, and Reggie Ragland on a variety of football-related obstacle courses including passing and blocking drills. Laughs and smiles were seen and heard throughout the morning but it was very clear that it wasn’t just the kids that were being impacted. The prospects were taking away just as much from the experience as the kids involved.“It’s like a flashback. All of us prospects see ourselves in these kids because we were all in that spot catching the ball, not knowing if we really like this or not, just out here because our parents put us out here,” said Josh Doctson, WR, Texas Christian. “It’s a fun time. These kids are going to remember this forever.”
Doctson’s fellow draft prospects were all impacted differently but the sentiment was the same…interacting with the kids and encouraging them to stay healthy is the main goal.
Here’s more draft prospects reflecting on their experience at the Play60 Youth Clinic:
Jarran Reed – DT, Alabama
“It was great to come out here with the kids to make sure they say active. They’ve got to stay active. It’s good to get them out here running around, sweating, and getting the blood flowing.”
A’Shawn Robinson – DT, Alabama
“It was great to come out here, play with the kids, and teach them a few things. It’s nice to see them having fun and watching their faces light up.”
Jalen Ramsey – CB, Florida State
“I love doing things like this. It’s all about the kids coming out here and being active. You need to live a healthy lifestyle. It’s fun to be outside playing with your friends and not just inside the house playing video games all day. It’s fun to do that too but being active, having a healthy mind and body is important. Me personally, I have a niece and nephew, so I love doing these types of things with kids.”
Corey Coleman – WR, Baylor
“It’s awesome out here with the kids. When I was younger, I got to look up to older guys, now they’re looking up to us. We’re out here playing and having fun, and it’s really awesome. They just need to know that with hard work, determination, and staying on the right path, anything is possible.”
Although today was about fitness, the prospects hope the kids took away more than that. They hope that a life lesson was also learned: “We all put ourselves in the right position and we worked hard to get here, said Reggie Ragland, LB, Alabama. “If you work hard, you can do anything you want to do in life. That’s what I hope the kids learned from us. We worked hard and we’re living out our dreams.”
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Photographer Rich Graessle
