Well over 300 boys and girls ages 6-16 enjoyed two hours of fun with the 2019 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame inductees Saturday morning at the Junior Training Camp hosted on the Northwestern campus.

The event has been supported for years by retiring sheriff Victor Jones and the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office. Boys and girls can attend at no charge once they register through the LaSportsHall.com website.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is another major sponsor, along with the Natchitoches Regional Medical Center. Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers of Natchitoches provides lunch to campers.

The camp is annually part of the Hall of Fame’s Induction Celebration. Before the action begins, the Hall of Fame members are introduced to the kids, who are divided into two age-specific groups which rotate for two 45-minute segments between indoor and outdoor activities.

Basketball instruction and work on motor skills, along with health and fitness emphasis, takes place inside the Webb Wellness and Recreation Center. Football instruction is provided at Turpin Stadium.

Lifetime memories were made for parents, family members and campers as every kid in the clinic got at least one pass thrown to them by retired NFL superstar Peyton Manning, while former LSU football coach Les Miles worked with all the campers at another station and Canadian Football League Hall of Famer Matt Dunigan played defensive back helping the kids develop pass-catching skills.

Inside, five-time USA Olympic volleyball player Danielle Scott, whose 11-year-old daughter enjoyed the camp, helped guide the youth through their paces.

The NSU football staff, led by coach Brad Laird, and the Demon basketball staff, with assistant coaches Jeff Moore and Bill Lewit leading the way, were joined by several of their student-athletes helping run the activities, to the delight of the campers.