NFL Professionals Teach Underrepresented High Schoolers

Camp Exposure offers teens training, mentoring on and off the field

High school football players from the Dallas-Fort Worth area get to learn from NFL professionals at the Camp Exposure Football Invitational, a free, all-inclusive sports camp curated for underrepresented high school athletes.

The invitation-only three-day camp provides young athletes with on-the-field training and personal and professional development sessions.

“This once-in-a-lifetime experience gives these athletes a platform to enhance their football talents, cultivate their life skills, develop their character as young men, and to set the foundation for their professional brands and careers,” Camp Exposure co-founder Tyler Patmon said.

In July 2022, Camp Exposure invited 100 athletes to train with NFL trainer Josh Hicks at Highlander Stadium in University Park for the third-annual event. Former NFL athletes and professionals, such as Jay Barnett, along with Vista Bank, held development sessions to teach topics like mental health awareness, financial literacy, and business at the Embassy Suites of Dallas Park Central.

“When Coach Allen and I heard about the amazing work that Camp Exposure is doing, to not just elevate elite athletes, but strengthen these young men holistically, we were all in,” Highland Park athletic director Johnny Ringo said. “The opportunity to unite the South Dallas and Highland Park communities around our common love for the sport is something truly special.” 

The athletes ended their experience with a 7-on-7 tournament, competing for the Camp Exposure championship belt and bragging rights until the next camp, this summer, on July 7-9, again at Highlander Stadium.

“I am so grateful to have been invited to Camp Exposure,” Rockwall-Heath High School athlete Patrick Donaldson said. “So much valuable knowledge was passed on to me from both speakers and coaches. I feel that I have grown so much as a person and as a football player in these three days. I am beyond blessed to have received this incredible opportunity.”

This year, in addition to Camp Exposure itself, attending student-athletes can continue the experience through a one-year mentorship connected to the camp.

Camp Exposure offers volunteer opportunities and four types of donation packages to those looking to support the organization.