EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- As Mike Zimmer posed for pictures arm-in-arm with two of his three kids on Saturday -- his son Adam, who coaches the Minnesota Vikings' linebackers, and his daughter Corri, who runs the Mike Zimmer Foundation -- there was another person who seemed almost close enough to touch.

Vikki Zimmer is never far from her family's minds. She was there when the Zimmers decided to make Mike's first football camp in Minnesota free for 350 kids. She was there when Corri saw a side of Mike rarely displayed on a football field, as the man who made his reputation as a no-fuss coach joked around with elementary schoolers. And she was there every time Adam surveyed the scene in front of him -- of Vikings coaches and players offering pointers and high-fives to an earnest group of pee-wee players -- and imagined what his mom would've thought.

"She'd have the biggest smile right now," Adam Zimmer said on Saturday. "I know she does; she's looking down on us right now, she's smiling. She's really proud of Corri especially, but the whole family."

The Mike Zimmer Foundation bears the name of the Vikings head coach, but all of the Zimmers know whom it's really for. It's for Vikki, who'd bake cookies for Mike to give to his players, who'd remind her husband not to be so hard on them, who once bought a bag of groceries, then drove all over town to track down the homeless woman she'd seen earlier in the day.

She died unexpectedly on Oct. 8, 2009, but in many ways, she remains the emotional compass of the Zimmer family.

"I was just telling my dad earlier, and I got choked up a little bit: Kids were her passion," Corri Zimmer said. "I was watching them, and I leaned over to my dad. I was like, 'She would love this.'"

The foundation, which launched last year, awarded a $10,000 scholarship to Lockport (Illinois) High School in memory of Zimmer's father, Bill, and will give two $10,000 scholarships to Minnesota students this spring. And the nonprofit's early success meant kids could attend Saturday's clinic free of charge -- a gesture, Mike Zimmer said, that was guided by the family's orienting principle.

"One of the things we always say is, 'WWVD: What would Vikki do?'" Zimmer said. "It'd be free."

The foundation gave 200 spots at the camp to members of the Boys and Girls Club, offering the other 150 on a first-come, first-served basis. Interest in the camp was so strong, Mike Zimmer said, that it crashed the website where participants could sign up.

The Vikings' entire defensive staff took part in the clinic in the team's indoor practice facility. Safety Harrison Smith, defensive end Brian Robison and a handful of the team's rookies were on hand to help. And as Mike Zimmer closed the day with a final set of remarks, he issued a simple directive: Put the iPads down.

"Go out and play sports," Zimmer said. "Play soccer, play football, play baseball, whatever. Go out there with your buddies, and let's go have fun. Let's get back to doing athletic things."

Earlier in the day, the coach told reporters, "To me, it's just these kids having fun, enjoying the sport, getting out and doing things. One of my pet peeves has always been, when I was growing up -- which I know was a long time ago -- you'd drive by baseball fields and softball fields and football fields, you'd always see people out there playing sports. And now, unless it's an organized team activity, the fields are all unused. If we could ever get it again to where these kids go out, they go play baseball or they go play softball, whatever, I think it'd be great for not only the state but the United States."

Then he added with a smirk, "But I'm not a politician."

No, he's not. On Saturday, though, Zimmer used his platform to give something back and see what he could do to impact some kids. It was, after all, what Vikki would do.