BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Through the Bam Fam Foundation, Jordan Love and Krys Barnes hosted their second annual football camp at Liberty High School to give back to the community where their football careers started.
- Video shows Jordan Love and Krys Barnes second Bam Fam Foundation football camp
- Jordan Love and Krys Barnes tell 23ABC's Dominique LaVigne since they started playing in the NFL, they wanted to give back to the community in Bakersfield.
- The duo completed their second camp for youth in Bakersfield on Saturday
Hearing the familiar sound of the whistle on a field they know all too well, Krys Barnes and Jordan Love returned to the central valley no strangers to Liberty High School.
“Liberty is where I was raised it’s where I was grown,” Jordan Love, quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, said.
But, rather than playing on this field Love and Barnes came back as coaches for their second annual Bam Fam Football Camp.
“We’re here to be their mentors for this day, so what ever it is to come, we’re here for them," Krys Barnes, linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals, said.
Athletes like Ayden Gallo, a life long Packers fan, traveled from Los Angeles to participate in the camp and perfect his skills as a wide receiver.
“Since he’s in the NFL and he still plays there, he knows what he’s talking about, and I can trust him,” Gallo said about training with Love.
Dozens of kids from third grade to seniors in high school signed up, completely maxing out registration.
“Krys Barnes and Jordan Love are both coming back to a community that poured into them, and they’re showing that they can pour back into the community as well,” Delaney Beam, a representative for the Bam Fam Foundation, said.
Every pass and completion with the help of the two NFL stars shows these young athletes what’s possible.
“Obviously there’s not too many guys who make it out of Bakersfield and make it to the NFL," Love said. "So, to get these guys back in town and get them around the youth and the kids to see these positive role models in their life and just give them that message that they can make it out too or they can follow their dreams and be the next NFL player to make it out is what we’re trying to do.”
Making it to the NFL is much harder than you might think.
According to a study from the National Collegiate Athletics Association, only 7.5% of high school football players compete in college and only 1.5% of college athletes make it to the NFL.
Beyond that, Barnes has played in the NFL longer than the average player in his position, and in the upcoming season, Love will do the same.
“I think every year we come back our goal is to continue to grow, continue to get more kids, to continue to inspire the youth," Barnes said. "That’s the main point of what we’re doing here is just trying to be an inspiration to them show that we’re not just here and gone. We’re actually back in the city, trying to be back in our home town, and trying to give back to the youth as well.”
If you're interested in signing up for a camp with the Bam Fam Foundation, you can find more information here or if you're looking to support Jordan Love's foundation, Hands of Love, you can follow them on social media @handsof10ve.
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