The San Francisco 49ers, in conjunction with the NFL, partnered with Hall of Fame offensive tackle Anthony Munoz and the Munoz Agency to host an NFL PLAY 60 Character Camp at Palma High School in Salinas, Calif. The two day, non-contact football camp, featuring 49ers alumni Dennis Brown and Chris Dalman, hosted 300 predominantly-Hispanic boys and girls ages nine to 13 from local youth organizations.
"We are thrilled to have partnered with the San Francisco 49ers to host the second of 12 NFL PLAY 60 Character Camps this summer," said Peter O'Reilly, NFL vice president of fan strategy and marketing. "The camps are an important part of the NFL's year-round Hispanic outreach initiative, which focuses on offering youth opportunities to play and experience the game of football. 49ers alumni Dennis Brown and Chris Dalman did an outstanding job teaching the youth football skills and reinforcing the importance of exercise and character in life."
The PLAY 60 Character Camp worked in collaboration with USA Football and their FUNdamentals curriculum, which introduces children to football by teaching basic skills in a non-contact setting.
"Character Camp is a great way to help us spread the Play 60 message in our market," said Jared Muela, 49ers Youth Football Manager. "Fighting childhood obesity and getting kids to be active for 60 minutes a day has always been important to our organization. Therefore, partnering with the NFL and the Munoz agency has afforded us the opportunity to help bring this free camp to youth and introduce them to the game of football, as well as team them valuable life skills."
The camp also taught character values that are core to the Anthony Munoz Foundation.
"With so many negative influences pulling at our youth today, I think it is imperative to teach the importance of leadership, character, and how to have a positive impact on their community," Anthony Munoz said. "They need to know how to stand strong in the face of so many temptations."
Each camp participant received a football with a bilingual hang-tag that offers youth an opportunity to view videos in Spanish and English that teach the basics of football on the NFL's youth website, NFLRush.com. The NFL donated more than 30,000 footballs to youth as part of its Hispanic outreach initiative.
NFL PLAY 60 is the league's youth health and fitness campaign, aimed at getting kids active for 60 minutes a day. The 49ers youth football programs teach kids the importance of respect, teamwork, goal-setting and how to live a healthy lifestyle in a fun and safe environment.
