MIAMI GARDENS - The Miami Dolphins hosted the Junior Dolphins High School Kick-Off in collaboration with NIKE for 475 high school student-athletes from Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties to provide youth football players with an enriching gameday experience on Saturday, August 27.
As part of preseason game-day programming before the Miami Dolphins took on the Philadelphia Eagles presented by AmeriSave, ten South Florida high-school football programs participated in pregame activations including educational discussions on technology led by Grover and nutritional programming led by FARE.
“The Junior Dolphins High School Kick-Off event was an excellent opportunity to partner with NIKE in uniting local student-athletes of our community to enjoy the game of football while preparing them for their own upcoming season,” Miami Dolphins Senior Director of Community Relations & Youth Programs RaShauna Hamilton said. “We appreciate the variety of programming coming together for this event including partners like Grover and FARE to maximize our impact on the youth health and wellness.”
Participating high school football and flag football programs from Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties included Charles W. Flanagan High School, Dillard High School, Everglades High School, Fort Lauderdale High School, J.P. Taravella High School, McArthur High School, Miami Carol City Senior High, Miami Norland Senior High School and Santaluces Community High School.
“We’re really enjoying the environment and atmosphere and it’s good to see teams interacting off the field and building that comradery,” said Everglades High School Varsity Football Head Coach Rodney Rumph. “The educational programming is very important because young athletes need to know it’s not just what you do on the field, but also what you do in the classroom.”
“It was an honor for the Miami Dolphins to bring us out. It was cool to learn from Grover because they focused on education, electronics and also having fun. I’m looking forward to doing more events with the Dolphins.” Fort Lauderdale High School WR Travaughn Robbins-Hall said.
The Junior Dolphins program encourages youth players and coaches to teach, learn and play football in a fun and safe environment. As stewards of the game, Junior Dolphins strive to grow participation in the game, impact the football community and build the next generation of Dolphins fans. Through strong community partnership and strategic resource distribution, all aspects of the Junior Dolphins program work to emphasize character building to increase the overall experience in youth football.