JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars are kicking off their ‘Summer of Youth Football’ campaign, aiming to grow the game for boys and girls across Northeast Florida and beyond. Jaguars PREP is hosting seven events to help more than 2,000 boys and girls develop their skills, prepare for the season, and fall in love with the game.
Friday’s Girls Prospect Camp at Providence High School welcomed more than 400 young athletes from across the Southeast—some traveling hours just to compete.
“This camp is very unique,” Jaguars vice president of community impact and football development Adriel Rocha said. ”There’s not very many like them, so I think that’s the reason you see athletes traveling 4–6 hours away to come here and compete.”
Girls ages 7 through 17 rotated through drills and scrimmages—and even heard from role models like U.S. Women’s National Flag Football player London Jenkins, a Fleming Island graduate and a NJCAA Women’s Flag Football National Champion.
“It feels amazing being able to come back and just give back to the community,” Jenkins said. ”It means everything. Being able to come out here and see 400 different girls wanting to play the sport of football is amazing.”
Jenkins sees a familiar drive in the young athletes.
“I see the motivation, the grit and hard work—that’s the same place I was in just two years ago," Jenkins said.
The game is growing—and these athletes know it. Among the participants is Ed White senior quarterback Kyra Jackson, who has been playing flag football for four years. This year, she’s competing with Jaguars PREP and will represent Jacksonville at the NFL FLAG Championships in Canton, Ohio.
“It’s just competitive,” Jackson said. ”It’s very fun. It really builds bonds deeper than what the sport is. I’m really excited to see how much it grows on a collegiate and pro level. There’s over 400 people here—it’s just really great to see this sport grow.”
Even current Jaguars players are noticing.
“Just seeing how much it’s grown, it’s really, really cool to see,” Jaguars linebacker Foye Oluokun said. “Now I know it’s going to be an Olympic sport. They get to show their athleticism out there and how they can play this sport, and it gives them a league to really play in so they don’t have to force their way into tackle football with the guys.”
The Jaguars’ Summer of Youth Football continues in the coming weeks, helping grow the next generation of athletes—right here in Northeast Florida. For more information or to register for future events, head to Jaguars.com/PREP.