Nearly 250 young football players and cheerleaders flocked to Vidinha Stadium yesterday for the 2008 Pro Bowl Kaua‘i Youth Clinic to learn drills and cheers — and to get autographs from professional football players. “I want them to sign my
Nearly 250 young football players and cheerleaders flocked to Vidinha Stadium yesterday for the 2008 Pro Bowl Kaua‘i Youth Clinic to learn drills and cheers — and to get autographs from professional football players.
“I want them to sign my shirt,” 11-year-old Tystin Gummerus said.
The wide receiver for the Koloa Pop Warner Packers, who is in his third year attending the event, said he likes coming every year for a variety of reasons.
“I come to improve in football and to learn to catch better,” he said.
Gummerus also wanted to do small talk with the players.
“I would ask them what they do when they’re not playing, like what they do for exercise,” he said.
National Football League players Nick Sorenson (Cleveland Browns), Cleo Lemon (Miami Dolphins), Fred McCrary (Seattle Seahawks), Ben Obomanu (Seattle Seahawks), Zack Crockett (Oakland Raiders) and Vince Manuwai (Jacksonville Jaguars) and a handful of NFL cheerleaders were on-island for the annual youth clinic that generally coincides with Pro Bowl week.
The event, sponsored by the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, the County of Kaua‘i and the Kaua‘i Economic Development Board, was free and open to boys and girls aged 9 to 18 years old. Many who attended were players and cheerleaders from their area Pop Warner teams or from the local schools.
Ten-year-old Amanda Cadavona, a Koloa Packers cheerleader, looks forward to this major event every year.
“I started coming here when I was 6 years old,” she said. “I like it because you can meet the cheerleaders. You could never do that before.”
The day started with many of the young athletes checking in to receive their clinic T-shirts, which they all threw on immediately.
Then they took to the stands and anxiously awaited the start.
Former Miami Dolphin Nat Moore, co-coordinator of the Pro Bowl Youth Clinic, started with the opening remarks and introduced the players to the kids.
Moore saved the University of Hawai‘i alum and Farrington High School graduate Manuwai for last.
This was Manuwai’s third visit to Kaua‘i for the Pro Bowl clinic and he couldn’t be happier to make an appearance.
“First and foremost, I’m from Hawai‘i,” he said. “I grew up here and I know the people here. I know the nature of the people here. At the same time, I’m playing professional football. I wanted to show them that you’re not too good to come back and do these things.”
The 27-year-old guard for the Jaguars said having professional players conduct clinics like these are important to communities because it’s a positive experience for kids.
“These kids see you on TV and they’re amazed when they get to see you in person,” he said. “They not only get to see you, but they get to touch you.”
The clinic saw a slight increase in participation this year. That’s partly because, this year, the clinic was open to athletes not only in the Pop Warner circuit.
As the kids took the field, they were separated into age groups before working on the drills. And even before each session, the pro-leaguers took the time to sign autographs.
“You want to be a positive and good person,” Manuwai said. “It’s the kids who look up to you. You want them to grow up and be positive people too.”
