Jason Garrett hosted his annual Starfish Charities "Play It Smart" football camp this past weekend. Zack DiGregorio was there, and he files this report:
As someone who went semi-viral for an essay that began “I have never won anything in my entire life,” it feels oddly fitting that my favorite day of the year included some heartbreak. At Princeton Stadium, my team lost a heartbreaker in the Championship of the World at the 22nd Annual Jason Garrett Starfish Charities "Play It Smart" football camp.
In a tight contest that came down to the wire, a clutch interception on the right sideline by a junior from New Dorp High School gave our team the ball back with about a minute left to play. Our quarterback took a shot to the end zone where, in front of 300 high schoolers and about a hundred more coaches, the opposing team’s safety pulled in an interception of his own, sealing the game and the Championship of the World for Jerome Henderson’s Nittany Lions.
Not that I am mad about it. I’m not. Not at all… Ok, maybe just a little. The Play It Smart camp is about so much more than the football that happens between the white lines, though. Each year, Princeton University opens its doors to former Princeton great Jason Garrett to host this camp where, for one day, over 300 kids from the area come to campus and play football where football was born. The goal of this camp, as Jason says every year, is to get one of them to walk around campus, and say “I belong here.”
A lot of these kids come from challenging home situations. A lot of them have never been to a place like Princeton or met one of the NFL, business or military leaders who come to campus every year for Jason and these kids. Camp stalwart Freddy Santana was one of those kids. Freddy was a camper of the day at Jason’s camp before going on to be captain of Holy Cross’s football team. He then went on to do Teach for America and become a principal, and he now works to connect students and alumni of the KIPP school system to career opportunities. One of Jason’s favorite reminders is that nothing great has ever been accomplished without enthusiasm. Look up enthusiasm in the dictionary and Freddy Santana will be right there.
Even if the camp is not necessarily about the football, that doesn’t mean players and coaches are not out there competing. Princeton legends Rick Giles, Kevin Guthrie and Howard Levy had a rough day on the field, ending up 0-5 on the day. Hours later and dozens of Conte’s pizzas later, Kevin was still stewing, going over crucial moments in games with Rick as the sun set on Princeton Stadium. Marcus Stroud, former Princeton linebacker and defensive coordinator for our team, sprinted on the field after every big stop or turnover, getting fired up for his defense that pitched two shutouts on Saturday. The whole afternoon is punctuated by occasional outbursts of joy and celebration from a big play from players and coaches alike — many of whom just met each other an hour prior.
Because I am definitely only a little mad about losing the Championship of the World, I’ll take a step back to Friday. Again, the weekend is not really about football. It’s about trying to reach kids and have them realize they have it within them to be great in sports, in school, in their homes and in their lives.
For the first time, this year started in McCosh 50 with an afternoon long seminar on mental health and athletics for around a hundred young men and women. If I am being honest, I walked into the lecture hall a little nervous. A hundred kids and a few hours of programming? You might lose most of the kids by the end when they get antsy or want to check their phone. I was happy to be wrong: these kids were locked in, participating and so much more articulate about mental health challenges in their communities than I was at that age.
From there, everyone headed to Palmer Square for the Dig Deep Fun Run, where even more friendly faces were waiting for us. Charlie and Sandy Thompson, now retired and living a well-deserved dream in Newport, Rhode Island, were there, as well as Ret. Rear Adm. Ryan Scholl, also a Princeton football grad. Scott Rathke, a former Navy SEAL and Iowa football standout, has become a mainstay at the camp each year, not to mention one of the people I’m most excited to see. For me, this year’s Fun Run was a Fun Walk, first with Howard and Jason, with Jason remarking every few steps “This is a hell of a course.” He was right — going right through campus, the course hit the highlights.
Friday night’s dinner was also one for the ages. All the coaches packed into the Nassau Inn for dinner and to catch up with friends whom they maybe haven’t seen in a year. I often call Friday of the camp the Good Guy Convention of America, where it seems like so many of these incredibly talented and intelligent people come together to share stories about the difference they’re trying to make and figure out how to support each other.
Every year, Friday night features a conversation and a panel of football and leadership luminaries and this year, Jason may have out done himself. His conversation with New York Giants legend and Hall of Famer Michael Strahan was as engaging and insightful as you’d expect from someone who has excelled in entertainment and business as much as he has in athletics. The panel featured Strahan, Hall of Famer and Jason’s former teammate in Dallas Michael Irvin, former NFL player and current Giants coach Jerome Henderson, Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, Cowboys all time leader in receptions and one of the toughest players in NFL history Jason Witten, Giants Ring of Honor inductee Jesse Armstead and former Rutgers and New England Patriots standout Devin McCourty, now Jason’s teammate at NBC Sports.
Between them, there are 11 Super Bowl Championships and more Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams than I have time to count. Each of them, though, talked about the importance of wanting to earn the respect of the people they most respected in the locker room. This throughline was striking as, for as long as I can remember I have looked up to and tried to earn the respect of so many of the men and women in that room at the Nassau Inn. One of those people I looked up to and tried to earn the respect of, though, wasn’t there on Friday: my dad. The camp every year falls right before Father’s Day and to be honest, the camp is so much harder than Father’s Day itself. Our favorite weekend of the year every year, I used to flit around the camp as a ball boy when all the coaches were a little younger and would stay out a little later on Friday night. Then in high school I would come as a player then head up to the concourse to talk a little trash to the coaches whose teams I beat (or, far more often, have a little trash talked to me).
Since then, I’ve come back every year and will keep coming back for as long as they’ll have me. What an incredible gift it is, on that weekend, with those people, in that place, to be surrounded by such incredible role models on the field and in life.
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