Starting bright and early this past Saturday, 10 youth football teams (ages 12-14) from across the state all made the trip to INVESCO Field at Mile High to play in the fourth annual Broncos Bowl.  Broncos Bowl is our youth football celebration where teams from as far as Grand Junction scrimmage one another and experience a real Broncos game day atmosphere.

Mike Rice of KOA along with the Broncos’ own Rick Seifert called the play-by-play and a crew from Comcast was on hand running Thundervision and providing instant replay!  Teams all received gifts from Powerade who sponsored the Powerade Skills Challenge for kids simultaneously with the Broncos Bowl games—cool stuff like sideline coolers and water bottles.  Even a big banner with their team’s name on it!

Broncos Ring of Famer Billy Thompson and Broncos and CU alum Larry Brunson were on hand all day as honorary captains offering their encouragement to each team.  All of the days’ participants are invited back to the Broncos home game against the Cleveland Browns on August 25 to be recognized on field at halftime—look for them if you plan on attending the game.

The second game of the day featured Mesa County Junior Football from Grand Junction against the Denver Broncos Boys and Girls Club and proved to be the most exciting game of the day!  With the score all tied up and just seconds remaining, Mesa County Junior Football’s running back broke through the defensive line of the Broncos Boys and Girls Club breaking tackles as he sprinted past the goal line.  Touchdown!  With no time remaining on the clock Mesa County Junior Football goes ahead by six and wins the game!  They were ecstatic!  And unfortunately the Broncos Boys and Girls Club was crushed.  As fun as it was to see the smiling, exuberant faces of Mesa County it was equally difficult to see the disappointment in the faces of the Broncos.

Do you remember a time you lost or won a big game!?

Although the players are still officially off until training camp Dre Bly, accompanied by his 4 year-old son Jordan, attended the NFL Junior Player Development Camp in Broomfield, Colorado last Friday.  Braving the heat, Bly was given a quick ‘tour’ of the camp by volunteer coaches John Ayers and Wayne Voorhees and then gathered up all 180 youth football players to participate in a Q & A session with him.  The only two questions that Bly said were off limits?  How much money does he make and what kinds of cars does he drive.  He told the kids he was sure they could come up with better questions that that.  And they did.

Ignoring the scorching sun, the kids and Bly spoke for nearly 30 minutes about his childhood, his dreams, his favorite NFL players and how he achieved his goal of playing in the NFL.  As rewarding as that session was, the real fun began when the players got back to practicing and Bly became their biggest cheerleader.  Offering advice and yelling words of encouragement as he ran from group to group watching them play–it was very evident this is a game and a passion for Bly and he was very at home with these kids who also love football.

Last Tuesday, I headed out to Hinkley High School in Aurora to meet WR Brandon Marshall and S Hamza Abdullah who were coming to speak to the youth football players attending the NFL’s Junior Player Development Camp. The 150 youth football players, ages 12-14 and representing schools all over East Denver, were attending the camp for free. The camp provides all of the kids’ equipment and is coached by local volunteer coaches who receive special NFL training prior to the camp.

As I drove east towards the school from INVESCO Field at Mile High, the weather grew worse. The clouds had darkened and sure enough, as soon as I pulled up to the school–the downpour came. Brandon, Hamza and I made a mad dash to the football stadium and tried to stay dry under the shelter of the bleachers. The plan had been to have Brandon and Hamza participate in the camp by assisting with various drills. Obviously, we were going to need a new plan — I just hoped that Brandon and Hamza would be up for sticking it out regardless of the nasty weather.

Last week we had our quarterly Denver Broncos Youth Football Task Force meeting. Comprised of youth football league representatives from around the metro Denver area gather with the Broncos’ community development and marketing departments to discuss current youth football issues and initiatives. It was immediately clear from our meeting’s agenda that we have a busy summer of youth football upon us.

We just wrapped up the NFL High School Player Development Camp at Legacy High School where WR Domenik Hixon and WR Brian Clark stopped by to lend their expertise. A luck group of 12 youngsters (representing Montbello, Lincoln and Legacy High Schools) from this camp were selected to travel to the NFL-sponsored 7-on-7 football tournament in Houston, Texas in early July. Good luck to our Broncos team!!

In addition, we have a NFL Junior Player Development Camp this week at Hinkley High School in Aurora (WR Brandon Marshall and S Hamza Abdullah are planning on visiting) and two the following week at both East and Lincoln High Schools in Denver. We wrap up our NFL JPD camps in July with a camp in Broomfield.

Yesterday was the 13th Annual Mike Shanahan Golf Classic at the beautiful Omni Interlocken Golf Course in Broomfield. Over 50 players and 15 coaches were in attendance to enjoy a round of golf and support a great cause very close to the heart of our team. All of the proceeds from this year’s tournament will be utilized as a start-up grant for the Darrent Williams Memorial Teen Center — a much needed expansion of the Denver Broncos Boys and Girls Club.

The Boys and Girls Club teens (including TiTi previously mentioned in an earlier blog by Cindy) that initiated the conversations to build the teen center and have remained integrally involved in the process greeted golfers at the tournament proudly wearing “Darrent Williams Memorial Teen Center” t-shirts with the number “27″ displayed on the backs.

Jay Cutler, Champ Bailey, John Lynch…just a few names of our players who have been extremely busy impacting the community during the offseason.

Jay Cutler launched his new foundation that will partner with United Way, supporting “Lights on After School” in Denver. Through his commitment, Jay has adopted Columbine and Wyatt Edison Elementary Schools and has visited with both schools regularly since his foundation was launched. The ultimate goal of his work is to keep kids safe, in school and reaching their dreams.

Champ Bailey has partnered with Vitamin Water to support a volunteerism campaign on behalf of the Denver Rescue Mission. In so doing, he has himself committed regular volunteer hours spent with kids at the Broncos Youth Center at The Crossing, a transitional housing facility of the Denver Rescue Mission for families in need.

John Lynch continues to advance the positive work of his foundation through regular recognition of outstanding student athletes and leaders in the metro Denver area and through his annual Salute to the Stars scholarship luncheon held at INVESCO Field at Mile High.