{"id":73113,"date":"2023-12-08T09:29:22","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T16:29:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=73113"},"modified":"2023-12-11T10:01:19","modified_gmt":"2023-12-11T17:01:19","slug":"pro-football-star-justin-simmons-delights-children-at-boys-girls-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/pro-football-star-justin-simmons-delights-children-at-boys-girls-club\/","title":{"rendered":"Pro football star Justin Simmons delights children at Boys & Girls Club"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Kids
Kids at the Boys & Girls Club of the Pikes Peak Region recently enjoyed a visit from pro football player Justin Simmons. Photos by Tyler Schank, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pure joy.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what dozens of kids felt when pro football player Justin Simmons came to visit them recently at the Boys & Girls Club of the Pikes Peak Region.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s up kids?\u2019\u2019 Simmons said as he stood before the youths, aged 5 to 18. \u201cCan you hear me OK? My name is Justin Simmons, and for those who don\u2019t know, I\u2019m No. 31.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so excited to be with you, and I can\u2019t wait to have some fun with you guys.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

The kids went wild, cheering, yelling, dancing.<\/p>\n

A club leader had to yell \u201cMarco,\u2019\u2019 a signal for the kids to yell \u201cPolo!\u2019\u2019 and then quiet down.<\/p>\n

A question-and-answer session began.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow many touchdowns have you scored?\u2019\u2019 one kid asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAhh, great question,\u2019\u2019 Simmons said. \u201cSo I play defense, so it won\u2019t be as many as you\u2019d probably like to hear, but I\u2019ve scored one touchdown so far.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Another question came: \u201cWhat is your favorite team to play against?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, good question. My favorite team to play against is probably the Chiefs.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew it!\u2019\u2019 a kid blurted out.<\/p>\n

At that point, Nicholas, 16, a kid who goes to the Boys & Girls Club every day to learn how to make drones and fly them, removed a T-shirt that had been given to the club youths as a gift from UCHealth, that said \u201cSimmons. Simmons. Simmons.\u2019\u2019 Underneath, he wore a Kansas City Chiefs shirt.<\/p>\n

Pure fun.<\/p>\n

\"Kids<\/p>\n

The kids from the Boys & Girls Club then presented Simmons with a gift, an orange and blue painting and a quarter-zip Boys & Girls Club pullover.<\/p>\n

\u201cAww, man,\u2019\u2019 Simmons said. \u201cAre you guys serious? This is awesome. Thank you so much.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

The next activity, carpet ball, was on tap. It\u2019s similar to billiards but played by sliding balls across a table and knocking the opponent\u2019s balls off.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you down?\u2019\u2019 Simmons was asked about taking on Nicholas in a game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always down,\u2019\u2019 he answered. The kids began chanting: \u201cJustin! Justin! Justin!\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Back-and-forth they played. It came down to the nitty-gritty. Each player had a single ball left. Whoever got the other guy out, would win.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lot of precision between the two of us, but I knew if I missed it, he would have gotten in the next shot.<\/p>\n

Nicholas rolled the ball across the carpet and bang \u2013 he knocked Simmons\u2019 ball into the slot. Game over.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou won! You won!\u2019\u2019 Simmons said, as he walked over to shake the hand of Nicholas.<\/p>\n

After carpet ball, it came time for a drawing for six footballs autographed by Simmons.<\/p>\n

\"Kids<\/p>\n

Pure excitement. Again, the Boys & Girls Club leader had to quiet the place. Marco. Polo.<\/p>\n

Simmons called out the numbers, one by one, as the kids cheered, hopeful to take memorabilia home with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cCheck your numbers. Check your numbers. \u2026 And, we have a winner,\u2019\u2019 Simmons declared.<\/p>\n

Six lucky kids, one of them Nicholas, went home with an autographed ball.<\/p>\n

Then, it was on to dodgeball in the club\u2019s gym. Simmons picked Nicholas, even though he wore a Chiefs shirt. Later, Simmons told him: \u201cI wanted you on my team. You may have poor choices in football teams, but you\u2019re a good kid.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Simmons picked his team, and he played like it was Sunday. He played to win. By the end of the dodgeball game in the gym, he had built up a full sweat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came in with a competitive mindset, but I admit I didn\u2019t expect to go full drench. I might have to change shirts. I think I have an extra shirt in the car. But it was so much fun. Once you get going, you\u2019re like, \u2018I\u2019m going to get a few people out,\u2019 and your competitive nature takes over. It was so much fun.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so thankful to UCHealth for hosting this and to the Boys & Girls Club for having me out here. \u2026 I hope the kids remember this forever and ever. I had a blast, and they were great sports.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n