Mizzou Night of Champions: A Foster Care Football Camp
What do football and foster care have in common? The Mizzou Tigers!
Every summer, the University of Missouri football team hosts a football mini-camp for local children in foster care served by Coyote Hill, one of our Stillwaters affiliates. The event, Mizzou’s Night of Champions, is a highlight of the kids’ summer and is eagerly anticipated. This unique relationship between the Mizzou Tigers and local children in foster care has brought a wealth of joy to the vulnerable kids who attend.
Mizzou and Night of Champions
At Mizzou’s Night of Champions, children entering 3rd – 8th grade spend the afternoon on the football field going through drills. The coaches and players interact directly with the kids to encourage, help, and have fun. Once the practice session ends, the children and players head to the team’s dining hall to eat dinner together. The children receive goodie bags with water bottles, armbands, sweet treats, and a football. During the evening, kids and players take photos, sign autographs, and share a delicious meal.
“It’s a huge confidence booster,” says foster mom, Shayla, whose newly-adopted son loves the event. This is their third year attending, and he’s spent each camp paired with a college player. Shayla also values the sense of stability the event gave to her son after he bounced from home to home in foster care. “It gave him something to look forward to every year. I would encourage any family with foster or adoptive kids to attend.”
The Mizzou Tigers players also enjoy the mini-camp. We spoke with seniors Kristian Williams and Mookie Cooper about their experiences.
“Night of Champions is just a great opportunity for us to give back,” Williams says, who plays defensive tackle. “It’s all about having a connection. For me, it means the world to be able to just experience life together. It means the world to be able to call them my brother or my sister.”
Cooper, a wide receiver, shared about one young boy, David, who he created a bond with during the first mini-camp and maintained throughout the years. Now, David is taller than Cooper and plays basketball. The two still stay in touch.
“The biggest thing is giving back to kids and putting a smile on their face,” Cooper says.
Coyote Hill Hosts For Others
Coyote Hill’s mission is to provide a safe place to be a child for every child impacted by foster care. They create secure homes for children both at their fostering community in Harrisburg and in their licensed foster homes throughout mid-Missouri.
For the last 3 years, the For Others staff has traveled to Columbia, Missouri to participate in preparing for and helping at Night of Champions with Coyote Hill. We also get the amazing opportunity to visit Coyote Hill’s 300+ acre foster care neighborhood. In addition to 9 houses built specifically for large foster families, Coyote Hill provides equine therapy at their on-site barn and arena. It’s an amazing location with the well-being of children at the forefront of everything they do.
Kari Hopkins, COO of Coyote Hill, says a lot of kids pick Night of Champions as their favorite event of the year.
“It has been a joy and a privilege to get to be a part of [Night of Champions],” says Kari Hopkins, COO of Coyote Hill. “We watch so many kids feel seen and loved by some amazing football players. We love Jesus, and we love what He’s doing in Columbia, Missouri for foster children.”
We’re proud to be a part of the Mizzou Night of Champions with Coyote Hill. The smiles on the children’s and players’ faces show how much this event means to all of them.
