Tyjuan Hagler’s NFL career lasted six seasons, more than double the two-and-a-half year average.

But it doesn’t compare to the 20 years the Tyjuan Hagler Foundation has impacted his hometown of Kankakee.

The 18th annual Tyjuan Hagler Kidz-Can-Do Football and Cheerleading Camp was held at Bishop McNamara, Hagler’s alma mater, last Saturday. The camp featured instruction and competition for area youth of all ages in traditional football, girls flag football and cheerleading, lunch, a bike giveaway and other activities.

It’s one of a myriad of local events the foundation hosts, including a back to school trunk-or-treat typically held in the weeks leading up to the new school year and a basketball tournament in November.

The camp missed last summer as McNamara finished building its new Rich Zinanni Athletic Complex and missed 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But after holding his inaugural camp 20 years ago, Hagler marveled at how it’s become truly generational.

“It’s been amazing,” Hagler said. “Coach [Tywon] Bender was at the first year of doing the camp 20 years ago. It’s been great seeing a lot of kids come through here like Coach Bender, but Coach Bender’s got a son here now, so that’s amazing. So we see a lot of kids of the participants coming in now, and it’s great.”

Bender, an assistant football coach at Kankakee, spent 10 years as a camper, and this year was his eighth camp on the coaching side. As the recipient of the Tyjuan Hagler Foundation’s inaugural scholarship, it’s always been a no-brainer for Bender to help show the same support he was once shown.

“Being the first [scholarship] recipient, it was the opportunity to show kids you can come from anywhere and come back. ...” Bender said. “But I really enjoy giving back to the community, and it’s good seeing the kids where I was. I sat in these stands, all these guys coached me, so it’s crazy.

“Being a representation of what this organization is keeps me coming back, and seeing more kids want to give back to the community.”

Over the years, Hagler has had several of his former teammates from all levels of his career and his former local coaches volunteer as coaches, with family and other community members also on board to help with tasks like registration, lunch, water breaks and giveaways.

And Bender is far from the only former camper to come back as a coach. The Hill brothers, Joeron Jr. and Jyaire, volunteered this year. Jyaire, a 2023 Kankakee graduate, is a starting cornerback at the University of Michigan. He’s got his own free camp coming up on June 27, followed by current NFL free agent and 2016 Bishop McNamara graduate Jonathan Ward’s free camp July 3.

Ward is one of three current NFL players from the Kankakee area, joined by rookies Keagen Trost, a 2019 Kankakee graduate who was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, and Josh Gesky, a 2021 Manteno graduate who signed as an undrafted free agent with the Green Bay Packers.

With Hill leading a charge of talented youngsters finding success as well, the Kankakee area has experienced a wave of elite talent that’s as generational as Hagler’s camp has become.

Hagler experienced a similar phenomenon when he was drafted in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft by Indianapolis. James Kinney, a 2000 Kankakee graduate, signed with Jacksonville as an undrafted free agent that same year and he saw another 2000 Kankakee graduate, Akil Grant, sign as an undrafted free agent with Tennessee the year prior.

Not only does Hagler enjoy seeing the area experience so much success. He enjoys seeing some of those youngsters start to use their platforms in a similar way he has for two decades now even more.

“There’s lot of success going on in Kankakee, and I’m glad to see these kids doing well in life, doing well in football,” Hagler said. “But they’re coming back and doing camps as well, which gives these kids more opportunities to have fun.”