Former Buffalo Bills safety giving back to Rock Hill community with free summer camp
Jonathan Meeks achieved the dream that many young football athletes want: playing in the NFL.
The Clemson safety by way of Rock Hill High School was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
Meeks had 31 combined tackles across 36 games in a four-year NFL career. Now, he’s hoping to share some of that knowledge with the local youth in his first Football C.A.M.P. (Community Advancement Mentorship Program).
The three-day event is hosted in partnership with local nonprofit The Community Partnership Foundation (CPF) at Rock Hill High from June 13-15. The camp works with rising sixth graders to rising 12th graders.
“Going to the NFL, I just try to share with the guys what I learned to get there and what I learned while I was there,” Meeks said. “There’s some basic things, basic principles like hard work, resiliency, character.”
“The biggest thing I’ll say is faith. That gives you hope; it gives you love; it gives you confidence. It gives you the ability to respect the game and the others who you’re playing with because it’s not about ‘I,’ it’s about ‘we’ in life.”
The first day of camp was a combine-style session with individualized coaching from volunteers, testing campers in events like the 40-yard dash and the three-cone drill.
However, campers also learned about mental health and financial literacy, receiving lessons about life aspects outside of football.
“I know a lot of kids want to go into professional football or professional athletics in any type ..., but they don’t ever take into consideration a lot of the things that do happen when it comes to concussions or sickness or illness,” marketing and event coordinator Alexis Purdy said. “I think it’s a really big part of our generation to instill these in the younger kids to let them know that’s also a part of becoming an athlete and really focusing on that because you can take it anywhere.”
Purdy and Meeks said that the Rock Hill community came together to support the camp in a huge way.
Local business and organizations donated over $10,000, allowing a camp that was originally marketed with a cost of $125 per person to be available for free.
Meeks said that level of contribution embodies the ideals he wants to teach his campers, and he wants the kids to see the rewards of community fellowship.
“It’s for the future generations,” Meeks said. “They’re our hope. When I’m older and I’m no longer able, I will learn from my kids and my community to be well-equipped for sustainable life.”
Meeks said that Day 2 will feature skills and drills that correlate directly to what the campers may do on a football field. Day 3 will be the competition day, with the campers playing 7-on-7 and one-on-one against each other.
Meeks also said that the camp may also morph into a host of other sports like basketball or cheerleading as he wants to continue to teach kids principles that will make them successful in their sport and in life.