BEAUMONT, Texas — Under the bright Southeast Texas sun, area youth rushed into Beaumont Independent School District Memorial Stadium to learn from Central High School alumnus and Broncos Safety P.J. Locke.
Locke had a collection of former Southeast Texas players by his side as he and the BamFam Foundation hosted a free youth summer camp.
"It's always a great thing to come back home especially coming back to the community that I grew up at," said Locke. "When I was a young kid, I was in their shoes ,and I wish I had someone to come back and give back to the community. That was always on my mind, you know ,when I made it, come back and give back."
The free youth camp has grown from what was a group workout to a sponsored event filled with insight from current and past BISD coaches, NFL and college players.
"My biggest thing was just trying to keep everybody together," said Locke. "There's so much talent in this area, and I feel like a lot of recruiters, they kind of skip over this area. I think you can find everything you need right here in this area. I'm just trying to keep the community together, and hopefully, I rub off on the next person to keep throwing camps, giving back."
Giants Cornerback Michael Jacquet, Cardinals Safety Deionte Adams, Aggie Defensive Back Bryce Anderson and Longhorn Running Back Roschon Johnson were volunteers at today's camp.
"I remember like it was yesterday being in their shoes, coming up, just kind of wanting to expand my career to the next level and to pretty much advance and be as best as I could," said Johnson. "I just hope they can see an example. Just basically what hard work will get them and just for the to have some hope."
"Coming from this area there's a lot of different things but if we can bring the kids out here and put something positive in their lives, give them some motivation to work hard and stay out of trouble," said Johnson. "I will be more than happy to take the opportunity."