2007 Heisman Trophy winner and current ESPN college football analyst Tim Tebow will lead a football clinic at 3:30 p.m. April 10 at McNeese State University’s Cowboy Stadium.

The clinic is sponsored by Macifest, the family festival named after 10-year-old Maci Fontenot, daughter of Ryan and Nikki Fontenot; The Investor’s Group; and McNeese. The clinic and other Macifest events will raise funds for area autism groups.

The clinic will be limited to 160 youth participants age 11 and up. Tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis at www.eventbrite.com. Participants will have the opportunity to work with Tebow and key players from the McNeese Cowboys football team. Clinic athletes will run offensive, defensive and agility drills and learn about safety techniques and good sportsmanship.

Nikki Fontenot has been a driving force behind Macifest since its inception and is quick to point out that the goal of the event is to find people with positive messages, bring them to Lake Charles, and allow them to share their experiences to inspire local families. Last year, shark attack victim and professional surfer Bethany Hamilton, the inspiration for the 2011 film “Soul Surfer,” was the big name attached to the fundraiser. The event was so large and such a success, Fontenot said, that it made the family think about taking a break from hosting Macifest for a year, just to catch their breath.

Fontenot received a phone call from Hamilton’s agent around Thanksgiving, asking her if she would be interested in being part of a tour being put together for Tebow. Fontenot said her family talked and prayed about the decision and concluded that 2015 wouldn’t be the year to rest. And the theme changing to football would just be a prime example of how the fundraiser continues to evolve.

“We knew Macifest as a whole needed to grow as she grows, so we wanted the event to transform and evolve into whatever it’s supposed to be. It doesn’t have to be the same thing every year,” she said. “And Maci just wants it to have less of a production and more of an impact. When we decided to go ahead and roll with Tim Tebow, we decided Macifest this year is just going to be football.”

Following the skills clinic, Tebow will host A Night of Inspiration at the Civic Center. The event will feature a message from Tebow, along with inspirational testimonies from other people and families that have overcome adversity, Fontenot said.

“We’re going to open up Facebook right after Christmas and start letting people start submitting stories of local families or people who have overcome adversity and are inspirations. We’re going to select about six of them and have them as our guests that night and present them with something,” Fontenot said. “We want to make it a real event, and Tim Tebow is just the icing on the cake.”

For more information, call Fontenot at 802-7932 or visit www.facebook.com/macifest.(MGNonline)