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Utica legend Will Smith's football camp returns this Sunday after seven year absence

noah ram, observer-dispatch
·4 min read

Two popular youth sports events will return to Utica and the Mohawk Valley this weekend.

Both reconvene with a different feel, however, as they will be held for the first time since the passing of their founder.

Saturday and Sunday, the Hoops and Dreams basketball tournament will occur for the first time since founder Patrick Johnson’s death last October.

Sunday, the “When There’s a Will, There’s a Way” Football Camp will commence for the first time since founder and NFL Pro Bowler Will Smith’s passing in April 2016 in New Orleans.

Will Smith during a football clinic in Utica in 2006.
Will Smith during a football clinic in Utica in 2006.

The Hoops and Dreams events begin Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Kemble Street Park in Utica.

The football camp starts Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. at Proctor High School in Utica.

Here is what you need to know about the football camp:

Hoops and Dreams Basketball Tournament: Hoops and Dreams Basketball Tournament reconvenes at Kemble Park in Utica this weekend

Who is Will Smith?

When Utica native and Proctor alum Rich Diliberto left a job in marketing to run Elevate CNY in Westmoreland, he maintained one precondition.

Will Smith’s football camp needed to return to Utica.

New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith appears before a game against the New York Giants in East Rutherford, N.J., in 2012.
New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith appears before a game against the New York Giants in East Rutherford, N.J., in 2012.

Diliberto said Smith inspired kids throughout the area during his lifetime.

“There’s a lot of people saying, ‘oh I live in a smaller city, it’s really hard to achieve the things he achieved,”’ Diliberto said. “Will was an inspiration because he showed anything was possible.”

Hoops and Dreams : Basketball tournament reconvenes at Kemble Park in Utica this weekend

Smith was born in Queens, but he lived with his grandmother in Utica for his junior high and high school years, where he starred at Proctor on the defensive line. He was a USA Today All-American pick and received a scholarship to Ohio State.

In Columbus, Smith continued his excellence for the Buckeyes. He won a national championship in 2002 and was named first-team All-American in 2003.

The New Orleans Saints drafted him 18th overall in 2004, and he helped turn around a downtrodden franchise. He co-led the league in forced fumbles in 2004, made the NFC Pro Bowl team in 2006 and won a Super Bowl in 2009, the Saints first.

In 2007, Smith began the “When There’s a Will, There’s a Way” football camp. He continued it through his retirement from the league in 2014.

More: OUR VIEW: Will showed us the way

The camp, however, came to an end when Smith tragically was shot and killed on April 9, 2016, during an altercation following a traffic accident in the Lower Garden District in New Orleans.

“When Will passed away, a little bit of Utica died,” Diliberto said.

“He never brushed anyone off.”

Will Smith at his football camp in May 2009
Will Smith at his football camp in May 2009

Diliberto said he wanted to bring back the camp years ago, but the pandemic delayed it.

Both Smith and Diliberto were athletes at Proctor, and when they interacted, Diliberto said he was impressed at the man Smith was.

“For someone with his notoriety and fame, he always had time for people in this community,” he said. “He never brushed anyone off.”

Smith’s family, including his wife Racquel, supported the idea wholeheartedly.

More: Smith’s Super Bowl win inspires JFK students

“Anything to keep Will’s name in the forefront where people still know what he’s about, she was 100% for,” Diliberto said.

Racquel and their children, who currently live in Texas, won’t be in Utica, though.

Smith’s son, Will Jr., will join Ohio State’s football team in the fall, like his father, as a four-star defensive lineman.

Diliberto said the family intends to attend next year.

Who will be there?

Multiple current and former NFL and college players will be in attendance, however. These include Donte Whitner, Smith’s teammate at OSU and a three-time Pro Bowler for the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns, and Jo-Loon Dunbar, Smith’s teammate on the Saints and a Corcoran High School alum.

On the coaching side, no NFL coaches will be partaking due to the beginning of training camps, but some Utica Pioneer coaches will volunteer as well as many local high school coaches.

Donte Whitner was drafted by the Bills in 2006 and went on to also play for the 49ers, Browns and Redskins.
Donte Whitner was drafted by the Bills in 2006 and went on to also play for the 49ers, Browns and Redskins.

The players and coaches in attendance will work on skills and drills, technique and talk to campers.

Registration opens at 11 a.m. Sunday at Proctor. Lunch will be provided, and the camp is open to anyone, boys and girls, ages 8-15 with the maximum set at 250.

In case of rain, campers will be bussed and moved to Elevate CNY in Westmoreland.

More: Loss of Will Smith leaves a void in Utica

Diliberto said the camp is just the beginning as he yearns to revive the foundation and help provide equipment to kids who can’t afford it.

“I hope what we are doing inspires someone to be as influential as Will was to this community,” he said. “Our goal is to give the kids the inspiration to achieve the things he achieved.”

Noah Ram is the sports reporter for the Observer-Dispatch. Email Noah Ram at nram@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: When There's a Will, There's a Way football camp will return to Utica this Sunday