Desmond King to hold free football camp at City High Saturday morning
Camp is a way to honor Juneteenth anniversary
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Football has been very good to Desmond King, and vice versa.
The game has changed his life in so many positive ways, and now King wants to give something back in the town where he became a star in college.
The former Iowa All-America defensive back and current NFL player, will hold a free football camp for kids in grades 1 through 12 on Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon at City High.
The camp will have four points of emphasis:
- Develop different football techniques.
2. Learn how to work as a team.
3. Connect youth players with the City High football program.
4. Provide information for continued participation in football in Iowa City.
The camp is called the Desmond King Juneteenth Football Camp and is being held on what is now a national holiday.
Juneteenth marks the anniversary of June 19, 1865 when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved black people in Galveston, Texas.
President Joe Biden signed legislation on Thursday establishing Juneteenth as a new federal holiday.
City High is currently going through a transition in football with Mitch Moore having replaced long-time head coach Dan Sabers, who retired after the 2020 season. Moore was previously the head coach for Des Moines Roosevelt.
Moore is working hard to build a new foundation, and to connect with City High’s storied tradition in football, and King’s free camp is a way to the promote the game, and the Little Hawk program.
Moore said Friday in a text message that the Iowa coaches called and asked if he could assist King with a camp, and Moore said he jumped at the opportunity.
Moore also credits King’s mother, Yvette Powell, for helping to arrange the camp.
“Desmond’s mother has been very instrumental in this entire process helping to organize,” Moore said in a text message.
In addition to being free, the camp also will provide food and drink to the campers at no cost.
Desmond King played at Iowa from 2013-16 and won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top collegiate defensive back as a junior in 2015.
The Detroit native was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft and earned All-Pro honors in 2018.
King also has played for the Tennessee Titans and is currently a member of the Houston Texas after having signed a contract on March 30, 2021.
