BROOKLYN, Ohio — On Saturday, Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders was in Miami, Florida, working out with some other members of the team.
One day later, he was back in Northeast Ohio, holding a free youth football camp for more than 500 kids at Brooklyn Memorial Stadium in Brooklyn, Ohio.
The camp was held in collaboration with Browns Give Back, who helped organize and run the camp. Kids took the field and split into groups, moving through a number of drills and activities where they learned football skills while having plenty of fun.
Sanders came straight from the airport to the camp and was immediately swarmed by the campers. Camp organizers managed to calm the hysteria, but there was no denying the excitement each kid felt to meet the Browns quarterback.
"Overall, I'm truly excited that they're excited to see me and stuff. I would say most of the time, usually athletes and everything, we're isolated more, so it's about getting in the community and just seeing everybody and seeing the inspiration that we give just by showing up, and it's a very simple task, so I truly appreciate it," Sanders said.
Sanders' presence at the camp was appreciated by the young participants, many of whom, while young, were able to recognize the community efforts of their favorite player.
"My favorite part of today was meeting Shedeur Sanders," said 10-year-old camper Travis Martin. "[It's cool] that he's just trying to give back to the community and help the organization out."
Sanders was hands-on amongst the groups, and then, to end the camp session, had a very special gift for two campers.
In a knockout-style game of "Heads, Shoulders, Knees, Flag," where the campers had to follow directions and test their reflexes, Sanders awarded two with diamond chains from Tajia Diamonds, a prize with a high price tag—and priceless memories.
"It's crazy. I didn't even think I was gonna make it," said 12-year-old Shaniya Giles, who won one of the diamond chains, smiling big as she got to wear her new jewelry.
Sanders thought bringing a little competition with a big prize would be a fun and unique way to engage the kids.
"Oh, the chain, that was, that was just a little thing that I just thought was cool. I was like, 'Okay, let's do it,' because I always want to be able to have these different memories, and I like competition. Overall, I love the competition factor and it's fair. I love fair competition," Sanders said. "So that's what we did, and it was hard to figure out a game because you don't want to just race all the time. So that was the hardest thing is figuring out what game we're going to do. But thankfully, the Browns, everybody, helped that out and smoothed over the process."
For Sanders, having fun in the offseason is important, but even more important is giving back to the community.
"It's an amazing day. Look at the sky. You hear the music. Look at the merch everybody has on. Look at the teamwork that it took for us to all come here and be able to get this done and I'm truly happy. I'm truly amazed," Sanders said. "My favorite part of the camp, I would say was the people behind the scenes that helped put all this together. Browns Give Back, the Winning Foundation, everybody that really took the time out to do it, a lot of the coaches, a lot of the players, the kids, the parents, the extra festivities we have in the back...that's what made me the most happy."
