MENTOR, Ohio — Mitch Trubisky has never been too far from home in his nine seasons in the NFL. First, he was with the Chicago Bears, then the Bills, then the Pittsburgh Steelers and now he's back in Buffalo. But while he's traveled around the Midwest, Mentor will always be a place he calls home.
Which is why he always makes sure to come back and give back to the city where he was raised.
On Monday, Trubisky kicked off the first day of his three-day youth football camp held at Mentor High School.
"We're teaching the fundamentals of football. Same camp I went to growing up, it has just evolved and gotten better. Coach [Matt] Gray, and all the high school kids are doing a great job with the young kids and we're just out here to try to teach them the game and make sure they're having a fun time," Trubisky said.
Trubisky has held his youth camp in Mentor for eight of the nine years he's been in the NFL. He fell in love with the sport, going to youth camps as a kid, and has made sure to make time for the next generation to have the chance to do the same.
"This is where my roots are, this is where I learned the game of football, this is where my family's at. And Mentor High School, this field is like sacred ground to me," Trubisky said. "So to come back to give back to these kids, be a part of this camp, it means a great deal to me and this will forever be my home, so it's always great coming back home and saying hi to these kids and going through this camp with them."
The Bills quarterback took group pictures with all of the campers before getting hands-on work with the kids, throwing passes, cheering them on during relay races and position drills, and taking time to talk to any of the little ones who wanted to speak to him.
For Coach Gray, the Mentor High School football head coach, seeing Trubisky remain so passionate about his hometown means the world.
"He's kind of that living proof of having those dreams, of having the work ethic that ties in, because he was in these guys' shoes one day. He came up coming to the Mentor football youth camp, he played at our middle schools, he went through obviously Mentor High School, then went to North Carolina and then into the National Football League, so he's lived it. He's been in these shoes and he knows what this program and what this game really meant to him, and that really shows you how he gives this time back to us," Gray said. "It's absolutely unbelievable and tremendous that he comes back and, and leaves this impact on these kids and gives the time because you never know who can be that next Mitchell Trubisky and that's definitely what they all aspire to be."
Whether the next Mentor to NFL pipeline player was on the field Monday or not, Trubisky just hopes that all of the kids took away fun and lasting memories to go along with their football lessons.
"[I want them to] just have fun, learn the fundamentals of the game and meet a bunch of friends. This is where I met like my first friends in the world. This is where I learned how to play football. This is where I met my first role models that I looked up to and I wanted to be like, and this is where I fell in love with the game of football, really. So, hopefully, if they can take away anything, any of those things, that's great. And if they just come out and have fun, that's the goal," Trubisky said.
The Mitch Trubisky Mentor Youth Football Camp will continue this week, with the quarterback enjoying his time in Mentor before he heads back to Buffalo to start training camp with the Bills. While he appreciates the other cities he's lived and worked in, his hometown of Mentor will always be near and dear to him.
"I'm in Buffalo now, it's only like a 2.5-hour drive. It's not too bad, but it's good to be back home and great to see my old coaches and everybody," Trubisky said. "It's always going to be a special place to me."
