Chris and Christy Cooley Teach Football, Cheerleading at FHS

A Washington Redskin took a break from the off-season to share his talents with Fairfax this weekend. 

The third annual Chris Cooley football camp kicked off Saturday at Fairfax High School as 300 kids took part in learning fundamentals of the game from Cooley and some of the area’s top prep football coaches. 2011 also marks the first year of the Christy Cooley cheerleading camp, led by the tight end’s wife and former Redskins cheerleader, as well as Katina Taylor, wife of former Redskin Jason Taylor. 

“The kids are great, our coaches are phenomenal out here, they really know their stuff,” Chris Cooley said. “We want everyone to really think about sportsmanship. Obviously we’re out here playing hard and it’s competitive, but I want everyone to have fun.” 

In typical fashion, Chris was full of jokes about his quarterback skills and the cheerleading moves Christy had been teaching him – “by that she means I’m absolutely horrendous,” he said when Christy commented that “he could use some work” – but also took time to work with each camper at least once during the day.

While it seems so recent that Washington made Cooley its third round draft pick in 2004, the Logan, Utah native is now one of the longest tenured Redskins and has become a recognizable face of the franchise with his eccentric behavior and popular, albeit sometimes risqué blog. 

“This community in the D.C. area has been so good to me since I’ve been here going on eight years,” he said. “To have a chance to hang out with all the kids and be around a bunch of families is really fun for me. It’s something I love doing.” 

Christy, meanwhile, pitched the idea of a coinciding cheerleading camp. Fifty girls ages 6-14 signed up. 

“I was so excited last year when she said that we should make a cheerleading camp as part of this,” Chris said. “It should be a blast when we put all the little guys together and have the little girls cheering for them.”