There was a different vibe at Davante Adams' youth football camp this year.
After officially joining the Silver and Black in March 2022, he knew he wanted to bring his annual camp to his new Las Vegas community, having previously held them back in his hometown of East Palo Alto. Adams and his team, FlexWork Sports Management, worked diligently to get everything together quickly – securing Spring Valley High School to as the space for Adams' first camp in Southern Nevada with less than a month's notice.
Going into his second season as a Raider, Adams had the chance to make the camp bigger than last year. Once again partnering with FlexWork and other vendors, the turnout rose by over 200 campers. Adams credited the people around him for making everything work seamlessly and helping to continue his passion for giving back to the next generation of football players.
"Last year, I thought it was beautiful. This year is beautiful times two, really," Adams said upon arriving to Spring Valley High School. "Definitely brings me back to my childhood, being able to run around at camps like this. I was never able to go to a camp that an NFL player was throwing, but just to be able to be here and have fun with the kids is something I'm looking forward to."
Adams, much like on gamedays, was running nonstop around the football field, obliging campers with photos, autographs, scrimmage games and one-on-one drills, plus giving the older campers some words of wisdom based off his experiences of struggling with academics in high school. The event in general was "relaxing" for the Raiders receiver, who had the opportunity to show his community he's a down-to-earth, regular guy out of pads.
"It kind of brings me down a bit. They see me on TV, they see me on social media and they see me from afar," said Adams. "To have these small, intimate groups where I can actually meet each kid and make sure I'm helping them out with different things or just talking to them, it means a lot to me to be able to do that. I know it means a lot to them.
"I truly enjoy doing this kind of stuff, it's fun for me," continued Adams. "You can see when I'm running around out there, it's almost selfish a little bit because I really do like it for myself. Obviously it's something that's really good for them, but any way I can inspire the kids to do the right thing and be active ... like I said earlier, brings me down a bit."
A few members of his Raiders family showed their support at the camp, including General Manager Dave Ziegler. With less than a week until the NFL Draft, Ziegler was able to enjoy his Saturday watching the receiver give back to the game of football – something he envisioned when he traded for No. 17 last offseason.
"To take his time and devote it to a bunch of kids, teaching them a game that we love and the way that he's interacted with the kids – it's a special thing," Ziegler told Raiders.com. "He's a special player for our organization. These are the types of players that we want to build this program around. Outstanding people on the field, hard workers, good teammates and people that represent the Raiders off the field very well. That's what Davante does and he continues to do.
"To be able to come out and support him at an event like this, it's part of the Raiders culture that we want to build and I'm so excited to do it."
