FRISCO, Texas – The Cowboys spent their final day of OTA practices wearing a different hat for the morning and afternoon.
The seventh annual Cowboys U High School Football Camp took place at The Star on Thursday. The current players became coaches for a day, paired up with deserving student-athletes from the DFW area for football instruction on the field and life-skill lessons as well.
The event, presented by the Texas Lottery, was highlighted by a round-robin 7-on-7 event of 12 teams, coached by the Cowboys veterans.
This year's winner went to Dan Bailey's team, which edged out punter Chris Jones' squad in the championship game.
The other "head coaches" on Thursday were Travis Frederick, Tyron Smith, Sean Lee, Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, DeMarcus Lawrence, Byron Jones, Jeff Heath, Cole Beasley and Tyrone Crawford.
The rest of the players served as assistant coaches to each team, installing instructions and other on-field guidance throughout the tournament.
The 192 students represent 44 high schools from 11 different North Texas school districts.
"We hope that the camp will provide an impactful experience for deserving student-athletes who will remember the event for years to come," said head coach Jason Garrett. "This camp offers a unique opportunity for our players and coaches to make a meaningful difference in the lives of these young men."
Prior to concluding the camp the students will take part in a character education activity, after Cowboys players and Garrett host a life-skills discussion to discuss teamwork, perseverance and more.
As part of the event, Jason Garrett Starfish Charities challenged the participating student-athletes to identify a problem in their community as part of the Make A Difference Challenge. Students had the opportunity to submit applications with their ideas for change in order to earn scholarship funds which will be distributed by Garrett during the camp. Garrett has hosted a similar football camp at his alma mater, Princeton University, for several years and offers a similar scholarship challenge to the New Jersey/New York area youth.
Underwritten by Gene and Jerry Jones Family Foundation and the NFL Foundation, the camp is proudly supported by the Texas Lottery and Paragon Healthcare. As part of the day, the camp will provide each student: a camp jersey; athletic shorts, socks and cinch sack provided by Nike; and a Dallas Cowboys cap contributed by New Era.
