LAS VEGAS (KTNV) \u2014 A crossfit room converted into a space full of football drills, high-fives and touchdown dances helped kick off an inclusive weekend in Henderson, where young athletes with special needs took part in a first-of-its-kind football camp hosted by The Ability Center.<\/p>\n
WATCH | Inside Ability Center’s football camp<\/p>\n
Raiders and LVAC partner with local nonprofit for inclusive football camp in Henderson<\/p>\n
The two-day adaptive camp was held at LVAC Henderson and powered by partnerships with the Las Vegas Raiders, Faith Lutheran football and UNLV alumni. Athletes participated in team activities while wearing official Raiders jerseys and using equipment donated by the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just having a great time watching natural ability shine here,\u201d said Chris Salas, founder of The Ability Center. \u201cGiving them the access to what everyone else has, has done so much for their confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
KTNV<\/p>\n
The Ability Center, a nonprofit adaptive gym, provides sensory-friendly fitness and mentorship opportunities for individuals with special needs. According to Salas, it is the only gym of its kind in Nevada.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all know a lot of things are just not designed for people with special needs,\u201d Salas said. \u201cWe\u2019re super proud to be the only gym in the state to provide fitness and sports opportunities for these young men and women in town.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
KTNV<\/p>\n
Jason, The fitness director at The Ability Center, said the camp was a way to give these athletes the same experiences their peers often take for granted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThinking about the football season starting\u2026 I know they see the camps on TV,\u201d he said. \u201cThey can say to their friends, \u2018Hey, I did a football camp. I did a Raider football camp.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
For many participants, the opportunity built more than just skills.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
KTNV<\/p>\n
\u201cThey did all the drills that the other athletes do,\u201d Jason added. \u201cAnd that\u2019s my measuring stick. I watched their confidence just go through the roof.\u201d<\/p>\n
One athlete, Joseph, summed it up with a smile: \u201cI feel super confident. I wanna be like my brother. Football is my favorite type of sport\u2026 I got my favorite people on my team.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
KTNV<\/p>\n
The event ended with music, dancing and what organizers called the most meaningful victory \u2014 athletes feeling seen, celebrated and supported.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes I don\u2019t know if they get more from me or I get more from them,\u201d Jason said. \u201cBut it makes me feel good. It makes me feel like I\u2019m helping someone.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAS VEGAS (KTNV) \u2014 A crossfit room converted into a space full of football drills, high-fives and touchdown…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":218530,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2065],"tags":[5684,5685,7,1744,393,5690,20218,2455,2454,45629,6,525,20219,266,18678,20220],"class_list":{"0":"post-218529","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-las-vegas-raiders","8":"tag-13-action-news","9":"tag-abc-13","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-las-vegas","12":"tag-las-vegas-raiders","13":"tag-las-vegas-sports","14":"tag-las-vegas-sports-teams","15":"tag-lasvegas","16":"tag-lasvegasraiders","17":"tag-lvac","18":"tag-nfl","19":"tag-raiders","20":"tag-sports-in-vegas","21":"tag-sports-news","22":"tag-sports-stories","23":"tag-vegas-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114877893846815882","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}