Lions Youth Camp Scores Big With Kids
DETROIT (AP) - The home of the Detroit Lions was ready for some football, even if it wasn't of the NFL variety.
More than 100 youths ages 6 to 14 filled the Ford Field turf Tuesday at the Detroit Lions Youth Football Camp.
Lions logos were absent from the end zones and midfield and the indoor stadium wasn't illuminated like it is on Sundays during the season.
Jordan Higgs, a 12-year-old future running back or safety, didn't mind. "This is so much fun," he said.
Higgs hasn't been closely following the labor negotiations between the NFL and the players. He just knows he wants the possibly promising Lions to start playing games in a couple of months.
How much?
"A lot," the native of West Bloomfield said. "I really hope there is a season."
The camp is held in Michigan towns stretching from St. Ignace to Paw Paw from June through early August.
"We want to teach them character traits of the game such as goal-setting, accountability and passion," camp director Chris Fritzsching said. "And, we're going up to the U.P. to convert turn some Packers and Bears fans into Lions fans."
Former Michigan receiver Ron Bellamy, who played for the Miami Dolphins in 2004, was among the coaches at the camp and former Lions linebacker Richard Jordan was a guest speaker.
"If you got a goal and believe you can accomplish it, you can do it," Jordan told the campers. "Some of you guys are small, but don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something.
"I played with one of the smallest players in the world, Barry Sanders. You know how many people told him he was too small?"
Andrea Garcia, a Redford resident, said her husband has big plans for the Lions' scheduled Monday Night Football game against the Chicago Bears this season.
"My husband is so excited, but he keeps saying, 'If there's a season,' whenever he talks about the Lions," said Garcia, whose sons, Drew and Brandon, were more interested in their sandwiches than the lockout. "It would really crush him and a lot of people if there's not a season."
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
