On September 3-4, New York City Sports Commissioner Kenneth J. Podziba will welcome the NFL Play 60 Youth Football Festival Presented by Nike to Central Park. The festival will feature former NFL players, such as Rodney Hampton and Wayne Chrebet, teaching football skills and healthy habits to 1,000 New York and New Jersey school children. The goal of the Festival is to have the players encourage the students to stay active for 60 minutes a day as part of the "NFL Play 60" youth health and fitness campaign and Nike's Let Me Play program. The festival will be held at Rumsey Field/SummerStage from 9:00am-4:00pm on Wednesday, September 3, and from 9:00am-3:00pm on Thursday, September 4. The event is open to the public for all spectators.

"The NFL Play 60 Youth Football Festival is an excellent opportunity for our youth to learn how to get active and stay fit," said Commissioner Podziba. "Research shows that obesity rates have doubled in the last decade, proving that the need for physical education has never been more significant. It is my hope that the messages delivered by the former NFL players will resonate with the kids for the rest of their lives."

On Wednesday, September 3, kids will learn and develop football skills and participate in a character-building curriculum. On Thursday, September 4, clinics will feature NFL FLAG drills. Both days of clinics will be hosted by former Colts and Lions player Geneo Riley. Current and former NFL players and Nike athletes will lead and participate in each session. The players will also hold an educational Q & A session at the end of each hour where they will talk to the youth about the importance of in-school and after-school activity and developing life-long healthy habits. The players will also teach the children the importance of empowering each other to affect change in their current school environment with tips and guidance on how they can make their school more active and healthy. Participating students were selected with support from the New York City Sports Commission.

"Central Park has sports opportunities for kids and people of all ages," said Central Park Conservancy President Doug Blonsky. "It's the perfect venue for the NFL Play 60 Football Festival, offering plenty of room for kids to stretch their legs and imaginations."

The NFL FLAG Football program is the premier youth football league for boys and girls ages 5-17. The program provides young players a fun and exciting opportunity to engage in non-contact, continuous action while learning lessons in teamwork. Launched in 1996, the NFL FLAG Football program was designed to educate young people about football while emphasizing participation and sportsmanship. Players learn skills and lessons that will help them succeed both on and off the field.

"We are pleased to work with The New York City Sports Commission to celebrate Kickoff and help local kids get active and healthy," said NFL Director of Marketing Peter O’Reilly. "NFL players know how important it is to stay fit, and we are glad to share the importance of good health with New York City students."

The Football Festival will take place in partnership with Nike Let Me Play. All attendees can test out NIKEiD which allows users to go online and customize their own Nike footwear and will also receive giveaways as part of the Kellogg's Earn Your Stripes program. Spectators and participants can also make playlists with Spiralfrog music service and get active with the HOPSports Training System, an interactive technology-driven workout program.

In addition to the Play 60 Youth Football Festival Presented by Nike, the NFL will host a special kickoff concert in Columbus Circle on September 4 that will feature free musical performances by Usher and Keith Urban. The NFL Kickoff Presented by EA Sports will also honor the Super Bowl Champion Giants, who will play the first game of the season against the Washington Redskins later that night at Giants Stadium. This is the fifth consecutive year that the NFL has saluted the Super Bowl champions with the season's opening game in their stadium on a Thursday in primetime.

FULL CLINIC SCHEDULE:

September 3:

Clinic #1, 9:30am - 11:30am

• JAMAL ANDERSON, BRIAN MITCHELL
  
  
• Gorton High School, Yonkers, NY; Hempstead High School, Hempstead, NY; William L. Dickinson High School, Jersey City, NJ
  
  

Clinic #2, 12:00pm - 2:00pm

• WAYNE CHREBET, GEORGE MARTIN
  
  
• Marlboro Youth Football Association, Marlboro, NJ
  
  

Clinic #3, 2:30pm - 4:30pm

• STEPHEN BAKER, JIM BURT, ROD SMITH
  
  
• St. Joseph by the Sea School, Staten Island; Xaverian High School, Brooklyn
  
  

September 4:

Clinic #1, 9:00am - 10:00am

• RODNEY HAMPTON, SEAN LANDETA
  
  
• P.S. 11 Purvis J. Behan Elementary School, Brooklyn; M.S. 128 Mott Hall III, Bronx
  
  

Clinic #2, 10:00am - 11:00am

• RODNEY HAMPTON, BART OATES
  
  
• P.S. 257 John F. Hylan School, Brooklyn; P.S. 11, Purvis J. Behan Elementary School, Brooklyn
  
  

Clinic #3, 11:00am - 12:00pm

• SEAN LANDETA, BART OATES
  
  
• P.S. 119 The Amersfort School, Brooklyn
  
  

Clinic #4, 12:00pm - 1:00pm

• JOE KLECKO. MARTY LYONS, JOE MORRIS
  
  
• CIS 303, The Leadership and Community Service Academy, Bronx; M.S. 128 Mott Hall III, Bronx
  
  

Clinic #5, 1:00pm - 2:00pm

• JOE KLECKO, MARTY LYONS, JOE MORRIS
  
  
• P.S. 307 Daniel Hale Williams School, Brooklyn; P.S. 54 Samuel C. Barnes School, Brooklyn
  
  

Clinic #6, 2:00pm - 3:00pm

• Members of the New York Sharks Women's Football Team
  
  
• Young Women's Leadership Academy, Harlem
  
  

For more information, please visit www.nfl.com.

For additional information about the Nike Let Me Play program, please visit www.letmeplay.com.

Parks & Recreation is the steward of almost 29,000 acres of land - 14 percent of New York City - including more than 4,000 individual properties ranging from Yankee Stadium and Central Park to community gardens and Greenstreets. We operate more than 800 athletic fields and nearly 1,000 playgrounds; we manage four major stadiums, 550 tennis courts, 51 public pools, 34 recreation centers, 12 nature centers, 13 golf courses, and 14 miles of beaches; we care for 1,200 monuments and 22 historic house museums; we look after 500,000 street trees, and two million more in parks. We are New York City's principal provider of athletic facilities. We are home to free concerts, world-class sports events, and cultural festivals. For more information about Parks, visit our Web site: www.nyc.gov/parks.

The New York City Sports Commission is the mayoral agency charged with attracting, facilitating and promoting professional, amateur and scholastic sports events in New York City. In recent years, the Sports Commission has played a role in creating or developing many new sporting events, including the NFL Kickoff Live from Times Square, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series™ Champions Week, the BMC Software NYC Cycling Championship, the AVP Brooklyn Open, the NAUTICA NYC Triathlon, the NYC Half-Marathon, the Union Square Street Sessions presented by Jeep®, the Wild Onion Urban Adventure Race and the Men's Health Urbanathlon.