The second annual NFL and All Pro Dad Family Football Clinic took place Friday, Feb. 3 at the NFL Fan Experience.
The clinic allows current and former players to celebrate football and family right in the midst of fan madness. Players were invited to bring their kids and family to participate in fun football activities throughout the morning.
More than 20 players attended the clinic, headlined by All Pro Dad speaker and Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defensive tackle Clinton McDonald. A father of three, McDonald wants to help create a solution for men to be better fathers and husbands.
“The biggest mission is to have fathers interact with their children, and to introduce a dialogue and conversation to the children,” McDonald said. “We can talk and we can interact and it does not have to be a big, mean parent type thing. These parents work 40 or more hours a week, so it is an opportunity to show the kids that daddy does care.”
There were different activities to choose from for the fathers and their kids. The morning started with hula-hopping and Simon Says and progressed into a linebacker and running back station.
McDonald had a chance to speak to all the former players and had plenty of advice to give. He told dads to not ask the “one-hitter quitter” question that is “how was your day?” Instead, ask them about specific events and what they learned about in school.
“Be a role model, and show your kids that you care about them,” McDonald preached to the former players. “When they get older, you want them to be comfortable talking to you.”
When the kids were not running around, they were participating in bonding lessons. At one station, fathers wrote a note to their kids about why he loved them, and the kids drew photos with their dads. At another station, it was selfie-time, everyone taking funny photos and getting close.
Carolina Panthers’ defensive back Teddy Williams attended the clinic with his son. He made sure to take away a couple of important lessons and tips that he can implement into his families’ everyday life.
“After today, I am going to write my kids more notes, let them know that I am always thinking about them, whether I am on the field or at home,” Williams said. “It was a great opportunity for the dads and parents to get out and interact with their kids for that one-on-one time.”
All Pro Dad has partnered with numerous influential NFL spokesmen. Some of the notable participants are Tony Dungy, Joe Gibbs, Mike Singletary, Trent Dilfer and Anthony Munoz.
You can follow Pro Player Insiders on Twitter at @playerinsiders. You can follow Matthew on Twitter at @livelyasu.
