Photo credit- Dan Heary
Rob Gullo, NEFJ Correspondent
NEW BRITAIN — Former Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins cornerback Byron Jones, who played in the NFL from 2015-2022, hung up the cleats following the 2022 season in which he did not play due to recovering from an Achilles injury.
Since being retired, one thing Jones has remained busy with post-NFL career has been giving back to his community and hometown of New Britain, Connecticut. Each summer in June, Jones hosts his annual ‘Byron Jones Football Camp’ which is free to kids from the city of New Britain and surrounding areas.
Last Sunday was Jones’ sixth annual camp. Around 80 camp participants from ages 10-15 showed up from 12:30-4:00 p.m. and partook in many different drills. At the conclusion of the camp, pizza and prizes were given to the kids as everyone cooled down after a hot day with some football action.
What started off as a rainy, cloudy, and wet Sunday morning quickly turned into a hot, dry, and energetic afternoon with the 80 kids being taught new football drills from Jones and his volunteers. Some volunteers included Central Connecticut State University football players as around 12-15 players volunteered.
Jones said Sunday’s camp was another good turnout, and thanked God for making it another day of great weather despite some inclement weather early on.
“God has been good, because all my camps, knock on wood, have been good weather,” Jones said. “That’s been the fun part, it’s hot right now, but the kids are enjoying it. We’re making sure the kids are hydrated, and you can’t beat a summer day in Connecticut.”
Jones, who makes his camp free every year, said one of the biggest joys he gets out of hosting his camp is seeing the growth of the youth and how excited they are to come back for the camp.
“That’s the cool part of it, you see kids who will repeat and come back, and kids get bigger,” Jones said. “Seeing kids get from 10 to 13 is a big difference. To see how excited they are every time they come back, and see them compete, they just love it.”
“Sometimes they bring their old shirts that I signed, or they’re wearing cleats that I signed two years ago. It just means a lot to me, and it looks like it means a lot to them, so it’s something I’m going to continue to do.”
Kids in the area can expect another free Byron Jones Camp next June.
Jones, a proud New Britain native, will continue his acts of service to his home community by sponsoring the 33rd Osgood Shootout in August, which is a local city-wide basketball tournament held at New Britain High School.
The Osgood Shootout has seen the likes of Kemba Walker, Andre Drummond, Ryan Gomes, Jonathan Kuminga, and many other talented basketball players play in it. The Osgood Shootout was set to end three years ago, but then Jones saved the event by telling director, Darwin Shaw, that he would cover the costs to keep the Osgood Shootout tradition alive.
“Darwin Shaw is an OG in this community, and I’m so happy I can support him and help him and make his job a little bit easier,” Jones said. What he’s doing is incredible and it’s good to have people that are wanting to give back to Connecticut in that way.”