4,768 Kids Partake In Full Hall Of Fame Experience

Growing up, all my friends and I wanted to do was go in the backyard and play any type of sport – football, baseball, basketball, soccer. Literally anything to be outside, running around and having a good time. 

While this was fun, never once did I get the chance to do it inside an NFL stadium, MLB field, NBA arena or Premier League pitch. That was not the case for nearly 4,800 students in Canton, Ohio. They got the chance to be on the same field that kicks off every NFL season.

Over the past two weeks, the Hall of Fame’s Youth & Education team hosted its annual Get-Fit Training Camp presented by Panini – the 14th year for the program. Taking place in Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, the program is designed for all skill levels and is a mass-movement, basic football drill event for students in grades K-8. Students take part in drills similar to some of those in NFL training camps with the goal to get students up and moving, but more importantly, to get them having fun with their friends. Each student also got to leave the event with a pack of football cards, courtesy of Panini.



At the surface, this may seem like another, run-of-the-mill field trip for teachers and students. And while it is a day to get out of the building, there is importance to this event through the eyes of the teachers. 

“I love the opportunity to bring our kids to the Get Fit Camp,” said Amie Orwick, a PE teacher from Perry Local Schools. “Most students at the elementary level love football and really get into the NFL. However, most of our students are unable to visit the Hall of Fame, even though it's right in our backyard.  This opportunity gives our students the chance to experience a taste of the Hall.”

NFL Legend Charlie Batch, who spent time with the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers, brings his “Best of the Batch Foundation” annually to the camp, said that his first time visiting the Hall of Fame wasn’t until the Steelers played in the Hall of Fame Game in 2007. 

“I was thinking to myself, ‘If this is the first time I am coming here, there is a bunch of kids in Pittsburgh who need to have the opportunity to come here,’” Batch said. “It’s a phenomenal experience for these kids to come here.”

Over the past two years, schools have dealt with a plethora of challenges – the main being the pandemic and making sure students return to “normalcy” with their routines. One of the pieces missing these past few years for these students has been the opportunity to get out of the school building and experience something new. 

Kelsey Kent, a fourth-grade teacher at the I Promise School in Akron, Ohio, stated that “After a year of virtual teaching, it felt AMAZING to watch my students run around and just be kids. … In all my years of teaching, I’ve never experienced such a well-rounded field trip.” 

Other teachers expressed similar sentiments.

“The last two years have had a big impact on young learners. They have not had the opportunity to expand their view of the world much during the pandemic,” said Angie Miller, a first-grade teacher at Carrollton Elementary. “Nor have they had the opportunity to see and interact with students from other school districts. Get-Fit camp offered our children the opportunity to do those things.”



Little else matters if the kids do not have fun and enjoy their visit, which at the core of this program is what we want the kids to experience. During the two-week program, nearly 1,000 students from Canton City Schools (second- and fourth-graders) attend the Get-Fit Training Camp, and the teachers from those schools noticed how much their students enjoyed their visit. 

“Walking up the steps and into Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium was an awesome and eye-opening experience for our students. Their eyes absolutely lit up when they got to the top of the steps and took their first few steps on the field,” said Daniel Craddock, a fourth-grade teacher at Canton City’s McGregor Intermediate School. 

Try to put yourself in the shoes of a fourth-grader walking in this “larger than life” stadium, where NFL players have played, and realize that you get spend one hour on that field, too. Along with the excitement on the field, students also get the chance to experience the Hall of Fame Museum.

Josette Folk, an eighth-grade teacher at Louisville Middle School, echoed this sentiment.

“My students loved the theater experience in the Hall as well as the comparison of their sizes to NFL player sizes,” she said. “It was a great day overall, and we are truly thankful!”

This event could have not taken place without the help of many groups. A huge thank you to the staff of the Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Co.; coaches and players from the Walsh University football team; local YMCA employees; Aultman and our own teammates at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

But more importantly: Thank you to every teacher and student who made the trip to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. To see students running around with smiles on their faces, having fun with their friends all surrounding the greatest game there is? There is nothing better than that.