Cleveland- Andrew Dowell, David Dowell, and Michael Dowell are gearing up for their second annual youth football camp this Saturday. The Dowell brothers grew up in Northeast Ohio. All three attended St. Edward high school and Michigan State. Andrew currently plays for the New Orleans Saints.
I was able to speak with Andrew and David about their “Do-Well” football camp for youth. In doing so I learned how important this camp is for them to give back to the kids of Northeast Ohio. Last year, they hosted their first camp at their alma mater St. Edward and it was not only a fun event it was fulfilling for the brothers.
Andrew had this to say:
“We are Northeast Ohio kids – all went to St Edwards high school and we were all blessed to play at Michigan state together now I play in the National Football league and we have different opportunities at our disposal to give back to kids of Northeast Ohio. We remember going to camps when we were younger and just getting a signature from a local high school team player was exciting. We knew how impactful that was to us and now we want to give that to others. We’re expecting close to 160 kids (who’ve signed up) – out there running around having a good time…boys and girls. We’ll be teaching them the fundamentals of football and just enjoying that at our alma mater St Edward HS. Last year was enriching for us. We want to continue that on the young kids that we can reach.”
Both Andrew and David expressed the importance of having boys and girls both attend the camp. They want their camp to be inclusive and it’s open to all kids. It’s very imperative to them that they promote both boys and girls.
David gave me a run down of what the day’s activities will look like.
The kids will get checked in where they’ll get a shirt for registration and then be set up into eight groups. There will be 18-20 coaches at the camp ranging from high school, collegiate and pros. Introductions will take place and then the boys and girls will go through different competitive stations. Prizes are given as the kids compete. It’s the perfect mixture of instruction and fun. A DJ will even be present to liven up the atmosphere.
The offensive stations will be set up as four receivers and quarterback with different drills and then defensive stations will follow.
The camp will end with closing remarks and the kids receiving “swag bags” to take home. There will also be a Kona Ice truck for a treat for the boys and girls.
I asked about take-aways from last year’s camp and David answered and told me something new that will be added this year.
“Feedback was positive. One of the first things last year we heard was from a mom of two girls….they wanted a 3-day camp. It’s one day so they had so much fun they wanted it extended! A lot of the parents stayed as well. We like to implement a life skill piece of it. Our age range is 7-14, so obviously a lot of growth goes on within those years. We’ve seen this is in our own lives… sports teaches you so much about life and so at a young age, yeah we wanna teach you about football and have a great time…but there’s another aspect. One, we want to teach you something you can take into your football season but two, something you can take into school or social life. One thing that we are implementing this year that we didn’t’ last year is a sports mental health performance aspect of it. Where we are teaching kids how to deal with stress, anxiety, failure, wins and losses, that’s a part of life not just sports.”
The spots are full for this summer’s camp however, the brothers are planning to be back next year. They truly encompass the meaning of “giving back” and there’s nothing better to invest in our communities than our youth.
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