Mike Evans holds first football camp as a professional athlete for local children

THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Legends Sports Complex hosted its first ever Mike Evans Football Camp June 29 through July 1 for kids in The Woodlands area.

Evans, who just finished his rookie season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said this was his first camp as a professional athlete, and he enjoyed serving the local youth.

“It feels good,” Evans said. “It’s right between my hometown of Galveston and where I played college ball in College Station at Texas A&M, so it’s a great fit. It’s been a great turn out, and it’s been a lot of fun so far.”

Joel Ross, one of the camp’s coaches, said there were over 70 kids at the camp and each of them was full of energy and ready to work.

“Camps like this are very important to the development of these kids’ future,” Ross said. “I say that because most kids—if not every kid—that play the game of football dream about making it to the NFL, so camps like this—where they get a chance to actually see, touch and interact with an NFL player—do so much for them and gives them hope that one day they too can be in that same position.”

Ross, who also played college football at The University of Southern Mississippi, said the kids and the coaching staff enjoyed working with Evans.

“Working with Mike was a blast. he’s a real down to earth guy,” Ross said. “I take my hat off to Mike for staying and working with the kids as long as he did. You don’t see that from a lot of players in his position.”

Prior to his return to Tampa Bay for training, Evans said he enjoyed taking the time to give back to the community and the opportunity to revisit his own childhood.

“My little brother is out here, and he reminds me of myself and how stubborn I was as a kid and how bad I was,” Evans said. “Seeing them just run around and having fun reminds me of when I was a child.”