FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kansas — Fort Leavenworth youth were given the opportunity to participate in a two-day football camp led by an NFL player July 14-15, 2025.
The ProCamps event was hosted by George Karlaftis, Kansas City Chiefs defensive end and two-time Super Bowl champion.
The free camp was offered to youth ages 6-14 who are dependents of active-duty soldiers, retirees and Department of Defense employees.
ProCamps Director Justin Heinauer said he has seen a big impact on both participants and volunteers through the camp program.
“It's a great way to be able to give back to the community. It's a great way to highlight our service men and women who've done so much for our country,” Heinauer said. “To get out here and let their kids have fun and get some advice from people who've been there and been successful, that's what it's all about. Years later, you see these kids go through the different stages of the camp, and it just gives them some really good structure, accountability and direction for later in life.”
A total of 150 children were able to participate in the camp, and participants were split into teams based on their ages. Children ages 6-8 were in the Red Devil Division, named after Karlaftis’ alma mater, West Lafayette (Indiana) High School; children ages 9-11 were in the Boilermakers division, based on Purdue University where Karlaftis attended college; and youth ages 12-14 participated in the Chiefs Division, named for the NFL player’s current team.
On the first day of camp, focus was on learning offensive drills, such as high-point, 1-on-1s, tight end stance and swim, and zone read. Participants were also given the chance to better know Karlaftis through a question-and-answer session and photo opportunities. The second day, youth learned defensive drills, including man-to-man, curls with squaring in and out, fade drills, backpedaling vs. fade drills, and a special defensive end drill with Karlaftis. Both days concluded with two-hand touch football games and an awards ceremony. Each camper was given an autographed copy of a team photo of themselves with Karlaftis.
Karlaftis said he was excited to be able to give back to the Fort Leavenworth community.
“Anytime I'm able to give back, I'm all for it,” Karlaftis said. “Whenever you're able to brighten someone's day, whether it's giving them a high five, opening the door for them, or maybe giving them an autographed T-shirt or something like that, I'm all for it.”
In addition to teaching about football basics and active lifestyles, Karlaftis maintained a focus on celebrating military children and their contributions to the community throughout the two-day camp. He connected with the military youth as someone who also moved as a child.
“I moved from Greece, obviously not speaking the same language. I spoke English but not quite as good as I do now,” he said. “My first six months here were just so difficult, so miserable for a lot of different reasons. But after that, I tried to get acclimated as best as I could.”
Karlaftis offered advice for military youth.
“The advice I would give is try to roll with the punches. Just always try to find a way to find a way. You know, change can be really tough, especially at a young age. In those formative years, it can be really, really difficult to move and have a completely different environment, a change of friends, change of scenery, everything you know. Your routine, your house, everything. So, I would just say, try to do the best that you do every single day. Roll with the punches and find a way.”
Camp events took place from 9 a.m. to noon each day at Normandy Field, the track and field complex by the Unified School District 207 Office. Rafael Ramos, who participated in the 12-14-year-old Chiefs Division and won the Febreze Fastest Camper award, said this was his third year participating in the camp.
“I think this year was actually more fun. (There was) a lot more competition this year,” Rafael said.
Rafael said his favorite part of camp was meeting everyone involved, and he was motivated to return to camp this year to win fastest camper. During his first year participating he won the fastest camper; however, he lost last year after slipping during the race.
Joy Loden, in the 6-8-year-old Red Devils division, said her older brothers have participated in previous camps, but this was her first year involved. She said that camp was fun, but not what she expected it to be.
“I thought it would be we would throw the football through the yellow thing,” Joy said in reference to the goal post.
She added that her favorite part of camp was learning blocking. Joy was named the “First Draft Pick” at camp.
This camp marked the third consecutive year a football camp led by NFL players has been awarded to the Fort Leavenworth community. ProCamps are awarded through a Procter & Gamble-sponsored program, which brings camps to the military installations that purchase the most P&G products.
Marina Lemanua, Fort Leavenworth Post Exchange store manager, said the Fort Leavenworth Exchange and Commissary saw a 123.4 percent increase in Procter & Gamble product sales in 2024 compared to 2023 sales. More than $5,400 worth of Procter & Gamble products was sold in a two-week bulk sales period in April 2024. The Fort Leavenworth Exchange and Commissary came in first place in the central region in the April sales contest, leading to the camp being awarded to the Fort Leavenworth community.
“(This camp) is really exciting,” Lemanua said in regards to hosting the camp for the third consecutive time. “Every year we’re excited to get any NFL players, any NFL team, with us. To have a Kansas City Chiefs player here, it’s amazing. It really is one of a kind.”
Molly Fanning, executive vice president for ProCamps and G3 marketing at Procter & Gamble, said she was also excited that Fort Leavenworth won the camp again.
“We award camps in both the U.S. and overseas,” Fanning said, noting that a total of 10 camps were awarded this year. “It's very rare that they have won three years in a row, so it's very exciting for us to be out here three times and be able to bring out different athletes to support the military.”
Previous camps were run by Kansas State University alumni Deuce Vaughn of the Dallas Cowboys in 2023 and Ben Sinnott of the Washington Commanders in 2024.
“As I mentioned, it is rare that a base wins three times in a row. Previously, they had requested that we bring someone from Kansas State or someone that's local to the Fort Leavenworth community,” Fanning said. “So, we thought we would change it up a little bit. This year, (the Kansas City Chiefs) is the closest professional team, so we reached out to the Chiefs to see if anyone was available, and George was willing to jump on board and really jump in.”
While having Karlaftis run the camp was exciting for participants, the focus of the day remained on the military children and their unique contributions.
“Everyone kind of has one common goal with their passion,” Heinauer said. “Everyone's just trying to help these kids to get a better start to their future. That's what I'm passionate about, and it's good to be out here working with like-minded people, like George and the rest of this coaching staff.”
AWARDS:
Day 1
First Draft Pick Camper: Joy Loden
Name Game Winner:Elijah Ingalls
Campers of the Day:
• Tide Toughest Camper: Stockton Wheatley
• Old Spice Swaggiest Camper: Brennan Burkeen
• Charmin Ultra Strong Camper: Cooper Moye
• Bounty Quicker Picker Upper Camper: Elliot Rambo
Parent Social Media Contest: Maria Grahm, Chris McCann and Jenn Harsh
Day 2
Name Game Winner: Lukas Yandura
Gillette Smoothest Coach of the Camp: John Black
Febreze Fastest Campers:
• Red Devils Division: Charlie Troxel, 6.5 seconds
• Boilermakers Division: J’Don Wilson, 6.5 seconds
• Chiefs Division:Rafael Ramos, 4.75 seconds
Campers of the Day:
• Tide Toughest Camper: Bryson Booker
• Old Spice Swaggiest Camper: Dylan Martin
• Charmin Ultra Strong Camper: Dalton Kaminski
• Bounty Quicker Picker Upper Camper: Ariel Humphreys
Parent Social Media Contest: Jenn Harsh
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