For the second summer in a row, one of the largest youth sports camps will return to Brookings. The Cash Money Youth Football Skills Camp, which ironically is free, will bring in professional and college athletes, along with coaches and other personalities, together for one day of activity and fun on June 25th at Brookings high school.
Some of the big names of people who will attend this year’s camp are Coach John Mosley of the Netflix Series ‘Last Chance U,’ Pierre Desir, NFL defensive back and 2020 Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee, and Cecil Shorts, former NFL wide receiver and operations employee for the Houston Texans.
There are plenty of other national, regional, and local names as well who will help with this year’s camp, which includes coaches and players from many area and regional colleges.
The reason it’s named the ‘Cash Money Youth Football Skills Camp,’ is because the founder of the camp, Noah Clair, is nicknamed Cash Money. While it’s deemed a football camp, it’s not exclusive to that.
“If your kid doesn’t like football, we still want them to come, because it’s not just going to be solely based on football. We’re going to be playing a lot of games and having a lot of fun that way too,” said camp founder Noah Clair.
Basketball coaches and players from South Dakota State University, the University of South Dakota, the University of Utah, and Dakota State University, to name a few, will also be on hand helping with drills.
“Commonly, year one is the most stressful year, and it was tough, don’t get me wrong, but I think year one exceeded every expectation we had for it,” stated Clair. “Going into year two, we’re not only more excited, but we’re more goal driven, more ultra-laser focused on what our goals are.”
Last year, the camp brought in nearly 500 kids. For this summer, they’re hoping to see those numbers grow as well. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is also helping partner with the event.
“You’re not going to find any camp, not only in the Midwest, but in the country that unites this many collegiate athletes, and NFL players, and collegiate coaches, and TV Show coaches all together in one location for free,” explained Claire. “They’re not being paid to come, they’re all flying in and driving in off their own dime, spending their own money, to get here to serve these kids.”
The camp is for kids who range from grades 2-12. In the morning, the session is angled towards grades 2-5, while the afternoon session is more catered to the kids who are in the range of grades 6-12.
“Whether a kid is 500 pounds and can’t run or whether he’s a good athlete, or whether he or she even likes sports, we want every kid to feel like they’re validated, they’re loved, they’re cared for, and want them to have a day that they can talk about for the rest of their life,” Clair exclaimed.
This year, the camp is also partnering with Samaritan’s Feet in hopes of bringing in 1,000 pairs of donated shoes. The goal is to send the donated footwear to kids around the world, who don’t have shoes.
For more information on the camp, and to sign up, click here.
