JACKSON TWP — Football is widely viewed as a boys sport, but don't tell that to the 50 girls who showed up at the Ben Roethlisberger Football Camp Monday and Tuesday at Seneca Valley's NexTier Stadium.

“A lot of the boys don't like throwing passes to the girls,” said Roethlisberger. “I played quarterback (Monday) in a 7-on-7 game and threw four straight passes to girls. The first three went for first downs and the last one went for a touchdown. I emphasized to the boys that the girls were doing a better job of catching the ball.”

One of the females taking part was 11-year old Billie Winters, of Butler.

“I had a lot of fun at last year's camp, that's why I came back,” said Winters. “I threw some passes today and caught some too. I think I've played pretty well.”

Amari Spivey was making her first appearance at the camp.

“My gym teacher at school gave me a form about this,” said Spivey, 9, of Pittsburgh. “I took it home and my grandma said I could go.

“I am a Steelers fan and I'm having a good time,” she added. “My favorite thing is catching passes.”

It was the third straight year the event was hosted by Seneca Valley. This time, 508 campers took part in the action.

“Our max is usually 500, but we had eight other kids begging to come and we just couldn't turn them away,” said ProCamps founder Gregg Darbyshire. “This is the most kids we've ever had for one of Ben's camps.”

“There's a lot more kids this year,” said Roethlisberger, “but it's fun. They've done a good job of keeping things organized.”

The participants were divided into age groups, then placed on teams. They took part in drills led by area high school and youth football coaches, who stressed fundamentals, then played games against other teams.

“The games are my favorite part of the camp,” said Nate Taggart, 11, of Ambridge. “I like making plays to beat other teams.”

“I like the skill drills and just working out on the field,” said Jordan Grayson, 12, of McKeesport. “I play quarterback on a football team back home and I threw a few passes today.”

Roethlisberger had minor surgery June 5 on his right knee, which was lightly wrapped at this week's camp. He walked with a noticeable limp, but was given a bicycle to get from station to station.

“The bike helps me get around faster,” said Roethlisberger, who threw a pass to all 508 campers during the two-day event. “The knee is going to be fine. I'm focused on making sure it's ready for training camp next month.”

Zelienople resident Luke Berbach attended the camp for the third year in a row.

“Ben didn't do as much running around as he did the last couple of years, but it was still a lot of fun,” he said.

Fifty-five coaches volunteered their time at the camp. Their contributions make the event possible, according to Darbyshire.

“The coaches have been excellent,” he said. “They are all from the Pittsburgh area and some of them have helped out at this camp all six years.”

Mars High football coach Scott Heinauer is one of them. This week, he took on his usual role of helping with the 12-and-over teams.

“It's awesome to see kids get involved like this,” he said. “Ben does a great job with them. How many kids can say they caught a ball from Ben Roethlisberger? Not many. The kids look forward to that. This camp gets better and better every year.”

Darbyshire was impressed with the venue provided by Seneca Valley.

“This is one of the best facilities we have use of anywhere in the country,” he said. “The Seneca Valley School District does everything it can to make an event of this size possible.”