Colts partner with local law enforcement to host youth football clinic

Posted 5:12 PM, July 25, 2018, by Larra Overton, Updated at 06:44PM, July 25, 2018

WESTFIELD, Ind. – The Colts opened training camp with some additional playmakers on hand.
“You know it’s a great way to start off camp, getting a lot of completions out there,” quarterback Jacoby Brissett said with a smile. “Getting my spirits up right now, so that’s a good thing.”
On Wednesday, the franchise partnered with police officers from across central Indiana to host a football camp for 100 local kids.

“You know we are all kids and you see a lot of these kids coming out here and a lot of these people just coming out here having fun and smiling and playing football,” Brissett said.

Plenty of smiles shared between the players and the kids throughout the day, as well as the opportunity for the officers to flex their skills and find common ground on the field. "Well it helps us be able to communicate and relate, everyone can relate to football and there's a lot of chatter going on out here,” linebacker John Simon said. “We have to communicate with them to make sure, they're going through the drills right, so I think that relationship is really building."

This Colts Youth Clinic at Grand Park was not only an opportunity for young football players to get some hands on work with players and test out their skills but also to learn from local law enforcement in a fun environment. "Trying to change the perception is what you do,” Major Mike Jefferson, IMPD community engagement unit commander, explained. “You have to get next to these kids when they're young and that way they go out on the street and hear different things about police, they can say, hey that wasn't my experience and that may change some attitudes and change some minds."