Pro Bowl tackle Matt Light retired in 2012 after an 11-year career (and three Super Bowl rings) with the Patriots. However, his connection with our sport did not end there.
Light is one of more than 75 NFL alumni who conduct free football camps at this time of year. Many of these camps receive financial help through Youth Football Grants from the NFL Foundation.
Light is Co-Founder of the All-Conference Football Camp in his hometown of Greenville, Ohio. His 2023 camp occurred earlier this week for youngsters in grades 2-8. The goal of the camp is to improve football skills and develop leadership qualities and the attributes that are necessary for attaining success on & off the field. He has applied for an NFL Foundation Youth Football Grant each of the previous three years.
“We offer our campers a variety of hands-on learning activities,” says Light “that support their social and emotional learning, build strong, good character and equip them with the tools and skills needed to start their leadership journey and which stay with them every step of the way.”
The NFL Foundation provides Youth Football Camp Grants up to $2,000 each to NFL alumni and active players who hold free, non-contact camps and clinics. The list of 2023 grant recipients is impressive and includes familiar alumni names such as Jarrod Bunch, Dwight Hollier, Gerald McCoy, Prince Amukamara, and Isaac Bruce.
Bruce, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, has hosted more than 8,000 kids in the St. Louis area through his summer camps since 2007.
“It’s been a ball having it in St. Louis,” says 50-year-old Bruce, who started his own Foundation in 2006 with a focus on health, wellness, nutrition, fitness and education. “Parents have an opportunity to bring their children out and learn football skills, life skills, and family skills. We do all that through football. They enjoy it every year.”
We at NFL Alumni congratulate all our members who conduct their own free camps or who help teach in their former teammates’ clinics. Many of us as youngsters began playing at similar camps years ago and this is a terrific way for us to give back to the next generation of players and their families.
(While the deadline for these 2023 youth football grants has passed, we encourage you to visit www.nflfoundation.org for information on all the different grant programs available to you alumni.)
