On June 22-23, Malcolm Jenkins, Two-time Super Bowl Champion and Two-time Pro Bowl Safety for the Philadelphia Eagles hosted The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation’s seventh annual Next Level Youth Football Camp for over 525 boys and girls, ages 7-17 at Piscataway High School.
Jenkins, a native New Jersey, along with several other prominent current and former NFL players, served as mentors providing hands-on instruction and motivational lessons, with support of local area high school coaches and community partners. Participants were grouped based on age, with an emphasis placed on skill development, safety, and fun of the game.
Advancing the Foundation’s mission to effectuate positive change in the lives of young people and the communities in which they live, the camp also provided parents and guardians in attendance with industry-leading resources to help them understand how to protect the health and safety of their young athletes. The FREE health, wellness and sports safety information workshops were offered through a partnership with Safe Kids-NJ. Topics included Nutrition and Hydration, Concussion Recognition and Recovery, Overuse Injury Prevention and Care, Sudden Cardiac Arrest in Athletes presented by Simon's Heart, and Anti-Bullying presented by Ron Shuali, M. Ed.Sport Testing Inc., a leading provider of sport specific player testing and athletic assessment technologies, provided state-of-the-art combine testing to all campers, sponsored by Dynasty Sports Group, a company founded by former New Orleans Saints Super Bowl Champion and Jenkins former teammate, Marques Colston.
In addition, this year marked the inaugural Tumbling Camp for Cheerleaders co-hosted by Hall of Fame, World Champion Power Tumbler, Rayshine Harris of Shine Tumblers and the Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders. “Each year, we try to add unique and innovative components to the program to make it a better experience for the campers.
Since 2012, the camp has grown approximately 25 percent each year and I’m grateful to have the support of my NFL colleagues and High School coaches, who give their time and effort to coach and mentor the kids, which we hope will have a positive and lasting impact in their lives,” said Malcolm Jenkins. NFL players participating in the camp include Devin McCourty (New England Patriots), Marques Colston (former New Orleans Saints), Jonathan Casillas, Troy Smith, and Donald Washington.This year’s camp was made possible through the generosity of sponsors and community partners including Shine_Tumblers, AT&T, Piascik, Safe Kids Worldwide, Safe Kids New Jersey RWJBarnabas Health, Philadelphia Eagles, Piscataway Township High School, New Jersey American Water, North Stelton Volunteer Fire Company, Simon's Heart Shua Life Skills, Robby West, Frito-Lay, Brown's Family ShopRite, Bash, Healthy Garden Restaurant Piscataway River Road Rescue Squad The Heldrich TACKMA Dream Factory Balloons, and a grant from the NFL Foundation.
