'These kids can do it too': Local NFL player comes home to help next generation on the gridiron
Local NFL player Chuba Hubbard was in Sherwood Park on Sunday to hold a free football camp for kids.
The running back, who grew up in Sherwood Park, was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in 2021. This is the second year he has travelled home to offer his community an experience he never had.
"I put on this camp because I love giving back to my community," Hubbard said. "At a young age, I always wished to have something like this."
The free two-day camp was for kids and youth aged six to 18. Participants learned skills, ran drills and played games against one another – with a strong focus on technique.
"A lot of people shy away from Edmonton (and) Canada … because we just don't have the coaching," Hubbard said. "So I try to be hard on them, I try to really nail it in them."
Several other professional football players attended the event, including Justice Hill of the Baltimore Ravens, Devin Harper of the Cincinnati Bengals and Jacob Janke of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
"It's a two-hour drive but it's worth it to be here," said an attendee from Red Deer. "It seems better than what I've gotten in my hometown."
Hubbard's former football coach Ken Buhagiar said the player's strong work-ethic has taken him far and he's happy to see him share it with others.
"I (know) how big his heart is and what his values are, so to now see other people be able to see that is, to me, phenomenal," Buhagiar said.
Hubbard said there weren't many Canadians in the NFL when he was learning the game in Alberta, and he's hoping to continue being part of changing that.
"We're blessed to have a lot of NFL players in the last recent years make it, but before me I didn't really know of anybody," Hubbard said. "We're just here to show an example that these kids can do it too."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Miriam Valdes-Carletti
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I need justice': Community rallies around 28-year-old father killed by police
Chants of "no justice, no peace" were heard in downtown Edmonton on Saturday at a rally in honour of a man shot and killed by an Edmonton police officer.
Heavy rainfall causes widespread flooding across GTA
Parts of the Greater Toronto Area are seeing widespread as torrential rainfall continues to pour down.
Trump zigzags between economic remarks and personal insults at rally in critical Pennsylvania
Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Saturday repeatedly swerved from a message focused on the economy into non sequiturs and personal attacks, including thrice declaring that he was better looking than Vice-President Kamala Harris.
B.C. man who said he was 'joking around' when he fatally shot girlfriend sentenced to 4 years
A man who told police he was "joking around" with his girlfriend when he fatally shot her in the head has been sentenced to four years in prison for manslaughter with an additional six months for possessing a rifle without a licence.
Increased military presence expected in northern, central Ontario
Increased military traffic can be expected on major highways in northern and central Ontario on Aug. 18 and again on Aug. 27.
'Best looking criminal': Rooster apprehended by Regina Police finds sanctuary
A video of a rooster in the back of a Regina police cruiser has been making its rounds on social media.
He stumbled onto a large tusk in a Mississippi creek. It turned out to be a first-of-its-kind discovery
A fossil hunter was scouring a Mississippi creek for remnants of the past when he came across the discovery of a lifetime — a tusk from an ice age Columbian mammoth.
Disney has a price problem. It has ambitious plans to fix that
Disney recently announced a huge slate of projects for parks and cruises in front of 12,000 of its most loyal fans, who will almost certainly return to Disney's theme parks to experience those new offerings, no matter what it costs.
breaking Trees down, damage reported after tornado near Ayr, Ont.
Tornado watches remain in effect across parts of Ontario.