Keelan Cole’s return to Owensboro was a successful one, as the pro football player held his first ever youth football camp at Kentucky Wesleyan College.
With his third NFL season approaching, the current Jacksonville Jaguar wide receiver and former Wesleyan All-American joined forces with DaMarcus Ganaway to provide a fun environment for young players to experience a unique opportunity.
“I know there’s not many kids that get opportunities like this in this area,” Cole said. “It feels good to bring it here.”
Cole’s relationship with Ganaway — Ohio County High School’s head football coach — dates back several years. Ganaway also played at Wesleyan before short stint with the New York Jets. He later co-founded Dynasty Sports Performance, a group that helps train athletes from the youth to college level.
Cole trained with DSP while in Owensboro, and now he’s giving back.
“It started from us going to the same school and having the same type of opportunities,” he said. “(Ganaway) was somebody that I could learn from until I got to where I needed to go. All the money that we get from this is going toward DSP training.”
Cole and Ganaway both said the one-day camp was mostly about having fun while teaching some basic fundamentals.
“It’s really about having fun,” Cole said. “It’s about getting the kids out here on a Saturday with no electronics, get them active and playing.”
Ganaway said getting the chance to hang out with an NFL player was a big bonus.
“It was really based on fun, getting a great opportunity and being really personable for kids to mingle with Keelan and interact with him in drills,” he said. “That was the whole goal and mindset behind holding a smaller camp and holding a little bit later. He wanted to make it something that these kids would remember for a long time.”
With his third season as a Jaguar quickly drawing near, Cole said he’s just trying to keep getting better.
“I try to progress every day,” he said. “That’s what the season is going to tell me. Hopefully I’ve progressed enough. I’m still going into training, so we’ll let the season define that.”
With a new quarterback in Nick Foles — who was named Super Bowl MVP for the Philadelphia Eagles after taking down the New England Patriots in 2017 — Cole said the expectations from the team are high but can be put simply.
“We’re just trying to win,” he said. “We’re just focused on winning games and getting to a Super Bowl opportunity.”
Personally, Cole just wants to maximize his opportunity while he can.
“I’ve still got work to do,” he said. “I’m just going to keep working until I can’t anymore. You only get to play football for so long. I’m just going to keep my head down and keep fighting.”
As for his first camp, Cole thought it went well. He said even if turnout had been low, a positive experience was enough to make it worthwhile.
“I’m just trying to give them an opportunity they probably couldn’t get unless they traveled further,” he said. “Regardless if it was just one person that came today, it was successful. The kids look happy, and that’s the only thing that matters.”
Ganaway, whose Ohio County staff helped run the event, was happy to help and have another chance to pass on his experiences.
“For me, the goal is to always be a serving leader and always have the goal in mind to give back,” he said. “That was the whole concept behind us starting Dynasty Sports was just to give back to the kids and do something that we know could make an impact on them in the long run. It was done for us and we want to pay it forward.”
With one camp under their belt, Ganaway said he hopes the foundation has been laid to keep building well into the future.
“This was just the start,” he said. “Next year we’ll try to contain it a little more, but as the years go on we want to expand. The goal is to make it a big deal and get Keelan back every year.”
