Hundreds of kids who dream of playing in the pros – or, kids who just love to play – are expected for the nearing capacity free New Orleans Saints & Pelicans/Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Junior Training Camp on Saturday morning, June 28, on the Northwestern campus in Natchitoches.
The JTC annually provides two hours of full throttle fun alongside Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame members and NSU coaches, and staff from the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans community relations department. It is presented by Natchitoches Regional Medical Center, which provides T-shirts and healthy living material to all participants.,
Among the Hall of Fame’s 2025 inductees who will participate in the JTC are former LSU and Alabama football coach Nick Saban, four-time Pro Bowl football star Andrew Whitworth, pro basketball All-Stars Danny Granger and Vickie Johnson, and highly energetic St. Thomas More basketball coach Danny Broussard.
JTC organizers stress parents and guardians need to register their kids using the online registration and waiver forms at LaSportsHall.com to avoid a bottleneck of kids whose participation could be delayed by having to fill out the forms on Saturday.
If there are questions about the JTC, call the LSHOF Foundation office at 318-238-4255. The camp filled to capacity last year and is trending in that direction again.
The LaSportsHall.com website has the full schedule for the Induction Celebration June 26-28. The JTC is one of three free events, beginning with the Thursday evening Welcome Reception from 5-7 at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum at 800 Front Street in Natchitoches. The biggest free ticket is Friday night’s Rockin’ Riverfest concert from 6-10:30 on the downtown riverbank, featuring a fireworks show after the Class of 2025 is introduced at 9:15.
The Junior Training Camp runs from 9-11 a.m., starting with registration between 8:30-9 a.m. at the Webb Wellness and Recreation Center (WRAC) gymnasium. Due to the full capacity of 350 campers anticipated, it’s important for parents to get their campers checked in well before the fun starts at 9 a.m. Then, campers get introduced to the sports stars who will be coaching them for the next two hours, inside focusing on basketball skills, and outside at Turpin Stadium, with football and general sports skills instruction.
Every camper will bring home two free T-shirts, other items, and a coupon for a meal at Raisin’ Canes. Photos from the camp will be posted on the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Facebook page, and so will a highlight video.
The goals of the JTC are simple – a fun, and thrilling, experience for the kids, free of charge; skills instruction from some of the best to ever play, or coach, the games; and promotion of health lifestyles and positive life choices.
The campers are separated into two groups. One stays inside for the first hour for basketball instruction, while the other is next door at Turpin Stadium, having football fun. The groups switch locations in the second half of the camp.
Parents can follow their favorite campers and watch all the fun from the stands in the gym and on the east side of Turpin Stadium – where it will be sunny, and hot, watching some really cool memories being made.
