Saints Junior Training Camp | Southern Education Desk 3-12-12

Members of the New Orleans Saints training staff and dance team are teaching kids about fitness, education and football. For many of the students, the visit was a motivator to achieve high reading scores.

 

The Saints Junior Training Camp at Sallie Humble Elementary

Students at Sallie Humble Elementary are thrilled to be learning about football from one of the best teams in the business.

Second-grader Parker Kaneday has been learning how to throw a football from members of the New Orleans Saints organization.

 

He says working out with the members of the Saints training staff is inspiring, as well as a great time.

 

“I’ve seen a lot of kids doing their best and they’re all doing their very best to do what they can and it’s really very fun in there."

 

Children who achieved certain reading goals were eligible to participate in the training session.

 

Librarian Tracey Woodhead explains.

 

“They had to have at least a ninety-percent correct on quizzes that they take on books that they’ve read. So they have a certain goal each six weeks – they had to read a certain amount of points for their goal. If they got it, they got to do this.”

 

Sixth-grader Brittney Davis met her reading goals, and got to spend the morning having fun.

“We danced today with the Saints Sensations. We’ve been playing football; we’ve been exercising and talking about the Saints today.”

 

The eleven-year-old says spending time with the Saints organization is a motivational tool.

“It really does make me want to work harder so I can do stuff like that.”

 

Andrew Remson is the youth programs manager for the New Orlans Saints. He says the football team encourages kids to work hard in school.

 

“Education is a huge thing that we stress. A lot of kids say ‘I want to be an NFL football player.’ We’ve got to stress the importance of ‘you can be an NFL football player, but not everybody has the opportunity to reach that goal,' but there are other goals you can set for yourself that can be achieved by doing well in school: reading, going to class, paying attention to your teachers, maintaining a healthy lifestyle to get you to that point.”

 

This message seems to resonate with students: both Brittney Davis and Parker Kaneday say they worked especially hard at reading to be able to attend the session with the Saints’ trainers and dance team.

 

Lexington Elementary and Central Elementary in Calhoun are also on the Saints’ training staff’s itinerary.