Dozens of kids gathered at Southeast Raleigh High School on Saturday morning for a youth football camp organized by one of the most successful quarterbacks in the school’s history.
Gabe Henderson, a member of the Class of 2010 at Southeast Raleigh, returned home to offer a free youth football camp to kids in the community.
The plan was to host 30-40 kids in the first year of the event, and even with the rain and humidity, more than 50 kids showed up.
“Year one was more than I expected,” Henderson said. “It was a dream come true. It was something that kind of manifested last year when I got my jersey retired.”
Last August, Henderson was back at Southeast Raleigh as the Bulldogs retired his No. 10 jersey. Soon after the ceremony, Henderson said they heard gunshots near the school.
“That kind of gave the mindset of, ‘OK, you have to do something for this community.’ Fast forward to January 1st of this year, I wrote down on my whiteboard, ‘Football camp, July 13, 2024,'” Henderson said.
The event took a lot of planning, but Henderson got help from past teammates, friends, and businesses. Even the Minnesota Vikings, where Henderson is part of the media team, stepped up to provide assistance, include giveaways for the participants.
Some of Henderson’s high school teammates from Southeast Raleigh and college teammates from Liberty showed up to help at the camp, along with some of his high school coaches and players from other teams Henderson once competed against.
“I had some good people around me to help get us to this point, and ultimately it got us to this point, which was kids having fun, competing, getting better, and no one getting hurt,” Henderson said.
Henderson has made a career of football, even after his playing days ended. After playing college football at Liberty and earning his Master’s degree, Henderson worked for the Washington Redskins media department, and now does the same for the Minnesota Vikings.
Being in a position to give back to the community that helped him succeed in football means a lot to him.
“For me, living in Minneapolis and loving where I come from, I wear Raleigh loud and proud wherever I go, having the opportunity to do this and bring back some of my old coaches, some of my old teammates, and have it on the field that pretty much gave me the opportunity that I have today, it’s a dream come true and I can’t be more thankful,” said Henderson.
One of the former coaches who showed up to help was Daniel Finn, the head coach at Southeast Raleigh when Henderson was in high school.
“Southeast is such a good place for me, there’s a lot of good memories here, and to see Gabe, and some of the other players and coaches come back and give to the community, I’m like a proud poppa,” Finn said. “It’s unselfish. The things that they do to take the time out of their day to come, be with Gabe, and support him, I’m so proud to be a part of this.”
Finn said Henderson is a great example for kids who love football because he has made a life out of the game, even without playing past college.
“It’s a true testament to his family. The way he was brought up as a young man. Football is only going to take you so far on the field, but it opens doors for so many people, and Gabe is a great example of that for the people in the community here at Southeast Raleigh,” said Finn.
Henderson said he hopes this is the first year of many for the football camp, he wants to continue growing it in the future for his community back home.
“Football is just a vehicle for what we want to do to change this world,” Henderson said. “I’m already thinking about next year … I want to make this thing bigger, I want to make it better.”
Henderson’s name means a lot at Southeast Raleigh. As a senior, he threw for 2,600 yards and 31 touchdowns with just seven interceptions while rushing for over 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns. He was named to the N.C. Coaches Association East-West All-Star Game as a senior.
