Former Evans football standout hosts free camp for kids

AUGUSTA, GA (WJBF) – Former Evans High School star Derrick Canteen hosted his 4th annual free kids football camp as a way to give back to the community through the game he loves.

Dozens of kids ages 8-17 came out to Evans on Saturday to work on fundamentals, get advice from college and NFL stars, and have fun with their friends. Canteen was an All-CSRA defensive back who started his college career at Georgia Southern and is now heading to Cincinnati for his final college season. He says it feels amazing getting to share his knowledge of the game while helping young kids realize their potential, especially with his former teammates at his alma mater.

“It was a great opportunity just being out there with the kids,” says Canteen, “at the end of the day it’s bigger than me, so any chance I can get to reach out to players who are from the CSRA, from Evans, from Richmond County, or Columbia County, it’s a great opportunity.”

Canteen also had a lot of help on the field thanks to former high school and college teammates. His friends said they also love inspiring future generations of ballers. “It was nice, man. Just to see [Derrick] always putting this together it’s something really good that he’s doing,” says Bengals player D’Ante Smith, “you can tell the kids love it, and they look forward to it. A couple of them asked me if I was coming back for next year and just like he said, it’s just about having people you can look up to.”

Former teammate and Colts star Darrell Baker agreed, noting how much joy this camp brings to the community. “Just being with the kids and being out there and working, seeing how these kids compete and interact with each other and us, it was a joy to be around them,” says Baker, “seeing how the families love seeing their kids happy out there and seeing the joy on their faces, that made me smile.”

The camp was another huge success for Derrick and his team, and he says the plan is to continue hosting one every year.