If you ask Caden what his favorite sport is, you’ll only have to wait a nanosecond until he replies “football”. If you ask him what he wants to be when he grows up, he’ll quickly respond “NFL player”. He can recite to you the stats and performance of his favorite player, LaDanian Tomlinson (who used to play for his favorite team, the San Diego Chargers). He sleeps with a football…on football player sheets…under a football blanket.
It was because of his love of football that I decided to send him to a camp in California I had read about, the QBR Camp. It’s specifically for quarterbacks and receivers so it’s a non-contact camp. For three and a half days, Caden practiced routes and ball security and had a blast hanging out with a bunch of boys.
He was the youngest person at camp but he made an impression. The kid hates to let a ball drop. He will dive and make all kinds of spectacular plays to not let that football hit the ground.
The last day of camp, Natalie, Katie, and I went and watched their three hour practice as it was kind of a “let’s show ‘em what we’ve learned” day. Every time I saw Caden run a route and catch a ball, I heard one of the coaches yell, “Way to go, Utah!” Later Caden explained to me that every kid got a nickname in his group and his was “Utah” because he wore a University of Utah football camp shirt the first day of camp. There was also Big Boy, Clifford (always wore red), Jonesy, Scoot, and Lil J. Lil J and Caden were the same age and the only two 6th graders in the receiver group. They roomed together and Caden told me they were best buddies.
Overall, Caden had so much fun that I think I will send him again next year. Plus, it gives me a great excuse to organize an annual Girls Trip!
