LANSING - August 4th marked the last day of the Detroit Lions Youth Football Camps, a 25 camp tour taking place in 23 cities in Michigan. Through the different camps, Detroit Lions staff and players venture out into communities to educate youth about the game of football on and off the field.

The motto “Today’s preparation determines tomorrow's success” was established on the first day and incorporated throughout the week. “We want to teach them you know the skills and the fundamentals on the field but also teach the life lessons that this game teaches off the field,” said Coach Pat Sharrow, Detroit Lions Youth Football Camp.

Kenneth Thurman, a camp participant from Horizon Elementary School left camp with one big take home point; “Be determined and never give up.” A good attitude to have since the four day camp featured days with temperatures rising into the 90’s.

The coaching staff reminded the players of this each day. “You could have been home in the air conditioning with your feet up on the couch not at camp, but you guys came here this week and put forth great effort and you guys are on the right path to be successful,” said Sharrow.

Great effort was one component that was observed, factoring in that for some kids this was their first time stepping onto a football field. “Some of this stuff is new for a lot of kids, so we understand that and we are going to teach the very basics from the ground up,” said Sharrow.

Campers ages 6 to 14 were eligible to participate in this particular camp, learning the basic fundamentals such as securing the ball as a running back and getting into the proper stance. “This is our four day fundamental camp, so we’ll spend two days on offensive positions, two on defensive positions.” said Sharrow. “We’ll also implement special teams play so we’re really teaching all phases of the game the best that we can.”

With campers being future football stars in progress, their willingness to learn was fully evident. “We understand that not everybody is perfect at this age, mistakes are opportunities to learn so we’re building on that but most importantly having a lot of fun while we are there.”

As many new concepts were introduced, kids were split into smaller groups by age with each coach taking the time to make sure every camper grasped the skills correctly. “It’s a lot easier to teach the fundamentals at this age then unteach bad habits and things like that when you get older,” said Sharrow.

Basic fundamentals included learning both sides of the ball with an emphasis on character values. “I know to follow my coaches, be a good teammate and help someone if they’re down,” said Thurman.

“We try to focus on fundamentals but also those character values to help take something away from this camp that they can learn and bring back home with their teams but also in their classrooms and their schools,” said Sharrow.

Skills that are transferable all the way up through high school and beyond, with an emphasis that as a student-athlete they are going to be viewed as just that, a student and an athlete. “I always tell the kids that there is a spotlight on you as an athlete, as a football player and we want to make sure that kids are learning those character values, being people of high character and integrity and going back to their communities to be role models,” said Sharrow.

Current Lions players assisted in the camps, traveling to each location to give advice, teach skills and share their football journey with the campers. Defensive end Brandon Copeland made an appearance at the fundamentals camp in Lansing. “It’s amazing, even as a coach hearing those guys speak that are playing the game at the highest level, seeing the commitment, the work, the effort that goes into get to that level because a lot of these kids do have dreams and goals of playing in the NFL,” said Sharrow. “To hear from the players themselves, to see what it takes to be successful again not only on the field but what it takes to be successful off the field.”

On the fourth day, the level of success for each camper was clear with the many new friendships and bonds they made both as teammates and as a group of boys. The final life lesson driven home circled back to the on and off the field values taught on day one: “The most important team they’ll ever be on is their family so we hope they take those character lessons back home with them to be better at home,” said Sharrow.