Home|Sports|All-Pro Weekend camp receives huge supportSports
The Nassau GuardianSend an emailJune 28, 2023 25 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
The second Bahamas All-Pro Weekend Instructional Football Camp took place on Saturday, receiving an overwhelming support from the campers who showed up and enjoyed themselves at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.
Several current and former National Football League (NFL) players including Bahamian and Indianapolis Colts’ wide receiver Michael Strachan and Arizona Cardinals’ cornerback Rashad Fenton, who has Bahamian roots, served as instructors. Also serving as an instructor was Graham Knowles, son of Bahamian tennis legend Mark Knowles’, a quarterback who recently committed to play at Georgia Tech after his final year of high school.
One of the organizers of the camp, Arthur Johnson, said that they wanted to give the participants a very good experience at the one-day camp.
“It is a tremendous effort, thanks to the help of BTC (Bahamas Telecommunications Company) and other sponsors who all came together to put this event together. This camp is a chance for the Bahamian kids to get a true NFL experience with NFL players. I hope that it helped to develop their skills for them to see if this is something they truly want to pursue. There is not that many camps for this sport in The Bahamas,” Johnson said.
The campers had a lively warmup from former Boise State lineman Alex Guerrero, which included a 40-yard dash. They were then broken up into stations that included one for quarterback drills, another for receiver techniques, one for defensive back drills and another for running back drills.
Strachan, who was in Grand Bahama hosting his own camp the day before, said that he was happy to be in New Providence to see all the kid putting in work.
“It is exciting to see the kids out here ready to work. We worked with them and showed them the techniques and fundamentals of the game. Giving back in general is important and I’m from The Bahamas so it is always in my heart to give whether on or off the field,” Strachan said.
He added that he hopes to see the sport played in high schools in The Bahamas one day.
Guerrero did the warmups with the campers and brought a lot of energy to the camp. Now in his second year with the camp, he likes the athleticism and work ethic that he saw again.
“I want them to fall in love with the sport the same way I fell in love with it,” Guerrero said. “This is a way for me to pass on my blessings. There is tremendous talent and energy. The Bahamian people have the athleticism and work ethic. I think it takes an opportunity that Strachan and Fenton had. It takes commitment, so this is one more step for these guys to achieve what their dreams.”
The younger Knowles did the passing drills at the quarterback station.
“I am very grateful to bring football to this community and showcase how much fun the sport is. I wanted to teach them the basics. I taught them some drills and how to be a god player and respond to situations,” Knowles said.
Fenton said he was happy to be back to his roots with an opportunity to share his knowledge and time with young Bahamian kids. He taught them how to play defense from a defensive back position.
“I taught them the regular defensive positions and how to get into a stance. I taught them how to operate moving backwards instead of forward,” he said.
For some of the campers it was their second time at the camp, and they enjoyed working with the instructors. Both male and female campers were in attendance.