Chicago Bears Host Highland Park High School Football Team At Practice

LAKE FOREST, IL — Players from the Highland Park High School football team were among the attendees at the Chicago Bears first practice of the year Wednesday at Halas Hall in Lake Forest.

The Bears hosted players and coaches from the Highland Park High School Giants team along with nonprofit community organizations as part of the first of four scheduled community days during the team's training camp.

"It was a very special day for our program," Giants Head Coach Anthony Kopp told Patch in an email.

"We are thankful that the Bears invited us to their practice," said Kopp, a 2009 HPHS graduate who was named head coach last month. "The Bears really showed why they are a first class organization."

The Bears organization also contributed $80,000 to the Highland Park Community Foundation, and the NFL Foundation provided a matching donation, according to team representatives.

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Paul Harris, athletic director at the high school, expressed appreciation for the event and for everything the Bears did to make it happen.

"There is a great quote by Wendell Pierce - 'The power of a sports team in a community... it's almost indescribable,'" Harris said in a statement.

"The Bears players, coaches and staff did something for our Football Program, and our community, that is truly indescribable. We are forever grateful," he added.

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In addition to the HPHS team, nearly 1,200 people from more than 60 nonprofit organizations attended the community day, according to a team spokesperson.

Other participating groups included the Chicago Bears Wheelchair Football Team from the Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association, Special Olympics Illinois, Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club, Make-A-Wish, The Dovetail Project and the Salvation Army.

Community Day attendees had a chance to watch the Bears practice, meet players, collect autographs, snap selfies and take part in other activities, such as an obstacle course, "Player Pad Experience" and "Athletic Trainer Experience," team officials said.

Related: New-Look Chicago Bears Announce Training Camp Schedule, Open Practices

The Bears first community day of 2022 came just over three weeks since a mass shooter opened fire on the Highland Park 4th of July parade, sending members of the HPHS Giants team scrambling for safety.

Halas Hall is located 7 miles northwest of the site of the parade shooting, which left seven people dead and wounded about 50 other attendees.

The 21-year-old Highland Park High School dropout who was indicted this week on 117 felony counts stemming from the massacre was arrested about eight hours after the shooting in Lake Forest, less than 3 miles from the Bears training facility.

Three more community days are scheduled for August, the next of which is scheduled for Monday.

A Back to School Fair is scheduled for Aug. 6, and the team hosts Military/First Responders Day on Aug. 21 at Halas Hall, where the Bears have conducted their preseason camps since 2020 after moving it back from Bourbonnais where it had been held the previous 18 years.