FORT MEADE, Md — Ravens and Commanders legends gave military children a special day of football training at Fort Meade, creating lasting memories for the young participants.
WATCH: Ravens and Commanders host youth football clinic to celebrate Army's 250th birthday
Children at Fort George G. Meade Military Base took to the field for a special youth football clinic Tuesday, where they received coaching from former NFL professionals. Ravens legends Ryan Hall and Jermaine Lewis provided hands-on instruction to the excited participants.
"I think it can go a long way because you're close; you'll be close to an NFL player. Like it's hard to get close to one," one participant said.
Marlon Ortega, who brought his son Marlon Ortega Junior to the event, believes these experiences create lasting impressions on children.
"These type of events kind of put a seed into a child's, you know, youth and something to remember, you know, so sometimes they can even spark some extra drive and motivation for them to play sports," Ortega said.
Having attended a similar football clinic in his youth, Ortega shared that it was an inspiring moment for him and predicted the same impact for the children at this event.
"I guarantee you being in this moment right here; I mean, just talking about it on the way over here. I was like, 'Hey, just be in the moment, enjoy it. It's just like receiving a ball, you know, throwing at you from me or anybody else.' He was like, 'No, no, it's way different. This is like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,'" Ortega said.
The clinic was held in celebration of the Army's 250th birthday, adding special significance to the event for veteran Gary Krese.
"Having an opportunity to interact with members of the community is always exciting, and especially when we can bring in partners such as two great NFL local organizations to give our kids and family such a unique opportunity to come out, get to network with each other, and then get interactions with NFL legends. It's just a unique opportunity that not every service member dependent gets to do, so very cool," Krese said.
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