NFL players Keaontay & Ja’Marcus Ingram host second annual youth camp

CARTHAGE, Texas (KTAL/KMSS) — Kansas City Chiefs’ Keaontay and Buffalo Bills’ Ja’Marcus Ingram hosted its second annual youth camp at Keaontay’s former high school, Carthage, on Saturday morning, where the two hope to be role models and inspirations for all young athletes.

The phrase ‘dream big’ means more than one thing to the Ingram family.

“Dream big is believe in your vision, it’s a foundation that a few of us help contribute to and we’re just trying to spread it out, and to believe in your dreams, ultimately,” the former Bulldog, Keaontay, said.

That belief is what fuels the Ingram cousins’ youth camp 

“This is what it’s all about, just giving some of my time back, just sharing our hearts and our spirit and our energy with the kids just so that they could be inspired to chase whatever dream they got in life,” South Oak Cliff alum, Ja’Marcus, said.

One of the biggest aspects of Saturday’s camp is the family presence. From Keaontay and Ja’Marcus putting on the camp, other cousins and siblings participating in camp, and many other family members came out to show their support.

“Pretty much it’s like a family reunion,” Keaontay said. “I got my little baby brother right here, Jamarcus, just one big family tree, so we are having fun, give it back to the community.”

“We right back home, where we grew up at, we got all our people with us, I got my little cousin right here with me, so it means the world,” Ja’Marcus said. and “These moments they’ll never forget so it means the world.” 

Aspiring young athletes that participated in the camp spent time learning the fundamentals of football from the two NFL players.. But they aren’t the only ones who learned a few things.. 

“One thing I say I learned, I guess how to be a coach. I’d be so stuck in my head sometimes who I am, me being a professional and just getting out here, adapting who I am with the kids,” Keaontay said. “I feel like that’s what I learned the most and I’m just out here having fun with it.”

While kids and coaches alike were having fun, what the Ingrams wanted kids to take away from the day is a gift bigger than football 

“Coming out here and spending time with them, I think it gives them something to aspire to,” Ja’Marcus said. “Dreaming big starts when you’re little, so that’s why we wanna do it for the kids when they’re younger so that they could dream big and aspire to achieve whatever dream it is that they got in life.”