GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – As part of his annual charity weekend, Seahawks defensive end and former Clay high school star Cliff Avril hosted his 4th annual youth football camp at his alma mater Saturday.
There were 500 spots available for the free football skills camp for boys and girls of all ages and all 500 were filled well before this weekend. Avril says that he can't believe how much it has grown since the first year and he's happy to keep it going.
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"My foundation is geared towards juvenile diabetes which needs you to keep active and eat healthy, so we want the kids to get off the couch playing video games and get them active," said Avril.
Avril has enlisted some of his former teammates to help out with the camp including Jaguars safety Josh Evans, former Detroit Lion Stephen Tulloch, and former teammate in Seattle B.J. Daniels. Teaching these athletes the right way is important to Avril. But as important is teaching them that they can do anything they can put their mind to.
"I brought a few of the NFL players out with me to show them that there's a lot of hard work that goes into it. If you are dedicated and willing to put that hard work in, anything is possible. I mean, I used to literally play on this football field so, I just want to show these kids if you work hard enough, you can make it happen," says Avril.
Avril's family charity weekend wraps up with a free party at Armstrong Park in Middleburg from 1 to 5 PM Sunday. Avril says that in addition to free food with music and dancing, the "get kids active" theme will still be very strong tomorrow.
"We've got kickball, which I am very dedicated in winning. We have 3 on 3 basketball, flag football, face painting, bounce houses, everything for the kids and if you aren't doing anything, you should come out and have a blast. And it's free!"