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Reggie Bush Camp 619 Recap
- 03-24-2007
- By Tom Shanahan, San Diego Hall of Champions
PHOTOS BY PAUL PARKS
View pictures from the Camp 619 Kick-Off
It was a Saturday in March at Qualcomm Stadium, but Reggie Bush was greeted by a chant that made the Mission Valley stadium that would otherwise be empty on such a day sound and feel like a fall afternoon.
“Reggie! Reggie! Reggie!”
The chant came from enthusiastic voices of 2,000 campers who had registered for the first “Reggie Bush Camp 619” at Qualcomm. Bush, the New Orleans Saints running back and 2005 Heisman Trophy winner from La Mesa’s Helix High, staged the free camp for boys and girls ages 7 to 17.
The campers filled the seats between the 40 yard lines in the field level section before they took the field. They watched and cheered as 33 past and present NFL players were introduced as camp coaches and San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders declared March 24 “Reggie Bush Day.”
“It’s a great feeling for me to be here and see something that started as an idea become reality,” Bush said. “We have to thank all these players who came out to help make it happen and be with the kids.”
Those NFL players, past and present, ranged from New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, greeted by the campers as if he still played for the Chargers; Junior Seau, a future Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker; Ronnie Lott, a Hall-of-Famer; Rashaan Salaam, the 1994 Heisman Trophy winner and former Chicago Bears running back; Matt Leinart, the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner and quarterback with the Arizona Cardinals; Antonio Cromartie, a Chargers cornerback.
“It can’t get any better than this if you’re a kid,” said J.C. Pearson, the Fox NFL television analyst and retired Kansas City Chiefs cornerback from Oceanside’s El Camino High. “If you want to be a quarterback, you’ve got Drew Brees and Matt Leinart here. If you want to be a running back, you’ve got Reggie Bush, a Heisman Trophy winner. If you want to be a linebacker, you’ve got a future Hall-of-Famer in Junior Seau. If you want to be a defensive back, you’ve got a Hall-of-Famer in Ronnie Lott.”
The Hall of Champions was a partner with Bush in staging the camp. The HOC registered the 2,000 campers within in three days, and there was a waiting list of 700-plus campers. The HOC heard from out-of-state campers from as far away as New Jersey and Florida.
“That shows you the power of Reggie Bush’s name and what he is able to do,” Lott said. “I’m familiar with the Hall of Champions, and the Hall of Champions is events like this. You can make a lot of touchdowns or interceptions, but what you can’t do enough is effect people’s live. Reggie establishing this is awesome. To see him do this, it’s really my honor to be around it. I’m more impressed with him doing this than anything else he does in his life. This is where he’ll make his biggest impact.”
Brees, the two-time Pro Bowl quarterback, said he was impressed with the time commitment Bush invested to make the camp a reality.
“Reggie has a big heart,” Brees said. “He cares about a lot of people. He has so many people pulling at him different directions, I feel for him sometimes. He tries to give to a lot of causes, and sometimes he wears himself thin. This camp is something great for the community.”
Other camp coaches and comments:
Rashaan Salaam: "After the season Reggie had, he didn’t have to take time off to come out here. That’s impressive. What I tried to get across to the kids is don’t be afraid to fail. If you’re trying something new, it will be difficult, but keep your head up.”
Junior Seau: "My main focus with the kids is to make sure they have fun. If they have fun, the fundamentals and techniques will stick. If they don’t have fun, you’ll lose them in five minutes.”
Antonio Cromartie: “I had fun working with the kids and talking with them. I can’t wait until next year. I told the kids to always have a goal. I told them to set it high and go out and get it.”
In addition to teaching fundamentals, Bush wanted the campers to have a chance to interact with NFL players. By the end of the day, many of the white T-shirts provided by Adidas, the shoe and apparel company that Bush endorses, were a canvas for autographs.
The campers also received a Reggie Bush poster lunch was provided by Subway.
Two other camp coaches in attendance were La’Roi Glover, the St. Louis Rams defensive tackle from San Diego State and Point Loma High, and Martin Bayless, the former Chargers defensive back who is now an assistant coach with the Houston Texans.
Glover now co-sponsors the Martin Bayless Free Football Camp (March 30 to April 1 this year at Southwestern College) that was Bush’s inspiration to put on a camp. Bush, like Glover, attended Bayless’ camp before they grew into high school, college and pro stars.
“San Diego is the place that bred us as football players,” Glover said. “We both want to do something to give back to the community.”
Bush, enthused by the response for the first camp, plans to make Camp 619 an annual event.
“We’ve already got some ideas for next year,” Bush said.
