Associated Press fileGeorgia Southern fullback Adrian Peterson heads to the end zone on a 57-yard touchdown run against Montana in the fourth quarter of the NCAA Division I-AA championship in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Dec. 16, 2000.

VALDOSTA, Ga. — You don’t have to play football to take a lesson away from one of the greatest college football players of all-time.

Former Georgia Southern running back Adrian Peterson will hold an All-Sports camp Saturday at Valwood School. The camp is from 9 a.m.-noon for ages 8-and-older, and it costs $55.

All athletes are welcome, as the camp will teach functional movements necessary in any sport.

“Growing up, I was able to play pretty much every sport,” Peterson said. “One thing I realized is: every sport has pretty much the same movements.

“If you’re a shortstop in baseball, you’re going to get in the same stance as a middle linebacker. Everything starts with the knees bent, eyes up.”

Peterson lettered four times in track and two times each in weightlifting and basketball while attending Santa Fe High School in Alachua, Florida.

But football is the sport in which Peterson made himself into a legend.

Peterson earned ESPN All-America and Florida Class 4A Player of the Year honors during his senior season at Santa Fe in which he carried the ball 185 times for 1,526 yards and 17 touchdowns.

At Georgia Southern, Peterson went on to become a four-time Walter Camp first-team All-American, a two-time Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year and the first sophomore to win the Walter Payton Award for most outstanding player in 1-AA football.

Peterson, who played eight professional season with the Chicago Bears, is still the NCAA Division I all-time leading rusher with 6,559 yards (not including playoffs).

Earlier this month the National Football Foundation announced Peterson as one of the 95 players and 29 coaches from the college football divisional ranks to be nominated for the College Football Hall of Fame.

Saturday will mark the second visit Peterson’s made to Valwood in the past two years.

Peterson visited with the Valiants last November to speak with the team, but not before making a stop at South Georgia Medical Center to meet with patients in the cancer ward.

“When I was speaking at Valwood I got the opportunity to go over and visit with some patients,” Peterson said. “I just want to be involved with the community. I had a lot of success in college and went off to the NFL, but I pride myself on giving back.

“Success isn’t predicated on how many college degrees or how many rushing yards you had, or how many years you played in the NFL, it’s helping others become successful.”

Derrick Davis is a sports reporter at the Valdosta Daily Times.