MK_072519

46 | July 25, 2019 | the mokena messenger sports
mokenamessenger.com
Wade camp continues to make an impact at LW Central
Mack, soccer stars
also a part of twoday
festivities
SEAN HASTINGS
Contributing Editor
STEVE MILLAR, Sports Editor
Dwyane Wade never had
a chance to tell Michael
Jordan that he wanted to
be just like him when he
was growing up
Wade grew up in Robbins
and attended Richards
High School in Oak Lawn.
He played just one year for
the Bulls in 2016, yet most
children growing up in the
area know D-Wade.
And for the last 11 years,
Wade has returned to New
Lenox and hosted a camp
every year because of his
long-standing friendship
with Mayor Tim Baldermann.
He has given area children
a chance to tell one
of their heroes they want
to be just like him — the
chance he never got.
“I was a little kid before
and had people I looked up
to,” Wade said. “Growing
up in Chicago and growing
up in the Chicago Bulls
dynasty era and being fans
of Michael Jordan, Scottie
[Pippen] and those
guys, they gave us hope.
They gave us a vision of
the dream we had and we
wanted. To be there for
the kids is the American
Dream, right?
“You get kids who say
they want to be just like
you. They want to travel
the same path as you. I
never had the opportunity
to say that to Michael Jordan,
but I would have said
the same thing and look
— I was able to travel the
same path.”
The Dwyane Wade
Sports Academy is a twoday
camp held at Lincoln-
Way Central, and for
years Wade has brought
in superstar Chicago athletes
including former
Bull Jimmy Butler, former
Bears players Devin Hester,
Brandon Marshall and
Charles Tillman, former
Chicago Sky basketball
player Elena Della Donne
and more.
This year’s camp on Friday,
July 19 and Saturday,
July 20 was no different.
Bears star linebacker
Khalil Mack left many of
the hundreds of kids in attendance
in awe when he
arrived on day two and
threw footballs to campers
inside the Central gym.
Mack also showed he is
human, struggling along
with Wade in a soccer
competition.
Chicago Red Stars defender
Arin Wright interacted
with the soccer players.
Chicago Sky player
Cheyenne Parker and
coach James Wade – no
relation to Dwyane – also
participated, as did representatives
of the Chicago
Fire.
Dwyane Wade said he
likes to bring in the other
sports’ athletes to show
more children what the
path they want to go down
can lead to.
The star power delighted
the kids in attendance.
“It’s been a really fun
camp,” 14-year-old Keylan
Sanders said. “It’s really
cool seeing all these
pro athletes.”
Aside from the celebrities,
hundreds of camp
workers and volunteers
led the campers through
drills and competitions in
Chicago Sky forward Cheyenne Parker (left) and Dwyane Wade share a laugh during
Wade’s Celebrity Sports Academy camp on Friday, July 19 at LW Central.
SEAN HASTINGS/22ND CENTURY MEDIA
Jeremiah Powers, age 12 of Frankfort, takes part in a basketball game at the annual
Dwyane Wade Celebrity Sports Academy Camp Saturday, July 20, at LW Central.
GARY MIDDENDORF/22ND CENTURY MEDIA
basketball, football, soccer
and cheerleading.
Several guest speakers
with diverse backgrounds
were also featured. One of
them was Jason Griffin, a
Harvey native and longtime
strength and conditioning
coach in the NFL
and MLB.
“We have a lot of great
things going on from an
athletic standpoint, we
talk about grades, we have
guest speakers talking
about making the right decisions,”
Griffin said. “It’s
awesome.”
Some thought the 2018
camp was going to be the
final year. All signs pointed
to it. Wade, now a resident
of Miami — where
much of his career was
spent and ended — was
not sure what life would be
like entering retirement at
the end of the 2018-2019
season.
But he was asked by a
mother of one of the campers
in 2018 during a Q&A
why he was not going to
do the camp anymore.
“I didn’t have a really
good answer for her besides,
‘My schedule is
busy,” Wade said. “Then I
[said] we’ll do it again.
Though not every camper
was able to get one-onone
time with Wade, his
presence was enough to
make kids go wild. As a
stray ball went bouncing
away, there was a mad
scramble just to get the
ball and throw it back to
him.
Wade does not know
for sure when the day will
come when the camp may
come to a close, but he will
keep coming back as long
as one thing stays true.
“After every year you
sit back and assess, one,
did you make an impact?
Or are you just doing
something,” Wade said.
“The biggest thing I sit
with [camp organizers
Donnie and Jessica Dereschuk]
and say, “How
big of an impact have we
made just in 48 hours of
doing a camp?’ If we continue
to make an impact,
then it’s something we’re
going to continue to
do.”
To read more about the
Celebrity Sports Academy,
please see page 53.