Sammy Watkins runs a football camp for young athletes

SOUTH FORT MYERS

Hundreds of student athletes had the opportunity to attend a special football camp on Saturday. South Fort Myers High School graduate Sammy Watkins hosts a football camp to remind athletes where football really is.

Young athletes don’t get the opportunity to work with a professional footballer on a daily basis, but on Saturday, Baltimore Ravens Wide Receiver Sammy Watkins coached and gave players a practice they will never forget.

You might recognize this Fort Myers come from winning the 2020 Superbowl with the Kansas City Chiefs or as the recipient of the Baltimore Ravens.

But, Watkins says that returning here makes him feel like a child again. “Forget the NFL superstar. I’m here as a kid myself,” he said.

If you lived in Fort Myers before Sammy Watkins graduated in 2011, you may remember him from the South Fort Myers High School football field.

“I haven’t returned in eight years, so it’s really good for me. Good for the city. Good for the kids,” Watkins said.

On Saturday, he gave 300 young athletes a chance at their lives. Forrest West is the director of Sammy Watkin’s youth football camp. “We’re here with Sammy Watkins. We’re giving back to the Fort Myers community. We’re running a free youth football camp for boys and girls ages 6-16,” West said.

West says the community helped the camp succeed. “We have over 20-30 volunteers, and about 30 coaches come out and give time for free,” he said.

The coaches ran rehearsals, practice, and kept personal. Watkins describes it as going back to basics.

More importantly, Watkins wanted to remind people that fun is most important. “It’s about having fun. It’s not about winning,” Watkins said.

Campers hope to achieve what Watkins had when they searched for him.

“I look at him, you know what I’m saying. It’s like a big cousin, ”said one of the campers.

Watkins says he will continue to restore to his community.

According to the organizers, all 300 places to register for the camp were filled in less than an hour.