DeForest Buckner sends his regrets, but in the end Hawaii high school football coaches and players will have reason to be grateful to the San Francisco 49ers organization after its visit to Oahu this week.

The 49ers are partnering with the Hawaii High School Athletic Association, USA Football and the Boys & Girls Club to host a free youth football camp at the Boys & Girls Clubhouse on Waiola Street, Friday from 3 to 5 p.m.

Buckner and his teammates and coaches are tied up with workouts and won’t attend this week, but 49ers staff and local coaches will be on hand to supervise non-contact drills.

The NFL team is also announcing that it will cover the cost of annual concussion certification for high school football coaches in Hawaii. A safe-tackling component of the training costs around $10, and previously the coaches paid the fee.

“Not only is this an opportunity to work with a great organization, it’s something we can do to help the coaches,” HHSAA executive director Christopher Chun said. “Most of our coaches are volunteers, so it’s a win-win.”

This is the first of a planned series of events collaborating with the 49ers, Chun said. He and Jared Muela, the 49ers’ director of fan engagement, met several years ago and began working on a partnership.

“Our goal is to ensure we can get the highest level of training in the hands of the coaches of our young people,” Muela said.

Buckner, the 49ers’ first-round draft choice in 2016, grew up in Maili.

“It means a lot to me that the 49ers are so supportive of Hawaii,” said the defensive tackle, who played at Punahou and Oregon. “I had basketball practice and other after-school activities at the Waianae Boys & Girls Club, so I’ve been where those kids are, and I hope they are inspired by these events. Sports are a great way to develop lifelong skills and the work the 49ers are doing from creating flag football leagues to funding Heads-Up certification for the entire state will benefit the kids of Hawaii in really meaningful ways.”

Nathan Murata, dean of the college of education at the University of Hawaii, was formerly the director of the Hawaii Concussion Awareness and Management Program. He said events like this can only help the state’s efforts in preventing and treating sports-related concussions.

“Any time a highly reputable organization like the 49ers gets involved in supporting us that’s always a good thing,” Murata said.