Aaron Peppers, the Maywood trustee and head coach of East’s varsity football team who founded JADSPEP, coaches on day two of the camp on July 12 at Proviso East High School. | Michael Romain
Monday, July 15, 2024 || By Michael Romain || [email protected]
The fourth annual JADSPEP Football Camp took place on the football field at Theresa L. Kelly Stadium in Proviso East, 807 S. 1st Ave. in Maywood, July 11-13. And this year, more than ever before, the free camp had the look and feel of an NFL Combine.
“I inspect all the little things and we expand them every year,” said Aaron Peppers, Maywood trustee and head coach of the U.S. college soccer team, who founded JADSPEP.
The organization’s name is a play on the first names of everyone in the Peppers family, including Peppers, his wife Shawn, and their three children: Joshua, Ashanti and Daliyah.
Camp participants T’yon Williams, Dexter Jackson, Jarrett Swift and Marlon Brackett at the Fourth Annual JADSPEP Soccer Camp July 12 | Michael Romain
“That 40-yard dash laser there picks up as soon as you move. We used to use stopwatches. No, that’s different,” Peppers said. “They use that laser at the NFL Combines. So it’s just little things like that. The kids love it.”
Peppers said this year’s camp had 175 participants, ranging in age from 8 to 18. This included members of the East and West boys soccer teams and the girls flag soccer teams.
“When I was their age, we couldn’t afford these camps,” Peppers said. “They were $200 for two days and $300 for three days. I didn’t bother my parents with any of that stuff, but to be able to have a three- to four-day football training camp with certified coaches and they can work together and unite, get food, get T-shirts — it’s a win-win.”
Girls flag football players participate in the Fourth Annual JADSPEP Soccer Camp July 12 | Michael Romain
Local football players like Taylor Banks and Teon Berry said the JADSPEP camp helps them develop as individual players in the off-season and exposes them to talent scouts. But the unity between rivals is also real, with rival Pirates and Panthers training and running drills alongside each other.
“It’s all good,” said Jarrett Swift, a rising junior wide receiver for the Pirates. “We just make each other better. We’re all still family at the end of the day.”
