PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - Athletes are expected to be leaders both on the field and off. The National Football League’s High School Player Development program, which is sponsored by the National Guard, recognizes this by emphasizing character development and community service for young athletes.
During a 7-on-7 football tournament here this week, about 260 youths from high schools across the country worked with members of the Florida National Guard’s 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s rear detachment to pack care packages for service members deployed overseas.
The students packed thousands of care packages and were able to tour the Armed Forces Reserve Center and learn more about what the National Guard does in local communities.
“We were able to pair up a lot of our Soldiers with teams that came from their hometowns,” said Army Lt. Col. Pete Kay, the unit commander. “I think they were able to really see what the next batch of leaders were made of and these kids were real good examples of our youth today.”
The community service project emphasizes the HSPD’s increasing focus on character development and teaching life skills to create more well-rounded players. The initiative fits well with the NFL’s history of partnering with non-profit organizations, such as the United Way, and the National Guard’s commitment to local communities.
“In the past, we’ve taken them to amusement parks,” said Jerry Horowitz, the director of the NFL’s HSPD program. “We thought about it and said, ‘What could be better than partnering with our partners- the National Guard- and having these kids make a commitment to the community and stuff bags for the Soldiers who are serving their country overseas?’”
This partnership with the National Guard also gives the athletes an opportunity to meet potential role models in many different career fields, who are putting their leadership skills to work in positive ways.
“What we’re doing with the National Guard and the NFL is not to make better football players,” said Horowitz. “But to make better Soldiers, better doctors, better lawyers and better citizens and prepare them for life after football, so that they can enter society as productive human beings.”
Members of the Florida National Guard also assisted during the football tournament by keeping score and providing security and water for the players.
“These kids get to see the Guard, not carrying weapons, not in a fight, but as being part of the fabric of a community,” said Lt. Col. William Donas, the marketing and advertising branch chief for the Army National Guard. “It’s a win-win for both of us – for the kids and for the Guard. It just reminds us of what’s important in life; and that is affecting our kids with a positive role model and message early on so that we have good kids coming up into society.”
The event provided an opportunity for the Soldiers to leave an impression on tomorrow’s future leaders – and possibly, Soldiers – about what the National Guard is and what the National Guard does.
“If we want to leave these kids with anything, it’s the benefits of providing a service to their communities and some of the return they get on the investment of their time and energy,” said Kaye.