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Sports

Quintus McDonald Returns To Create Unique Sports Camp

The NFL linebacker gives back to his hometown.

When former NFL Linebacker Quintus McDonald returned to his native Montclair as sponsor of a summer sports camp, it was a new page in a journey that began more than 25 years ago.

Currently living in North Carolina, McDonald, 44, graduated from Montclair High School in 1985 as a NJ State Football champion and the top high school defensive player in the country, as per USA Today.

However, despite success at Penn State University, where he won a NCAA Football National Championship and a stint with the Indianapolis Colts and San Francisco 49ers in the NFL, McDonald’s career was cut short by addictions to drugs and alcohol.

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Now clean, sober and following a Christian lifestyle, McDonald said he spent the last year planning a sports camp that would allow him to use his experience in a positive way. He created the Montclair Junior Sports Academy (MJSA) to help area youngsters make better decisions.

He said the idea occurred to him during an earlier visit when friends told him how many township youths seemed to be misdirected.

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“I had heard so much talk about how things had changed in Montclair from when I was younger,” said McDonald. “It never occurred to me that I would be giving back.”

The camp ran from Aug. 8 to Aug. 13. Run in cooperation with community group Montclair Neighborhood Development Corporation (MNDC), the MJSA also partnered with sports coaches and educators from the township school district.

The unique camp was held at Heningburg Field on Midland Avenue and on the campus of Montclair High School. McDonald said the camp featured instruction in English, character education, sports psychology, as well as in football, soccer, track, basketball and baseball.

Focusing on girls and boys between 9 and 13 years old, McDonald said his goal was to help youngsters who are forming their preferences in sports make better choices than he did.

“It’s an important age group to reach,” said McDonald.  “At this age group, if we get them educated in making good choices, there will be fewer chances to make mistakes.”

Albert Pelham, Executive Director of the MNDC, said the non-profit partnered with McDonald and provided scholarships to disadvantaged youngsters who were interested in participating, but were unable to afford the weekly price tag of $140.

“MNDC’s mission statement is to empower and support disadvantaged individuals, youth and families alike, to achieve an improved quality of life through training, education, and advocacy,” said Pelham. “The partnering with MJSA enables us to stay on course with that mission and play a role in helping all youth in the township, particularly the disadvantaged youth, through unlimited scholarships.”

For some area mothers, the camp was something they had been looking for all summer.

Bloomfield resident Regina Hughes was among several parents who enjoyed the presentation on bullying provided by the Start Out Fresh Intervention Advocates (SOFIA). She attended the camp’s final day with 4-year-old daughter Kailyn and 10-year-old son, Shaun.

Hughes said Shaun had already participated in a camp that was purely focused on football, but she had hoped for more. She said the combination of academics, several sports, and character education may be able to aid her son, who has been bullied.

“After the first day, I thought it was the perfect camp I was looking for all summer,” said Hughes, who attended Montclair High. “I couldn’t find any other camp that offered academics and sports. I knew that would be good for him.”

Cher Rosario, a Montclair resident, brought her 10-year-old son, JJ, a student at Hillside School, to participate in the camp. The mother of six said the camp represented an opportunity for a parent to provide wholesome activity on a budget.

“It’s great they had opportunities for under-privileged people who need a little help,” she said. “I loved the study skills and hope they have this again next year.”

McDonald said the message is to let youngsters know that even when you seem to win at everything, you can make life-altering mistakes.

“If you make the wrong choices, get up and don’t stay down,” said McDonald. “The only time you are a loser is if you refuse to get up.”

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