Not just a game
Football camp exposes kids to more than kicks, tackles and passes
By Lynn Warren CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Page Dowdy/Chesterfield Observer Ken Oxendine's Community Football Camp tackles the hard questions about morality, steroid use and spirituality while the kids learn to pass and kick the football.

Spend about five minutes with Ken Oxendine and two things are easy to see: he is committed, and he is almost out-of-control enthusiastic. The former National Football League, Virginia Tech and Thomas Dale High School football player just can't control his excitement over bringing the Ken Oxendine Community Football Camp back to Chesterfield County for its second year.

Partnering with the Marguerite Christian Athletic Association and other pro athletes, the camp exposes kids to current and former pro players who help improve their football skills and play as a team while also emphasizing "important spiritual principles and providing guidance on the role of football in a student's life," said Oxendine.

The camp is run by Oxendine, his brother, Maurice, and cousins, Carl Brown and William Henderson. Oxendine played as a running back for the Atlanta Falcons. Henderson is a high-profile athlete who just retired after spending 14 years as the Green Bay Packers' All Pro fullback. He has local connections as a graduate of L.C. Bird High and the University of North Carolina.

During its inaugural year, the Oxendine camp attracted 90 participants. Last week's camp drew more than 150 youth. Proceeds from the camp benefited L.C. Bird's athletic program and the National Kidney Foundation.

"Eventually I would like to see the camp become the Chesterfield Community Camp, involving all of the local college and professional athletes," said Oxendine.

Oxendine calls on his experiences as an athlete, trainer and mentor to present his platform.

"Our kids are no longer Generation X; they are Generation Why. 'Why me. Why do I have to do that?' Religion and the core family foundation are no longer a part of these kids' nucleus," explained Oxendine.

He sees the football camp as both an opportunity and an obligation to explore moral and spiritual issues. The kids are taught that they are not alone. The camp is just one example of how the community is there to support them. But, they are also told to understand the reality of success and failure. Less than 1 percent will ever progress beyond the high school level athletically. The kids are taught that they must have a fallback position after athletics and that is "to do the right thing in the classroom and start early to understand the value of academics. We continue to harp on this," explained Oxendine.

"We tackle the issue of steroids and other dangerous nutritional issues, discuss the NCAA regulations, and have the pro athletes share their knowledge," he continued. "We also want to present the idea of God's role in our lives and in our life choices and bring to the table a spiritual purpose."

For now, a chaplain is responsible for most of the spiritual guidance given at the camp, but Oxendine hopes to add an affiliation with the nationally-recognized Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). There are FCA chapters in every county high school.

But for the present, Oxendine and his football camp family and associates stand committed and enthusiastic to "the kids becoming more knowledgeable of themselves spiritually, emotionally and athletically, and for us to provide positive role models, and to be honest in the knowledge we give them," he said.