These NFL Star Receivers Are Holding 1-Day Camps This Summer

The NFL continues to expand its efforts to make the league part of local communities. Now, many players are doing the same. For example, numerous NFL star receivers are holding 1-Day camps this summer.

As someone who has been in and around football since I the ripe age of 10-years-old, I find this to be a rare and unique offering. Often, professional athletes seemed untouchable and off-limits to the general public. When I was growing up, they seemed like mysterious superheroes that were almost not real and only existed on the field or court.

Credit is due to today's players who not only recognize themselves as impactful role models within their commutes but also put themselves out there in the middle of it. Many of these camps are in June and July when players, coaches (and much of the league in general) are on vacation prior to training camp starting.

From rookies to pro bowlers, there are a wide range of fun options here. Let's go in date order. Meaning that we'll start our list with those camps that are coming up as soon as the end of this week.

Ohio State fans rejoice. On July 6 in Columbus, the Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Garrett Wilson camp will occur. Wilson will then hold his own camp on July 12 in Morristown, New Jersey.

On July 9 in Austin, Texas Cowboys fans can learn from CeeDee Lamb. This takes place at the Round Rock Multipurpose complex. Lamb will then hold one more session closer to Cowboys headquarters on July 20 in Arlington.

Jordan Addison from the Minnesota Vikings camp will be on July 14 in Golden Valley, Minnesota. Addison's camp is held at the Breck School.

Although Keenan Allen has left the Chargers (traded to the Bears) and the Chargers are long gone out of San Diego, Allen will return to his roots and hold his camp in Carlsbad, California, on July 17.

On July 19 across the country on the East Coast, A.J. Brown will be showing campers the ropes in Haddonfield, New Jersey at their regional high school. This is just a short 10 miles from the Eagles stadium in Philadelphia.

Just down Route 95 South, Zay Flowers from the Baltimore Ravens is holding his camp, also on July 19. This is in Severn, Maryland, at local Archbishop Spalding High School.

Lastly in Michigan, newly re-signed star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown will hold two camps. The first is on July 24 in Saginaw and the next day he will be in Ann Arbor for the second session.

Although receiver has become the more popular position in the NFL, it is worth noting that running backs Jahmyr Gibbs, Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker III, D'Andre Swift, James Cook, and Bijan Robinson are among the big names holding running back camps this summer as well.

For more information on each of these camps and to register visit Flexwork Sports. Regardless of the location or player, each session includes a camp photo with the special NFL guest.

There are many life lessons to be taken from coaching youth sports. Sometimes, they can be the same lessons your little players are also learning. Perhaps as an adult, you are simply learning these lessons again. Or you may just be interpreting them through a different lens.

This is the first memory I have as a kid playing basketball. It's a sentence I will never forget. My coach was a former standout at the University of South Carolina. He treated us as if he was the actual Division One South Carolina coach, and we were his 5-star recruit players about to enter March Madness. We were ten years old. It sounds intense, I understand, but herein lies the first rule of coaching youth sports. There are some values that are non-negotiable.

When you break it down, these values are all centered around respect. Respect for yourself and those around you. Respect becomes a way of life. It's how an athlete carries themselves and how they approach the game. Therefore, it's important as a coach to ask yourself if respect is present in the environment you and your team are creating. It has a way of applying to everything while also being an evolving process.

Speaking of which, more often than not, youth coaches are volunteers. This means that they are not paid. Sometimes, they never even played the sport they are coaching. However, they care enough to dedicate their time and attention to help make the sporting experience memorable for the youth program. So keep that in mind and cut them some slack. This is true of referees and umpires, as well.

Coaching youth sports can be a year-round commitment. We often end one season and immediately transition to the next sport. Here are five life lessons learned from coaching youth sports.

There’s no better feeling than working tirelessly for something you really want, and then accomplishing it. Especially if you are an underdog. You learn to enjoy the struggle. It makes the reward that much sweeter. The most valuable lesson from this piece is that once you dedicate yourself to putting in whatever it takes, this becomes a mindset. No win comes for free. You aren't entitled to playing time. Both of those must be earned. There's nothing wrong with reminding yourself of that while preaching to your kids about how to get playing time.

Your definition of exercise might be a sweaty cardio workout in the gym. But as a coach, exercise has a broad meaning. Certainly, getting yourself outside with a team and teaching them the importance of stretching and preparing your body is essential to physical success. Coaching a sport like football, for example, your two hours a day on the field are laser-focused on just that. There, you are giving yourself some mental exercise, taking a break from all the other work, stress, or life-circumstances. You can forget everything else when you hit the field, court, or rink.

Whether you manage a soccer team or a sales team, you're leading a collection of individuals. What makes your top performer tick is not the same as what makes a lesser player (or employee) with potential, tick. This lesson centers around relationship-building and listening. How you run your team is about you, and how your players apply these guidelines is about them.

...Nor are they getting a full scholarship offer to a top NCAA college at this age. You may see things in your kid or another on the team where your experience makes you think a certain player has a shot at the big time. But that time is not right now. Your coaching duty is to give the best experience possible to your players. How does creating an entire game plan around one super-talented 10-year old give the other 20 kids a fair chance? How does it give them a memorable experience? Or something to build off for next year. Or confidence. Again, those refereeing your games are most likely high school or college kids themselves. They're just trying to work and earn some money. Again, cut them some slack.

Your tone in addressing your players, the refs, and the other team matters, too. Be cognizant of how you deliver your messages. You may have an incredibly impactful point to make, but if you don't articulate it correctly, and cater to your audience, it can be useless. Coaching youth sports is about the overall experience, not the final score, and not the final record. Your stats don't matter, your voice does.