Johnny Davis, a borough resident and fullback on the 1982 Super Bowl champions San Francisco 49ers, held his fourth annual A Plus For Kids Celebrity Football Camp July 9 to 11. His foundation is based in Edgewater and the camp was in the borough the last three years. But this year it was moved to Memorial High School in West New York.

"It’s a beautiful field," Davis said. "It gives the kids a chance to play on a real football field."

Approximately 80 kids came each day from all over, including West New York, Hoboken, New York City and North Jersey. Several sponsors, including Outback Steak House and Whole Foods, made it possible for the camp to be free.

"A lot of parents can’t afford to pay for camps," Davis said. "I wasn’t able to go to camp as a kid so I want to be able to give this to them."

The camp was for kids age 8 and older.

Different players visited each day, including former New York Giants wide receiver Odessa Turner and former New York Jets running back Bruce Harper.

Odessa was the head coach for the camp and enthusiastically taught aspiring quarterbacks to call a play in huddle and made sure receivers were in the proper stance before each play.

"My focus is technique and concentration," Turner said.

He said it’s important to teach the fundamentals now while the kids are still young.

"It’s like a house. If you build it right, it’s going to be strong," Turner said. "If you use inexpensive material then you’re going to have an inexpensive player and he’ll lose focus."

Harper agreed that everything starts with a good foundation, especially since some of the kids were being exposed to organized football for the first time.

"The challenge is to be patient," Harper said. "We want them to have fun, but organized fun."

D.J. Haskins, 11, of Bergenfield, and Blaine Eiland, 10, of Harlem, said they were having fun learning to play quarterback. They both play for their hometown teams.

"As a quarterback you have to be in charge of the offense," Haskins said.

Eiland said he liked learning how to lead the huddle.

"You have to tell the right plays and not get confused," he said. "You have to stay in control."

A lot of the football lessons are really life lessons, Davis said, including building the concentration and discipline necessary to remember football plays. There are other lessons that translate off the field.

"When you get knocked down, you’ve got to get back up," Davis said. "And you’ve got to depend on others a lot so there’s a focus on teamwork."

Of all the coaches Davis had, he said the best were University of Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and San Francisco coach Bill Walsh.

"Bryant said, ‘You do what you have to do when it has to be done,’" Davis said.

The lesson he picked up from Walsh was to identify your strengths and capitalize on them.

"He said ‘what can you do?’ and I said ‘I can’t catch,’" Davis said. "He said, ‘But what can you do well?’"

Davis told Walsh that he could block and he could run the ball hard near the goal line. So Walsh utilized him as a short-yardage specialist and blocker the year the 49ers won Super Bowl XVI.

Davis hopes to keep the camp going every year and said he really appreciates the support he got from players and West New York Mayor Silverio Vega. Watching the kids made Davis say he wished he could get back on the field and run around with them.

As Turner, who also started his own football camps, watched the kids run plays he called for them he said he should have been a coach.

"This is actually really fun," Turner said. "You can see how the kids progress and how much they look forward to seeing you every day."

For more information on the A Plus For Kids Foundation, call 201-941-3314.