Edgerrin James Delivering Hope At Youth Camp

In the six years since former Immokalee High and NFL star Edgerrin James began holding free one-day football camps in Collier County, he’s tried to deliver one over-arching message.

Hope.

“I think you're supposed to come back to that area,” James said of giving back to his community. “Everyone has their own reasons why, but I think it's important to show the kids that it's possible to make it. They walk the same streets we walk and they've done things that we've done.”

The former Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks running back started holding free camps in 2009 in Immokalee, then moved the site to Ave Maria in 2012. In that time, James, who also runs the Edgerrin James Foundation & Charities Inc., has welcomed athletes from different parts of the state, including Orlando, Miami and Tampa.

Approximately 608 campers were in attendance Monday, program director Yhonsha Rue said, including almost 30 girls. That was nearly 100 more than in 2014 (525) and 200 more than 2013 (400). Rue said the non-profit Laces of Love also donated 300 pairs of cleats to underprivileged kids.

“All of my roots are from Immokalee,” said James, who lives in Orlando for most of the year with his family, though he has a house in Naples. “So it's very important to come back to Immokalee. What better time than right before football season?

“Anytime I have an opportunity to go back, even check out the games —even Immokalee, Naples, Fort Myers — I always pop in. I enjoy watching the sport. It gives me a chance to be a fan, he said.”

Almost 70 players from Immokalee High were on hand. It would have been more, Indians head coach Dale More said, but due to a scheduling conflict the varsity team members attended a Fellowship of Christian Athletes camp.

More was appreciative of the work James put in and hopes he would consider being a part of the Indians program moving forward.

“I wanted him to be a part of our program,” More said. “He's a (important) figure in our community. I think the kids are excited to see him. When they see him walk around they say, ‘That's where I want to be some day.’

“And that's what I enjoy so much about our practices. Our kids give 110 percent effort every single day, every single practice, because they have someone to look up to like Edgerrin that they want to be someday.”

And someday soon Hall-of-Famer may be added to James’ dossier. The NFL’s No. 11 all-time on the NFL rusher with 12,246 yards was not selected in his first year of eligibility in 2014. On the plus side, nine of the 10 players in front of him are in the Hall of Fame — LaDainian Tomlinson being the outlier.

“My numbers are there,” said James, who also scored 80 touchdowns in his 11-year career. “Everything speaks for itself. Those numbers, you compare it to people who are already in. It's a matter of wins. It's a process they have to go through and once the process plays itself out, you can't deny what I've done and what I've accomplished.”

But before that even happens, it was about moments like Monday in his hometown. In his first camp, he saw players like Immokalee’s D’Ernest Johnson strut their stuff. This past season, Johnson finished his first season at the University of South Florida.

“It feels good,” James said of the success he sees from the camp. “Them being from Immokalee and knowing them from a youth stage. I watched them when they were playing Pop Warner football and watching them grow up and turn into men. And now they call me now and then when they want me to know anything. It was actually fun. It's a good feeling.”


(news-press.com)