KILLEEN, Texas — Grind Sports Academy held a kids football camp in Killeen and they brought with them a special guest in Philadelphia Eagles cornerback, Darius Slay.
"I just love to be around to, you know, show kids that you can make it because I'm from a small town myself and a lot of kids get overlooked in the small towns, but I'm a kid from a small town and we just got to set the standard and have fun," Slay said.
Slay is not native to Killeen but expanding his reach in football camps is something he's been working towards.
"I do it all the time. You know, I have camps at my home to my hometown as well. I have them in Philly where I play, at Detroit, everywhere I go because the kids are the future," he said. "I know one thing about me when I was growing up, you know, sports kept me out of lot of situations and I'm just trying to be a face of that and that's a great opportunity for me to start it. I've been doing it for a long time, but I'm just trying to spread it out."
Grind Sports was created nearly two years ago and to see the growth it has gone through is a sight to see.
"It's only gonna get bigger and who knows, we probably gonna need a stadium next time," Director of Grind Sports Daniel Lemon said. "But I appreciate this moment, appreciate the time. I like seeing the smile on the kid's face. It's what I live for. I'm a 56-year-old man being a kid again."
There were plenty of thrills and drills at Grind Sports Academy's camp but at the end of the day, these camps are all about the kids.
"To be honest, this is a crazy sports town," Former NFL wide receiver ArDarius Stewart said. "I don't think they get enough recognition for how much they love their sports. The people around here are great, you know, they're very welcoming and it's just a lot of opportunity out here if you just get with the right people."
With growth on and off the field, seeing opportunities for the youth open up is the true beauty of football.
