Lance Briggs Hosts Youth Football Camp at ARC

Hundreds of kids took the field for the Lance Briggs Nor-Cal All Star Football Camp in Beaver Stadium at American River College on a sunny Saturday.

Briggs, a Sacramento native and offensive linebacker for the Chicago Bears, and Seneca Wallace, another Sacramento native and Cleveland Browns quarterback were on deck with other players to teach kids the fundamentals of football. Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher was scheduled to join in but did not attend.

The kids that participated in the camp took part in drills in passing, receiving and blocking among other techniques. The camp even featured a doctor from the University of California, Davis, who talked about sports injuries, emphasizing on concussions.

While speaking to the campers, Briggs, who went to Elk Grove High School, focused on the importance of hard work.

“Things don’t come easy,” he said. “You’ve got to work for it if you’re going to be out on the field.

“A lot of the kids - seeing their faces and excitement out there - it’s all worthwhile.”

Austin Wood, a 15-year-old participant, said he wanted to be like Briggs when he‘s older.

“You have to have a team to win,” Woods said he learned from Briggs. “Stay true to yourself.”

Wallace enjoyed coming home to give back to the city he grew up in.

“Just to give back all the stuff we were doing when we were doing when we were younger,” Wallace said. “It pretty much takes you back because this is stuff you did when you were younger.”

With the NFL in a lockout, it’s not known if there will be a season this year. On Saturday, the players were putting their time to good use.

“It keeps you busy,” Wallace said. “You don’t want to sit around and do nothing. Being able to be part of stuff like this that you normally wouldn’t be part of. You might be training.”

These athletes came to give the kids a camp to learn football. They came out with a memorable experience they won’t soon forget.