Jets' safety Andre Cisco inspires kids with his free football camp

The teen receiver lined up across from the teen defensive back at the 20. And there was a man straddling the yard line, someone who knew a little something about defensive backs trying to defend against receivers, ready to blow his whistle and set this one-on-one drill in motion.

A bunch of other young receivers and defensive backs watched intently nearby as this scene was replayed again and again with that 25-year-old man lending his expertise on this mid-80s summer morning at Valley Stream Memorial Junior High.

“I’m talking to the DBs,” Andre Cisco said at one point. “The most important thing to start the rep is that your eyes are in the right place. After that, your feet follow and then hands.”

Cisco used to be one of these Valley Stream kids with big football dreams. His came to life after he moved along from the Valley Stream Green Hornets in Pop Warner to St. Anthony’s to IMG Academy to Syracuse to the NFL.

After spending his first four seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the 2021 third-round pick signed as a free agent in March to play safety for his childhood dream team, the Jets, on a one-year deal worth up to $10 million with incentives.

Now he was giving back to his childhood community through the second annual Andre Cisco Youth Football Camp, run in conjunction with Valley Stream Central High and the Green Hornets.

There were 170 kids ages 6-17 signed up for Saturday’s edition, learning from Cisco and his team of coaches.

The participation fee? Free.

“It means a ton, man,” Cisco told Newsday about giving back in Valley Stream. “And to have people come out and show how they did, it means even more. People really respond when my hand goes out, and that’s a good sign as well.”

Anthony Lampasona, a Valley Stream Central assistant who was one of Cisco’s coaches when he was a running back/safety with the Green Hornets, said, “You can tell he loves the kids and the kids love him.”

Cisco’s kids were dripping with perspiration and feeling his inspiration.

“I feel like he’s a big inspiration to me because he also came from Valley Stream here,” said Daniel Sanchez, a rising junior slot receiver/safety at Valley Stream Central. “Hopefully, I can make it out, too, just like him. I look up to him a lot.”

Nickoli Friday experienced the camp for the second straight year. The Valley Stream Central rising junior running back missed last season with a broken arm.

“I want to make it to the NFL,” Friday said. “I’m working really hard.”

He said he learned “a lot of footwork” at the camp, and he took a lot from listening to Cisco speak at the beginning about more than just football. Cisco’s religious side was “really inspiring,” according to Friday.

“I spoke to them earlier about acting ‘chosen,’ and what that meant was understanding that we all have a special assignment and God has something special in our lives and we’ve got to act like it at all times,” Cisco said. “We’re going to have people that God is going to send to us to hold us accountable, so we should respond to them with humility.

“The football part is more so understanding what hard work is about.”

His message was also about being resilient and coachable.

“He’s a great guy for doing this and coming out and giving us words of encouragement and helping out his community,” said Eddy Turcios, a rising junior guard/center/nose tackle at Valley Stream North.

Turcios is a Giants fan, but he’s happy to see that Cisco is with the Jets.

“He ended up full loop, back where he grew up,” Turcios said.

Cisco called it “a dream come true.”

His new team hasn’t seen a playoff game up close the last 14 seasons. But this 6-foot, 210-pound player thinks the Jets, under new coach Aaron Glenn, can end that drought this coming season.

“One hundred percent,” Cisco said. “Starting with AG, Aaron Glenn, and the culture he’s setting, the players we have and just I think the focus level that we have, the mentality is going to carry us.”

The Jets new quarterback  Justin Fields will be needed to carry his fair share. “I think we’ve got a guy who will have his best season,” Cisco said.

Cisco has 229 tackles and eight interceptions behind him in the NFL and an important role in front of him. “I’m just looking to bring a great deal of leadership and experience,” Cisco said, “and just kind of a connection to bridge the gap between mistakes and winning and all the things that we have to do to take the next step.”

He’s on to training camp in less than two weeks. Youth camp was a success.