The Jacksonville Jaguars hosted their 6th Annual Special Olympics Florida Fantasy Camp presented by Ticketmaster on Thursday, June 19 at the Miller Electric Center.
Nearly 40 local Special Olympics Florida athletes took part in the day’s festivities, which included a series of stations on the indoor practice field used by the Jaguars that focused on testing their skills while learning from members of the Jaguars’ 2025 rookie class.
Each year new athletes are chosen to represent the Special Olympics programs in the area.
“We started off with just our Duval County athletes and now we’ve expanded to inviting athletes from about 10 different counties in Northeast Florida,” said Zoe LoSasso, with Special Olympics Florida.
In addition to participating in drills with Jaguars players, Special Olympics Florida athletes also received customized jerseys and branded gear, as well as signed one-day contracts with Jaguars’ general manager James Gladstone stopping by to welcome them to the team.
“Being a Jaguar for the day is just a day for them to be valued and appreciated, and just really special,” LoSasso said. “This is something that they are going to remember for the rest of their lives. We have athletes that came to this event four years ago, and they still talk about it to this day.”
Members of THE ROAR and Jaxson de Ville were on hand helping cheer them on while they took part in the drills.
“This really shows the community that there are so many of our athletes all throughout the county,” LoSasso said.
