Athletes from the Rocky Boy and Box Elder public schools were treated to a visit from a professional football team on Friday. For the first time ever, the Atlanta Falcons held a free flag football camp in the area. More than 70 kids from the region took part in the festivities.
So how did a team in the southern United States get to be so influential in the state of Montana? Falcons community relations manager Danielle Renner explained what became of this partnership.
“We were planning on what we could do for this upcoming year and (the Montana High School Athletics Association) mentioned ‘If you’re ever looking to do something on a reservation, Rocky Boy would be fantastic,'” Renner said. “They have a huge interest in flag football, lots of kids, and we’ve never done that before.”
“We do have a huge presence here with our owner and chairman, Arthur M. Blank,” Renner continued. “He owns a lot of land in Paradise Valley and he’s huge having a philanthropic presence everywhere he goes. We’ve been doing stuff out in Montana for over 10 years now.”
New Media Broadcasters had the chance to speak with Bobby Butler, who had a 12-year playing career, all with the Falcons. He was helping run the camp and detailed how the kids did on Friday.
“Everybody has athletic ability,” Butler said. “I saw a lot of ability out there today. To see what (the kids) have to offer and hopefully turn the light switch on, they can hopefully say, ‘Alright, next year, we’re going to do this again.'”
Direk Small came to watch his grandchildren participate at the camp. He shared how the Falcons have impacted the kids on the field.
“It brings them together and to me it makes them learn to work together as one,” Small said. “Even though they have schools in both places, it brings them together to learn.”
Camp participants Jazmyn, age 12 and Ely, age 13 are a brother-sister team who came out to learn more about football. They summed up what the day meant to them.
“They’re pretty inspiring,” Jazmyn said. “They have some cool stories. I hope I get to see them again.”
“Doing the drills with the coaches, they talk to you and teach you life lessons,” Ely said.
