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Few athletes from Valley have seen as much on a football level as Jylan Ware. Ware graduated from Valley and went on to play at Alabama State as an offensive tackle. He was drafted in the seventh round by the Raiders. Now, Ware looks to continue making an impact on kids in the Valley area with his third annual football camp. 

Ware’s third annual football camp is set to take place on July 13 at Valley High School. The camp begins at 11 A.M., costs $5 per camper and is open to young athletes from kindergarten to 12th grade. 

From year one to year two, Ware saw his camp grow exponentially. More kids showed, more coaches helped out and the event went smoother.
Ware has listened to feedback each year and he is looking to continue improving upon the camp in its third iteration. 

“I get a lot of feedback from people who have come and worked it,” Ware said. “Feedback is a big part of that.” 

The camp will be run very similar to the previous two years, but there will be small changes. Ware’s camp has largely focused on drills and skill development in the past. This year, he hopes to have more individualized segments where the players work one-on-one with some of the coaches. 

The camp is cheaper than most big and small football camps that you will find throughout the state. That is largely because Ware is not doing this for the money. He grew up in Valley, and there were no camps like this in the area. Ware saw the need and looks to be a part of the solution with his football camp each year. 

“Growing up I didn’t have stuff like this,” Ware said. “There was nobody locally throwing camps. There was nobody locally who had been there and done that type of stuff… I feel like it’s good for me to go around and talk to kids as someone that’s from around the area who’s gone to the next level and also a level after that.” 

Ware will be helped by other former athletes and coaches in the area. Des Reece, Qua Thornton, Courney Cammon, Shaq Jones and Enrique Jackson are just some of the names involved with this year’s camp. 

The camp is fully focused on developing the football skills of athletes with any experience, but Ware also knows that this camp can be used as a vehicle to get kids to be active during the summer. Ware has also spent this summer working with the Growth Academy in the Shawmut community, and he has learned of the importance of summer activities for the youth in Chambers County. 

“I think being outside is very important, especially now with all the technology and kids being raised by Tvs and phones,” Ware said. 

The third annual Jylan Ware Football camp is geared to fit athletes that have no experience and athletes that have played their whole lives. Each year, Ware has seen the kids grow throughout the day. 

The camp acts as an introduction to football for a lot of the kids involved. The coaches work with the kids to make it fun while also introducing a lot of the key fundamentals. 

“I love the growth I see,” Ware said. “One of my favorite things is when a kid that hasn’t played before, their parents come up to me later and say ‘Hey, my kid wants to sign up for football because of your camp.’ I’ve had a lot of parents tell me that. I invite people of all experiences. My camp has been some of these kids’ intro to football.” 

The success of his annual camp is not judged by the amount of people that show up. Ware believes that the camp should be judged by how much the young athletes enjoy it and how much it grows the love for the game of football in the area. 

“I’m glad I can be that person and bring other people that are like that to them,” Ware said. “I consider it a success if we have some good work, smiles on their faces and we have some fun out there. I don’t want to overly push people. I don’t want kids dreading football. I like to have a good time, and I like to make sure they’re having a good time. That’s the goal for the day.”