Surrey-raised NFL pro Christian Covington arrived 鈥渉ome鈥� last weekend to teach young players the finer points of football.
On Saturday morning (June 30), the 24-year-old defensive end for Houston Texans welcomed a couple hundred kids to in 黑马磁力.
Guest instructors included fellow NFLers Whitney Mercilus (OLB, Houston Texans), Brennan Scarlett (OLB, Houston), Jake Matthews (OT, Atlanta Falcons), Mike Matthews (OL, Miami Dolphins) and Jennifer Welter, the NFL鈥檚 first female coach.
鈥淲e have a bunch of great kids out here, and we鈥檙e trying to bring a little taste of the NFL to Canada,鈥� Covington said as boys and girls performed a variety of football-related drills while wearing T-shirts given to them at the gate.
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Registration was free, and the camp, held in partnership with NFL Canada, sold out in advance.
鈥淭his is everything I could have ever dreamed of growing up,鈥� Covington added.
鈥淔or me, I was never able to go to camps like this and be around, you know, professional athletes, like, all the time, at football camps like this, so I grew up wanting to be a professional athlete with the intent in mind to, when I go back home, I want to put on events for kids and give back to the community. So this is me just, you know, saying thank-you and giving a little treat to the Canadian youth.鈥�
Covington, son of CFL Hall of Fame defensive end Grover Covington, grew up in the Sullivan Heights area of Surrey, where his family held a party the day he was drafted in May of 2015. He was selected by the Texans in the sixth round.
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鈥淚 was born in Vancouver, lived in Richmond, lived in North Delta, and eventually made it out to South Surrey 鈥� a great place to grow up, but I鈥檓 a little biased being a Vancouver College Fighting Irish,鈥� he said with a smile. 鈥淎t the end of the day, that鈥檚 my childhood home (in Surrey) and me and my sisters grew up in that home for many years, and nothing but great memories.鈥�
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, Covington has recorded 50 tackles, four sacks and one forced fumble.
Last season, the former Rice Owl tore a bicep and was unable to continue playing past Week 8.
鈥淚鈥檓 100 per cent 鈥� been a 100 per cent since January, so I鈥檓 itching to go, and training camp鈥檚 coming up and I can鈥檛 wait to hit some people,鈥� Covington said.
鈥淲e鈥檒l be spending two weeks in West Virginia, at The Greenbrier, so I鈥檓 looking forward to it 鈥� get out of the Texas heat for a little bit.鈥�
The Texans were a banged-up bunch last season, and the list of injured players included all-star defensive end J.J. Watt.
鈥淚鈥檓 just looking forward to everybody being healthy, that鈥檚 my main thing,鈥� Covington said. 鈥淲e were devastated by a lot of injuries last year, and really that鈥檚 the key word for the upcoming season 鈥� once everybody鈥檚 healthy, just getting back on that field and doing what we know we can do.鈥�
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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