By Susan Montoya Bryan
The Associated Press
BERNALILLO — Harold Hubbard wowed the crowd of youngsters with a few tricks from his days with the Harlem Globetrotters, while former NFL offensive lineman Jim Rourke walked a group of boys through football drills.
Hubbard and Rourke were among 40 NFL and NBA veterans and collegiate athletes who hoped they could use the fundamentals of dribbling and tackling to teach some 500 American Indian children from around the nation some important lessons about life.
The three-day Native Vision summer camp weaves football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and track with lessons from the athletes about discipline, empowerment and the importance of education.
"It's really to empower the youth and have them believe that a lot of people around this country believe in them and care about them," said Allison Barlow, deputy director of the Center for American Indian Health at John Hopkins University.
The health center and the NFL Players Association sponsor the annual event. This marks the first year the camp has been held in New Mexico.
Volunteers from surrounding pueblos, including Santa Ana, San Felipe and Santo Domingo, planned a feast during the camp to share their culture with children from other tribes.
The lessons on the first day were as basic as making sure shoes were tied and as complicated as explaining to a disheartened student that school could be fun.
Clark Gaines, senior regional director for the NFL Players Association and a former New York Jets running back, said the athletes at the camp were perfect for teaching the children about sports and life skills.
"A lot of us grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. We dealt with drug abuse, alcohol — we've seen it all around us," Gaines said. "But most of us decided that we wanted to break that cycle within our families. We wanted to break that chain."
Santa Ana Pueblo Gov. Leonard Armijo, state Rep. James Roger Madalena of Jemez Pueblo and other tribal representatives were on hand for Thursday's opening ceremony. They stressed the importance of a strong mind, spirit and body.
"With the television, VCRs and CDs and all this automation, we tend to get a little lazy," Madalena said. "We just need to get back to being a little more active."
Madalena told the children about the mornings when his father would wake him up before sunrise for a long distance run in the nearby mountains. He said he still finds time to run and his four sons have continued the family tradition.
Barlow said she's hopeful the children will share the messages of encouragement with their friends at home. She pointed out that many Indian children face a high risk of substance abuse and depression as well as the threat of diabetes.
Gaines acknowledged that the athletes won't be able to reach every child at the camp.
"But if we reach one," he said, "that's one more that we hopefully influence in a positive manner and maybe it will carry him on to be a successful and productive member of society."
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