When Kevin Edwards shouted “hard work” on Saturday, about 30 children chanted back “dedication” at Fred Cone Park in east Gainesville.
The UF second-year law student was one of 12 who volunteered at the UF Levin School of Law’s Entertainment and Sports Law Society’s first “It Takes A Village” youth football camp.
Players from UF’s football team taught third- through eighth-grade students throws and stances.
Students played at the free football camp from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event aimed to encourage students to realize their potential, said Jamal Hicks, the society’s social chair and a UF third-year law student.
Gator Domino’s and Wal-Mart sponsored the event. The children were from the Boys and Girls Club and the Reichert House, an all-boys after-school community center.
“We hope to use sports as a mechanism to connect with the kids so we can pass our ultimate message, which is to stay in school,” Hicks, 24, said.
Players taught the children wide-receiver drills, how to catch the ball, ways to run more quickly and stance.
“These kids in East Gainesville admire UF football players,” Hicks said. “They can learn a lot from them.”
Hicks said the law students hoped to talk to the children about education in addition to sports.
“That’s the core age when we can get through to them and get our message across,” he said.
Edwards, 27, said he hoped the event encouraged discipline.
“When the kids had camaraderie and they were enjoying drills, that was the most special part for me,” he said.
He said he volunteered at the camp to give back to the community.
“We don’t just come to Gainesville to come to school,” he said. “We want to give back too.”
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