DaytonDailyNews.com

DAYTON — The 22-year-old Martin Bayless Free Football Camp is the oldest and largest free football camp in the nation with more than 150,000 attendees since the camp's inception in 1986 in Dayton.

Bayless, a graduate of Belmont High School and Bowling Green State University, played 11 NFL seasons (1984-94) for St. Louis, Buffalo, San Diego, Kansas City and Washington. He's entering his second season as assistant defensive backs coach for the Houston Texans.

Nowadays, his camps are held in five cities: San Diego, Phoenix, Kansas City, Buffalo and Dayton. Bayless' camps and other charitable projects are under the direction of the Martin Bayless Charitable Foundation, established in 1994.

Past participants in his camp include three Heisman Trophy Winners — Reggie Bush, Ricky Williams and Rashaan Salaam — and two others who went on to become the first overall pick in the NFL Draft: Alex Smith and Dan Wilkinson.

In Bayless' words:

"Dayton is home for me. I have a lot of great memories of my childhood, friends and family. Early on in my NFL career, I was given a platform to help change how people look at professional athletes. I tried to take advantage of that with a lot of support and advice from family and friends. My mom and dad always encouraged me to do positive things to help kids who were less fortunate — to try to give them some education on how they can change their lives.

"Through education, they can change the cycle in their family's history. I was a little skinny guy who went to Bowling Green as a walk-on football player and basketball player, and ended up living my dream. There are a lot of kids who have followed that path — not because of Martin Bayless, but just because they have been encouraged that if you keep working hard, persevere, believe in yourself and have a little luck, you can make something out of your life and help your family. That's what the camp is all about.

"I've been in the NFL 23 years — in coaching, management and as a player. I've touched all bases. We have 90 players in our (Houston Texans) locker room right now and I'd be willing to say half of them come from inner-city communities or single-parent homes. We probably have two dozen players on our team that were probably walk-ons in college and ended up making it through because they worked hard, ended up in good situations and made the best out of it, and got college educations.

"Here I am many years removed from my high school career, and our camp remains the same. I feel very strongly that the camp is driven by those voices in Dayton who were unable to do what Martin Bayless and the Martin Bayless Charitable Foundation have been able to do. We're doing this for a lot of other people. It's not for Martin Bayless. Martin Bayless is just the name and a vehicle that we use to do the program.

"But it's not about me. We've had volunteers that have been with us for 20 years doing the camp who other people don't know, but they believe in what we've done and they've seen it come from the beginning to where it is now. It's just a blessing to be able to come back every year and help shed a positive light on my hometown. We need positive stories.

"I don't live in Dayton, but I get the Dayton Daily News on the Internet, and there's no time of the day that I can't turn on the Internet and see high school and junior high kids getting in trouble — guns, killings, stealing and robbery. Our kids need positive leaders. They need not only leaders, but positive reinforcement. They need people there on a daily basis who can encourage kids to do positive things like going to school, being on time, not skipping class ... some of the most fundamental things that you can talk about. A lot of our kids just don't have those fundamentals. There's no gate keeper. You can talk about the Dayton Public Schools all you want, but it happens in suburban America, too.

"I don't want credit. I just want the story to be told. It's not that Martin Bayless did it because that's not what's important. What's important is the people who have benefitted from what we do."

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2253 or cludwig@DaytonDailyNews.com

MARTIN BAYLESS FREE FOOTBALL GAME

• When: Saturday.
• Where: Welcome Stadium.

Format:
• Session 1: 3rd-6th grades (registration from 8-9 a.m., camp until noon).
• Session 2: 7th-12th grades (registration from 1-2 p.m., camp until 5 p.m.).
• Note: A parent or guardian signature is required for camp participation.
• NFL instructors: S Will Allen and WR Michael Clayton (Tampa Bay); S Brandon Mitchell and C.C. Brown, DE Earl Cochran, RB Chris Taylor and QB Alex Van Pelt (Houston); S Will Demps (N.Y. Giants).
• Sponsors: Cricket Communications and Smokey Bones Barbeque & Grill.
• Information: www.baylessfoundation.org