BUTTE — Butte native Colt Anderson was back in his hometown Friday to put on the Dream Big Foundation's fourth Uptop Skills Camp at Naranche Stadium.
Registration closed less than 48 hours after it opened due to the high demand of campers K-8 that wanted to take apart in the event. This year tallied over 500 participants.
“I always wanted to start a camp, and you know, my brother and the Richardson brothers, we said, 'Let’s start something,'" Anderson explained. "It’s just kind of evolved into this two-day event where we had the concert and stuff last night. It’s all about the kids and giving back, but my parents were teachers, so, I’ve always wanted to give back, and help the youth of Butte.”
The former Montana Grizzlies safety played eight seasons in the NFL and now is the assistant special teams coach for the Cincinnati Bengals.
He’s made it to the biggest stage of the sport, but still uses the lessons he learned in his hometown everyday.
“It doesn't matter where you come from, how you were raised, just be a good person, work hard, keep your head down, and just grind," he said. "That’s how I was raised: work hard and good things will happen.”
There was another Butte native present at Naranche that caught all the attention of the campers.
They came to agreement the best part of the whole event was catching a ball from Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott.
“Tommy! Tommy Mellott!” the campers exclaimed when asked about what their favorite part of the day was.
There were twelve stations the kids rotated through and multiple NFL players and coaches present to help out.
Anderson also noted how critical the Butte Bulldogs team is in putting this event.
“You know, I’ve got to give credit to the Butte High football staff," he said. "They helped me tremendously. And all the Butte High players, they helped to really coordinate this whole thing. It does take some time, but it’s all worth it.”
Anderson will be inducted into the Montana Football Hall of Fame on Saturday in Billings.
To learn more about the Dream Big Foundation and future events, head to this link.
