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Before 12-year NFL veteran Shawn Springs left the Kennedy High School football field June 25, he needed to reminisce.

The New England Patriots and former Washington Redskins cornerback was the first guest of honor at last week's Pro Power Foundation Football Camp, giving coaching tips to over 30 youngsters in attendance. It was nostalgic for the 1993 Springbrook alumnus, who spoke on topics ranging from new teammate Tom Brady to Friday nights at a nearby McDonald's in his high school days.

He was them, not long ago. And they can be him.

"It seemed like yesterday I was just like you all, out here on the field in the dog days, trying to get nice," said Springs. "When I talk to you guys, Montgomery County, I like to keep it real because I really was you. I know you're out here working, and that's the only way you're going to make it. It [isn't] going to happen by just by saying ‘I'm going to eat some oatmeal, stretch a little bit, play Madden, hang out with my boys, then show up and be better than everybody else.'"

Springs highlighted the first day of the Wednesday-through-Saturday camp, while current teammate Leigh Bodden — a graduate of Northwestern High in Prince George's County — worked the camp Friday.

It was the second summer camp put on by Pro Power, a Washington-area initiative founded by Mark Smith in 2006. The program's Web site, www.propowerfoundation.org, said its mission is to "provide after school tutoring/college prep, mentoring, injury prevention and health education programs necessary for area youth to have better opportunities for success."

Three years ago, Pro Power hosted a camp at Wootton High, with NFL stars such as San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman, Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis and the late Sean Taylor in attendance.

This year's model featured a little bit of everything on the field: position-specific coaching, individual athletic testing, seven-on-seven drills and scrimmages. Pro Power assistants, including Smith's brother Carlos (a paraeducator at Kennedy), and high school coaches such as Northwood's Dennis Harris and Kennedy's Randolph Warren, gave the lessons.

"I work with Coach Carlos at Kennedy, so he and I had talked about this," said Warren. "It's just nice to get to work some extra with the kids in the summertime. I've got a player out here myself."

Pro Power has been active in the Germantown area recently. On Nov. 15, Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett — the organization's NFL liaison — spoke at Northwest High to honor 32 Jaguars varsity football players who had achieved at least a 3.0 grade-point average through the first marking period.

Mark Smith picked the Silver Spring locale this summer in an effort to target Downcounty Consortium schools Blair, Kennedy, Einstein, Wheaton and Northwood.

"It's an area," he said, "where I think a lot of kids are kind of falling through the cracks."

It's a sentiment shared by Springs, on an equally personal level.

"A lot of times, I get so mad," he said. "A lot of kids at Springbrook, guys have the talent, but they don't have the grades, which defeats the whole purpose."