By Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — It was another successful camp for the Light Foundation as the Matt Light All-Conference Football Camp took place on June 19 and 20 at Greenville High School. The Light Foundation, founded by former New England Patriot, three time Super Bowl Champion and former Greenville football player Matt Light and his wife Susie.

Light said it was a great camp as the kids and the weather were incredible for the two days. The campers go through different offensive and defensive drills. They also have chances to compete against each other in different competitions.

Light said there has been a lot of action during the two days. While the campers get to learn the basics of football, the main goal is to teach the kids leadership skills through football. Light said the kids have shown growth in that area during the camp.

“It’s not necessarily all about fundamentals and football, it’s how do you interact with coaches you never met before, how do you interact with kids that are from other programs and other towns. How do you take care of the things that we’ve entrusted you with. Whether it’s this facility, picking up after themselves, being respectful to the people that help behind the scenes,” Light said. “Those are the things that are really important to this camp. These kids, their parents should be very proud of them. They’ve done a great job so far.”

A total of 300 kids attended the camp. This year, 250 kids grades second through sixth went through the drills and competed at the camp. Fifty kids grades seventh through eighth registered under the Light Leaders’ program to assist the coaches and help the younger kids.

Light said they told the Light Leaders they will be a big help to the coaches as they help organize the drills and get the younger kids through the drills. The older kids jumped right in and lived up to Light’s expectations.

“When we got to our seven on seven, which is highly competitive and these kids all want to win their game, these Light Leaders jumped in and helped lead them, teaching them plays, ‘Hey you’re going to run here, you’re going to do this.’ They did a phenomenal job. That’s kind of what we expected and it’s great to see it,” Light said.

The camp wouldn’t be possible without the help from the community. Local business around the area sponsor the camp to help fund it. The Foundation also received a $10,000 grant from the Bill Belichick Foundation last year to help grow the camp.

High school football coaches from the around the area, college coaches and former players volunteer their time to help coach the camp. Light said the Foundation is thankful for their sponsors and coaches support to keep the camp free for the local kids.

“If we didn’t have the sponsors and we didn’t have these coaches, you can’t do what we do. That’s the heart and soul of it. It’s a great lesson for these kids,” Light said. “When we read off all the sponsor names, the people that are in this community that invest in this program, I always tell the kids if you get a chance and you are in one of these businesses, go thank them. Let them know that you attended this camp and you were the beneficiary of their generosity.”

It’s more than just a normal football camp. It’s a community-driven event to help teach kids life skills put on by one of Greenville’s own.

“I love coming home, I love being a part of this camp, I love being on the field where I played and I love working with these kids. It’s just the sense of community, the people that all pitch in and sacrifice to make it possible,” Light said.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]