Positive Choices Football Camp, originally started by Aazaar Abdul-Rahim and a group of colleagues, recently marked its 20th anniversary, not only with a celebratory gala, but an exciting partnership.
Held at Deanwood Recreation Complex in Northeast, D.C., more than 350 campers attended Positive Choices to learn skills and techniques of blocking and tackling from certified coaches and NFL and college players. This year, the University of Maryland (UMD) football program and its head coach, Mike Locksley volunteered to contribute to the camp.
A product of Ballou Senior High School in Southeast, Locksley is entering his sixth season as UMD’s head coach, where he has led the team to three straight bowl appearances.
“Positive Choices is a win-win situation for the community,” Locksley told The Informer. “Aazaar does a great job of coordinating the camp. To have some of the former campers who are now playing college and professionally shows the grassroots efforts. It is a positive experience. This is the 20th year and that says a lot.”
Abdul-Rahim, who played at Dunbar High School in Northwest, is currently associate head coach and co defensive coordinator at the University of Maryland under Locksley.
He is best known for starting the football program at Friendship Collegiate and turning it into a national power that sent over players to college.
In its 20 years, Positive Choices has served close to 5,000 campers including current NFL players Rakeem Jarrett (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), DJ Turner (Las Vegas Raiders) and Eddie Goldman (Atlanta Falcons).
“This is all about relationships,” says Abdul-Rahim. “I would say overall that the camp was a success. It is important to have some of the former players who attended the camp in the past 20 years now come back and invest in these young people in our community.”
Positive Choices featured stations where campers rotated to learn some of the most important fundamentals of the sport. Despite the 90-plus-degree temperatures, the camp was well organized, and everything moved swiftly and efficiently.
There were almost 70 volunteers who were assigned various duties. After completing the skills stations, the campers gathered for a group photo shoot and were encouraged to join in acknowledging the sponsors such as the District Department of Recreation, the Executive Office of the Mayor, the Military Bowl and The Museum DC.
“It is important that they show gratitude to those who invest in them being able to take advantage of the camp,” noted Abdul-Rahim.
The campers next participated in competitive, 40-yard races based on age groups. Following the races, the campers were again grouped according to age and participated in a seven-on-seven competition which was highlighted in championships.
One of the volunteers was Donnell Bown, who recently transferred to Maryland where he will play this season.
“I am from the area but have not participated in the camp,” said Brown, who prepped at Riverdale Baptist before attending St. Francis University in Pennsylvania. “When you interact with the campers and show what you want to pass on, you can see w the difference. It helps us grow as athletes and it helps them because they realize that this is an experience that many do not get to get.”
Durwin Xavier Lee, 10, was here for the second year in Positive Choices camp.
“When I came here last year, it was my first time so I had fun and did not take it seriously,” explained Lee, a student at C.W. Harris in Northeast Washington. “This year I have learned new things. One of the main things is conditioning and how it helps with not getting seriously injured.”
While Abdul-Rahim is pleased with the success of the camp, he feels that there is still a lot of work to do in serving local youth.
“We, myself included, have to do more than have a one-day camp,” he intimated. “We have to invest on a consistent basis. We have to develop a program that encompasses three things: We have to cultivate their development, inspire them with our passion and to nurture them with the love that they may be lacking.”
As he seeks to do more, Abdul-Rahim told The Informer one new effort in collaboration with University of Maryland’s football team.
“With the help of Coach Locksley, we are starting a mentoring program called Tap-In. It will provide personal one-on-one mentoring to middle school students and members of the Maryland football team,” Abdul-Rahim explained. “We cannot be content. We have a lot of work to do and hopefully Tap In will be another step.”