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Oakland Raiders’ wide receiver, Louis Murphy Jr. works with camp participants
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By: Photograph courtesy of Chris Davis
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Local Oakland Raiders’ Star Louis Murphy, Jr. Hosts 3rd Annual Bay Area All-Star Weekend
The Weekly Challenger
Originally posted 7/22/2010
BY Keisha Pickett
SPECIAL TO THE CHALLENGER
ST. PETERSBURG - The past weekend St. Petersburg hosted several NFL players and nearly 500 children for the Louis Murphy Jr.’s 3rd Annual Bay Area All-Star Weekend. The Oakland Raiders’ wide receiver is a proud native of St. Petersburg and graduate of Lakewood High School.
“LJ,” which he is affectionately called, started this camp while still a student at the University of Florida. Over the years, the camp has offered nearly 2,000 youth the opportunity to meet and train with active and retired NFL players. The NFL players this year included Cornelius Ingram (Philadelphia Eagles), Mario Henderson (Oakland Raiders), Gerard Warren (New England Patriots), Kestahn Moore (Kansas City Chiefs), Tim Carter (St. Louis Rams, retired) and Chris Davis (New York Giants). Some of the camps other coaches included USF quarterback BJ Daniels as well as local area coaches.
Murphy, recipient of the “Jim Plunkett Player of the Year Award” for his leadership, said he does this camp because it’s necessary. “I wish I’d had a camp like this when I was growing up. I am happy that I can come back to my hometown and help kids in the community. I don’t charge for the camp because I don’t think it’s fair. It’s something that my NFL friends, coaches and I do from the heart,” said Murphy.
The two-day weekend event kicked off on Friday at 8 a.m. at the Lakewood High School Football Field. Nearly 300 high school age young men took to the field to learn new skills and techniques for the upcoming football season. The field was divided into several sections for the various team positions. The NFL coaches were tough on the young men, but it was completely out of love and motivation. The positions were broken up and Gerard Warren from the New England Patriots immediately said, “Y’all need to bring the ambulance near me because they are about to get it over here in my section. They gotta bring their ‘A’ game over here!” The coaches took the players through several drills and taught them how to be proactive on the field. They talked with them about being precise and on-time with their moves. One important thing that was repeatedly said to the players was how much their other teammates depend on them. When a player has messed up and the others laughed, Warren quickly said, “Hey, that’s not funny. You have that man’s life in your hands. If you mess up, he can seriously get hurt.”
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