BIG BAY — The U.P. Football All Stars had a change of pace today from their normal practice sessions.

Thursday the guys headed out to Big Bay to play a little ball with the campers at Bay Cliff Health Camp. Bay Cliff is a camp for kids with special needs. The kids stay at camp for seven weeks and work on living more independently and having a fuller life.

“I think it’s a humbling experience for our kids to come up here and you can’t take things for granted either. Having a special needs child myself, I try to bring that message to our own Ishpeming kids, not to take things for granted and to make the most of your opportunities and I think that’s kind of the message here,” said Scott Syrjala, the football coach for Ishpeming

The tradition of visiting the camp has been going on for a few years now. First, the campers and the players run some drills and then have dinner together. The campers were obviously excited, but the players were pretty enthusiastic too.

“It’s really nice to change it up from the week and get out here and just have fun with the special needs kids and interact with them and see how happy they get when we’re here and all the excitement. It’s just a really great time to spend here,” said Marcus Antilla, who plays for Team North.

If you’d like to learn more about Bay Cliff Health Camp, follow this link.