Watch: DeAndre Hopkins works out with young athletes in Houston

Young Houston athletes who wanted a summer workout on Wednesday morning got one, with one heck of a trainer: Texans All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

On Tuesday, Hopkins put the call out on Twitter: Want to get some work? Meet me at the outdoor theater at Hermann Park in the city at 9 a.m.

Hills and push-ups

Since Hopkins made the invite in a public forum, media showed up as well, which wasn’t entirely a bad thing; we got to see how the 2013 first-round draft pick instructed and interacted with the kids who showed up, estimated at over 50 young athletes.

Hopkins led the kids through stretching, and sprints up the hill; after sprints, Hopkins did push-ups and sit-ups. As you’d expect, it was a warm late-June morning in Houston, which made things even tougher.

‘This is the work ethic you’ve got to have’

Hopkins briefly addressed the athletes after the workout.

“If y’all want to be where I’m at, this is half my workout,” he told them. “This is the warmup. You’ve got to push yourself. If you don’t feel like pushing yourself, you’ve [still] got to push yourself. You might be young right now, but everybody’s not going to play football, I’ll tell you that.

“You don’t have to push yourself in sports, you can push yourself in anything you do – school, whatever you want to be. This isn’t the only way out, wherever you’re from, this ain’t the only way to make it, but this is the work ethic you’ve got to have to be whatever you want to be in life.

“We’ll be back out here tomorrow.”

Hopkins told reporters he decided to invite kids to workout with him to give those that look up to him and frequently ask what he’s doing to be a better athlete a first-hand look at what he does. He said he’s been sprinting on that hill in Hermann Park since he’s been in the NFL.

Made an impression

Hopkins certainly deserves to be commended for his simple act of kindness; there’s no way of knowing the impression he may have made on the kids what showed up, seeing a star athlete give him time and talents to them, many of whom likely dream of being on the field at NRG Stadium someday, just like Hopkins and J.J. Watt and Deshaun Watson.

One teenager posted a picture of himself and Hopkins after the session, saying Hopkins “don’t play” when it comes to his workouts; another noted that it was difficult but fun with a group photo of Hopkins and the participants.