More than 600 youngsters attended a football camp at Westminster Christian Academy in Huntsville on Friday, the first of three scheduled this weekend featuring Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe.
The Crimson Tide redshirt junior was the main attraction of the FlexWork Sports Management event. The company conducts camps for participants from age 6-16 featuring sports stars from football, basketball, baseball and soccer. Participants received a team photo with Milroe, a camp T-shirt and took home items from event sponsors, according to the company website.
“So many people before me paved the way and I remember growing up and going to camps myself,” Milroe said. “It was one of my goals to host a camp one day so when the opportunity presented itself, I wanted to do so.
“You know, just to see the smiles on these kids’ faces is great. I just want these kids to get to meet me, have fun, get a hug and enjoy these drills that I’m going to with them and just have fun.”
The second-team All-SEC quarterback and 2023 permanent team captain said he attended a camp put on by University of Texas star quarterback Vince Young that remains a special childhood memory.
Camper Samuel Lay, 11, said he was excited to interact with Milroe. “It was so cool that I got to catch a pass from him, but I also asked him a question about last season. I asked about that fourth-and-31 play against Auburn,” Lay said. “He just said that he had to do whatever he needed to do to win the game and that’s what he did.”
Westminster Christian head football coach Louis LeBlanc, who was a graduate assistant for now-retired coach Nick Saban, said he was happy to see the turnout for the camp.
“As a football coach it is always awesome to see this many people come out for the sport of football and as an Alabama grad it’s special to have someone from the Capstone here,” he said. “Just to have all this exposure for the school is really big and we are just thankful to be here.
“I really hope the kids will hear Jalen’s story,” LeBlanc said. “I was talking to his father about the work that he has put in and the attention to family and the fact that he’s stayed grounded. Big things can happen if you never forget where you come from.”
The camp ran from 3 p.m. until almost 7:30. Milroe is scheduled to attend camps in Hoover on Saturday and Mobile on Sunday.