Eagles youth clinic helps keep kids active at Southwest Philadelphia school
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Philadelphia Eagles led a youth football clinic Tuesday to help get kids active and playing outdoors. Eagles players became coaches.
"Got a lot of good athletes in Philadelphia, I'm starting to realize," wide receiver Devon Allen said.
He saw a lot more than kids improving their skills. He saw a bit of himself as a kid.
"It's really special because it shows that there's not much of a difference between me 20 years ago when I was 8, 9, 10 years old," Allen said. "I was in the same position they were."
The team's work at the school could help give these kids a healthier future. According to the Physical Activity Alliance, a nonprofit group, kids' physical activity is on the decline. In 2006, just more than 42% of kids 6 to 11 years old were physically active for an hour a day. As of 2022, it was about 26%, a decrease of 16%.
Joseph W. Catharine School Principal Lisa Wilmer said the clinic offered a chance to help change this trend.
"A lot of times, they are just sitting still," Wilmer said. "This gives them a chance to get up and be mobile and have fun."
Wilmer said the students learned another critical lesson at the clinic.
"It lets them know that anything's possible," she said. "The fact that they just won a game, a huge game, they came out, and they're just having fun with the kids lets me know that they want to reinvest in our communities and our kids, our youth."
And for Allen, it was a chance to remember how far he's come and how far these kids can go.
"I'm glad I had the opportunity to do that," he said.
