Photo Provided C.J. Goodwin, a Wheeling resident and Linsly graduate, stands among a group of campers from 2023. The 7th annual PeGa All-Sports Camp will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon at The Highlands Sports Complex in Triadelphia.

WHEELING — Dallas Cowboys special teams performer C.J. Goodwin has definitely never forgotten his roots. He knows how tough it was growing up as a youth in the Ohio Valley, especially in Wheeling.

In honor of their father, Perry Galloway who passed away in March of 2015, Goodwin and his sister, Chaundraya, started the PeGa Foundation a year later, and it has grown each and every year.

Saturday at The Highlands Sports Complex in Triadelphia, the 7th annual PeGa All-Sports Camp will take place from 10 a.m. until noon. The event is designed for boys and girls ages 7-12 and will include instruction in basketball, cheerleading and football. The best part is the cost: There is none.

“We started the PeGa Foundation when my dad passed away in 2015,” Goodwin said. “We started it the next year and my sister, Chaundraya, was the brainchild of the idea, but she put me in the forefront, and we started it to honor our father’s legacy. The camp came about right here where the Elks Tournament took place in East Wheeling and we’ve since moved it to The Highlands.”

When asked if he thought the camp would last this long, Goodwin smiled before saying, “I was hoping it would. We definitely had plans for it to run for a long time. My dad ran the Elks Basketball Tournament for 27 years, so I still have a long way to go.”

The 6-3, 190-pound Goodwin said there are already 250 pre-registered campers, but he expects that number to rise to somewhere between 275 and 300.

“We’ve branched out from just football to cheerleading and basketball,” Goodwin noted. “We wanted to make it a little better than what my dad did, but he had something very good going on for a long time.”

There are a couple guys coming from NFL teams.

“We’ve got a cheerleader from the Dallas Cowboys and another one from the Houston Texans coming to help with the cheerleading portion, and we’ve got a couple of college and semi-pro players coming to help out with the basketball portion,” the 34-year-old said.

Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver and current Las Vegas Raider Michael Gallup along with current Cowboys Sheldrick Redwine, Donovan Wilson and Eric Scott Jr. will also be on hand providing instruction as well as insight and positive vibes.

“I wanted to bring guys like that because they all know the struggles it took to get to where they are now,” Goodwin added. “They’ve all got stories. Everyone has a story. Some are better than others.”

In addition to the camps, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament will be held with a $50 per player entry fee, with a maximum of four players per team.

Lunch, swag bags, prizes and exclusive merchandise will be available.

“We just want the kids to have a good time and have fun for two hours,” Goodwin said.

Goodwin recently signed a contract with the Cowboys for the 2024 season. He has played in 102 NFL games (only 1 start) and has recorded 67 tackles (50 solo, 17 assists). He is entering his 10th season (seventh in Dallas) in the NFL after starting his career as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad. He has also played with Atlanta (26 games in 2016-17) and Arizona (two games in 2018).