Leroux siblings give back to Norwalk with youth camp

NORWALK — Life comes at you fast. Ten years ago, Trey Leroux remembers attending a youth football camp in Norwalk. There, he looked up to a 6-foot-6, 270-pound offensive lineman running drills at the camp. "I can remember seeing Dirk Weisenburger as a senior at Norwalk that year," Leroux said. "When I was little, I looked up to him at that camp, and now I get to switch places and do something like this." Now 6-7 and 300-plus pounds, Trey, a 2020 NHS graduate, teamed with older brother, Tche, a 2019 NHS grad, to run a two-session youth camp on Sunday at Contractors Stadium at the Warren C. Whitney Complex. A year ago, Tche Leroux started the camp and had about 30 participants. On Sunday, that number grew to 60 — twice the turnout. "I just think it's important to bring this stuff back to Norwalk," Tche said. "Trey and I have been fortunate to be in the position we're in, and so to do something like this is just an opportunity to pay it forward in a way. "Trying to get recruited, you have to go to camps to get noticed," he added. "I just feel like it's a necessity, so this is a basic way to show them what we did to get noticed as we started to get older. By doing something like this, maybe we can help get more Norwalk kids into college football down the road." The camp was split into two sessions, for kids in grades K-6, then a second session for kids in junior high and high school. Trey Leroux enters his third season as an offensive lineman at Ohio State University. He redshirted in 2020, and the two-time scholar athlete at the school started to see time last season for the Buckeyes. "The reason I got hooked on football in general was by coming to camps like these," Trey said. "They were always really fun. Now to be able to do it in the opposite position of being able to coach the kids now is really cool. "It's a mixture of doing what I love — football is everything in my life right now — but also giving back to Norwalk," he added. "If I wasn't at Norwalk and been given the opportunities I received here, I wouldn't be at Ohio State today. So being able to come back and work with the kids is awesome." After transferring from Monroeville, Tche's lone season at Norwalk in 2018 saw him earn Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association All-Ohio first team honors in Division III. He finished with 95 tackles, 16 sacks and three fumble recoveries in helping the Truckers (10-4) to their second-ever state semifinal appearance. Tche walked on at Bowling Green State University in 2019, then transferred to Walsh last season before heading to Adrian College for this season. In two seasons at Norwalk, Trey Leroux was selected to the All-Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division first team. He was the OPSWA's Northwest District Lineman of the Year in Division III in both 2018 and 2019, which led to being a two-time All-Ohio first team selection as well. Norwalk went 9-3 with a league title share and won a playoff game his senior season in 2019. Trey and Tche were also both state qualifiers in wrestling, with Tche placing sixth at 285 pounds at the Div. II meet in 2019. Trey was also an All-Ohioan, placing seventh, at the Div. I state track and field championships in the shot put in 2019. Both siblings said while the pressure cranks up in college, the game itself is still plenty fun. "Football is still fun, but it's a lot of hard work," Trey said. "Everything is one step at a time, but you can't do anything better than Ohio State football. I'm still working hard every day, but you still have to appreciate the journey. "The pace of the game is crazy fast there," he added. "As soon as I got there, I felt four steps behind. I had to catch up. But once you catch up, the game slows down again." Tche will be a senior in the classroom at Adrian, but still has up to three years of football eligibility remaining if he so chooses. "There are no words to explain it other than God has blessed me and my family," Tche said. "I do think we are making a change and we're being the people everyone would want us to be. Not just to be talented at sports, but also helping out others, which is important." Sunday's camp featured the basic, positional drills. That was by design. "We didn't want to get too in-depth, especially with the younger group, but at the same time we wanted to make sure they learned something," Tche said. " We didn't want to bog them down too much, but we did drills that made it fun and enjoyable, but also hopefully memorable." Tche Leroux also noted the participation numbers in football have decreased at the high school and junior high levels in recent years. "Which is why I just want them to enjoy the day," he said. "It's been hard getting kids out. So if we can put in their heads that this is fun and something you can enjoy, then all their hard work is worth it." Meanwhile, Trey Leroux talked about just being in position to run a youth camp with his brother. "That part means everything," he said. "I wasn't able to do it last year being at Ohio State and working. Being able to do this with Tche is amazing, and something we always wanted to do together. "Our journeys have always been together. He finished ahead of me at Norwalk and I kind of followed and took his place, so being able to do it together means a lot."