Dolphins rookies hit the field with Special Olympians at flag football camp

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Miami Dolphins’ newest players traded football drills for flag football fun Wednesday, spending time with Special Olympians during a camp at the team’s training facility in Miami Gardens.

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The event served as an introduction to the South Florida community for the Dolphins’ rookie class, including 2026 first-round offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor and quarterback Mark Gronowski.

“All smiles” filled the facility as players worked with athletes in a relaxed environment focused more on enjoyment than competition.

“It’s fun,” Proctor said. “Like this, this should be a safe place for them to come and just have fun with us, you know. We’re not going to take them through the drills that we go through, you know. You just come in here and have fun with the kids.”

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One young participant shared his excitement for the game.

“I love football,” he said. “I love it, me and my friend, and I can be a coach.”

Gronowski said the event carried personal meaning because of his family’s connection to the Special Olympics. His brother, Ryan, won a gold medal in flag football at the 2022 Special Olympics Games.

“He plays pretty much every sport out there possible, but won a gold medal down there,” Gronowski said. “Down there did awesome and it was so much fun, you know, seeing these kids out there today doing the same thing, going out there having fun, and there’s so much that we can learn from these kids out here — just how to have fun, how to be a great teammate, and how to be good people too.”

The rookies quickly learned they had to keep up with some impressive athletes.

“They was kind of killing me out there,” Proctor said. “I’m not gonna lie, you know, I got some kids out there really, really working to move and it’s hard, hard to catch up with them, you know. South Florida is a little different than football.”

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