Change the Game aims to change the landscape of prep football
Courtesy of Spring Observer
Updated: 07.15.09
On a steamy Friday morning at Klein Memorial Stadium, a group of kids are going through their final day of football camp.
They’re playing in a simulated game of touch football with a coach standing back throwing lazy passes to the kids, who are all between the ages of 7 and 13. Parents are sitting in what little shade there is, fanning themselves, eyeing the water cooler like it’s the Holy Grail.
One could mistake this scene for any of the thousands of camps going on at stadiums all around the state of Texas. But this isn’t any other camp. It may not seem like it now, but this camp is the start of something that, if successful, will change the landscape of prep sports.
Appropriately enough, the organization behind this youth camp is called Change the Game LLC. Owned and managed by three former and current professional athletes, the organization has just opened a complex in Spring and is looking to grow to levels one could not imagine.
Change the Game is an athletic training facility where the goal is to help prepare athletes for the next level of competition, whatever it may be. Aimed at helping high school and college players, the owners of the organization hope to use their contacts and their shared experiences to turn area high school kids into potential stars.
“We bring them in around that first year of high school,” co-founder Sean Lewis said. “You have to be goal-oriented – a high school freshman who wants to make varsity, a varsity player who wants to be all-district, an all-district player who wants a scholarship, a scholarship guy who wants to start at college. But we’re there to help you reach that goal.”
The main man behind Change the Game is Lewis, a former player for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. Lewis came up with the idea five years ago while living in Seattle. He was unable to get the project going in the Pacific Northwest, and even after moving to Houston in 2006 plans still never got beyond the discussion stage.
But while in Houston, Lewis found an ally in Exavier “Nook” Logan, a former outfielder for the Detroit Tigers and the Washington Nationals. Logan said he and Lewis talked about the game plan for a while before finally starting it.
“Sean has…a lot of football knowledge and I have a baseball perspective,” Logan said. “We’ve been talking about it for years now, and over the last nine months we’ve really been putting our ideas into practice. We both know a lot of people, and we think that can really help these kids get to the places they want to go.”
Lewis, Logan and NFL cornerback Von Hutchins, the other co-founder of Change the Game, all have plenty of contacts from their college and professional days, but before they could get their organization off the ground they needed to make some friends among the high school football ranks.
Lewis said he received a lot of help from both Westfield coach Corby Meekins and Dekaney coach Willie Amendola, both of whom helped put him in contact with a lot of other coaches and players in the Houston area.
“Even though I played pro ball, I still wasn’t a Texas guy, so I needed to build some relationships,” Lewis said. “I got an opportunity to build some strong relationships with Coach Amendola and Coach Meekins. Those two guys have allowed me to be a real part of their programs, and I owe them a lot.”
Amendola, who assisted with Change the Game’s youth camp two weeks ago, said it was easy to lend his support to the organization.
“When I first met Sean, the one thing that struck me was his genuine concern and commitment to these kids,” Amendola said. “How can you not attach yourself to someone like that? How can you not help somebody? He’s trying to do the same things we’re trying to do, which is to help kids through athletics.”
Lewis said he eventually plans to expand Change the Game on a national scale. He said he is currently looking to open new facilities in Charlotte, Miami and Seattle. Logan said they have to establish themselves in Spring and in the Greater Houston area first, but that if they can, anything else is possible.
“Mentally, as far as what we can see, it’s all in front of us,” Logan said. “Once we get the operation going, that’s going to do the work for us.”
