One of the things that has always impressed me about the CFL, and the Calgary Stampeders in particular, has been its constant dedication to community involvement. For years I have noticed that CFL players are the most visible and accessible athletes of any of the pro sports franchises in Calgary, and I’m certain that extends to other markets. Among the off-season appearances circuit that includes Canadian Blood Services, local schools and children’s charities, the end of May signifies the annual Junior Stamps Camp, another event of the Stampeders community calendar.
Stampeders Community Involvement Big in Calgary
This year over 200 boys and girls attended Highwood High School in High River to run drills, meet the coaches and players, enjoy a barbecue, and most importantly, have some pre-season fun in the sun. The camp is set up to give the fresh-faced rookies in camp a taste of the fanbase and some of the Stampeders community interaction that they’re responsible for providing as pros.
They spent more than an hour with the nine groups of kids, aged six to 13, running drills ranging from passing, catching, place-kicking and “quick feet”. The players were grouped primarily according to their positions, with the linemen doing blocking drills, receivers and quarterback doing passing, etc. Among the more high-profile rookies that attended included Calgary Dinos standout and multiple-time Hec Crighton Trophy winner Andrew Buckley, along with top 2016 draft picks Alex Singleton (LB – Montana State) and Juwan Brescacin (WR – Northern Illinois).
As mentioned, the focus of the event is fun, and a few of the rookies “modified” their drills in order to keep the kids entertained. Prospective new defensive back Osagie Odiase (Sacramento State) decided that the “high knees” drill he was conducting with fellow defender Jared Brackens (Iowa State) wasn’t fun enough, and proceeded to break out the “dab cam”. Once each youngster completed the short drill they were required to pause with a Cam Newton-esque “dab” and Odiase would pretend to photo them with his phone. This group drew the most raucous cheers from the on-looking parents and fans.
After time ran out on the drills, the 40 or so young ladies and one young man that had attended cheer-leading camp with the Stampeder Outriders performed a short cheer for the rest of the campers, to much applause. Finally, a group photo was taken and the campers lined up for autographs with their new heroes. The rookies were humble and repeatedly thanked the campers and parents for attending, especially with the camp’s proceeds going to charity; over $25,000 was raised for Kidsport. The event made a lasting impression on players and kids alike, creating life-long fans in the process. Once the proceedings and barbecue lunch had wrapped up, the Stampeder rookie hopefuls loaded back onto the bus destined for Calgary, with the daunting task of making the pro club back at the front of their minds.
Main Photo courtesy of Calgary Stampeders.
