5 Ways to Build a Youth Football Dynasty

Chad Wilson

By: Kevin Moritis
Twitter: @DefnseUnivrsity

You just became a youth HC and you want to build a good team and have success both on and off the field. You must make lots of decisions and here are some ideas that will help you. One of the most difficult ones you will make is to not become a “Daddy Ball” team. One of the rules I had was that my coordinators couldn’t be on the same side of ball their son was. That was the toughest one and it did cost me players in my first year, but not after that. We are a team and that set the tone for being one.

 1. Get the Right Coaches

The first thing to having a successful season is to have a group of coaches that can teach the game. You are building players for the future and you must be able to TEACH the fundamentals and techniques to these kids. Build your staff starting with a great Oline coach. That’s where it starts. Each coach should have experience in the position they coach. Assign a special teams coordinator. You should have coordinators that can adapt to the talent they have and not force a system on your players.

2. Create a Practice Schedule

Your practice schedule should ALWAYS be scripted and planned for each night you have practice. Arrive and get your kids ready to shake it up and start warm ups. Each period should be 10 -15 mins max and you need to keep your kids flowing. Give out water breaks as needed but keep your tempo high. You can vary your script to fit your team needs but stay to it. Each position coach should have drills ready to go that fit their players and are transferred to game day. Focus on the fundamentals and get their technique right.

3. Select the Right Days to Practice

Youth practices should only be Monday -Thursday. If you get rained out then you can use Fridays. But get your work done those 4 days. Fridays are traditionally for walk thru and to the kids that means ‘goof off’. The players can use the night off and you can get a walk thru done before game. During the season you will have players on your team who have brothers or cousins that play high school ball and want to go to that. Encourage that. Go take the team as a group to a game, so they can see what they are going into.

4. Make Special Teams a Priority

Most youth teams don’t work on special teams, like they should. if you want to be successful then do not ignore this or do all specials on one night. Each night do one phase and work hard on it. It will win you a game or two because you did work on it. Then get a KICKER!!! One that can drive the ball thru the end zone and make FGs. Let them kick 30-40 FGs a night.

5. Make it Fun

Make sure you have FUN. Its football and it should be great night of getting better and developing your players and putting them in position to be successful not just as players but as young men. Next here are some things I learned in 20 years of coaching youth football.

 

10 Point Coaching Creed

  1. BE A STICKLER TO DETAILS – NOTHING GETS BY US
  2. COACH HARD AND FAST – KEEP A TEMPO IN DRILLS
  3. USE EXPERIENCED PLAYERS TO HELP YOUNG ONES
  4. BE POSITIVE WITH PLAYERS
  5. BE FIRM AND DEMANDING WITH PLAYERS – FORCE THEM TO ELEVATE THEIR PERFORMANCE DAILY
  6. EXPLAIN TO THEM THE PURPOSE OF THE DRILL – BE ABLE TO CONNECT IT TO ON THE FIELD SITUATIONS
  7. HAVE A PLAN – KNOW WHAT OPPONENT DOES AND HAVE IDEAS IN PLACE TO TEACH KIDS HOW WE WILL BE ATTACKED BY THE OPPONENT
  8. DEMAND DISCIPLINE IN YOUR PLAYERS –
  9. LEARN WHAT MAKES YOUR PLAYERS TICK – TAILOR COACHING TO PLAYERS INDIVIDUALLY
  • NEVER BE AFRAID TO PUT AN ARM AROUND A PLAYER – SHOW THEM YOU CARE AND THEY ARE NOT JUST A NUMBER.

10 Rules for Players

  1. BE ON TIME (10 MINUTES EARLY) – HAVE THINGS OUT AND READY TO GO I WILL NOT WAIT ON YOU!!!
  2. BE ATTENTIVE TO DETAILS – THESE WILL ALLOW YOU TO WIN BATTLES WITH OPPONENTS WHO MAY BE BETTER THAN YOU
  3. BE COACHABLE – TAKE THE COACHING AND LEARN – DO NOT GET DEFENSIVE AND POUT!!!
  4. LISTEN THE FIRST TIME, EVERY TIME – WE DO NOT HAVE TO TIME TO FIX ALL OF YOU INDIVIDUALLY!!!
  5. FIX THINGS AS THEY ARE COACHED – NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU ARE SPECIFICALLY TOLD – LEARN FROM MISTAKES OF OTHERS!!!
  6. BE RESPECTFUL OF COACHES, TEAMMATES, AND YOUR SCHOOL – ALL PROVIDE YOU THINGS YOU NEED FOR SUCCESS – NEGATIVE ATTITUDES HAVE NO PLACE ON THIS TEAM!!!
  7. GO HARD ALL THE TIME – EFFORT = WINS
  8. POUTING IS NOT ACCEPTED HERE – LEAVE IT AT HOME!!!
  9. WATCH FILM ON YOUR OWN AND LOOK AT NOTES – COACHES GIVE YOU TIPS NOT FOR OUR HEALTH BUT FOR YOURS, USE THEM!!!
  • ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING – BE EXCITED FOR EVERY CHANCE YOU HAVE TO PLAY OR PRACTICE – YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN WILL BE YOUR LAST OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY THE GAME!!!

Who Am I? How to Pick Your Fit in College Football Recruiting

Chad Wilson

By: Chad Wilson – Editor – GridironStuds Blog
Twitter: @GridironStuds

I was asked recently by a student athlete,  what do division I coaches look for in recruiting?  Simple enough question and I will not reveal my answer but it did get me to thinking.  Most high school football players are concerned with fitting themselves into a program as opposed to finding a program that fits them.

There are several reasons for this,  the biggest of which is teens and parents of high school players are mostly concerned with prestige.  The school they sign with says everything about what kind of player they are and what kind of parent they are or so they think.  The mindset is get in there and then you figure out how to be great once you get there.

The problem with that thinking is this,  more and more,  faster and faster,  college football programs are throwing away athletes.  The patience level with an athlete and their abilities is not what it used to be.  Once upon a time,  all freshman redshirted.  Then most freshman redshirted.  Then a lot of freshman played.  Then some freshman started.  Now,  if you don’t start or play as a freshman,  you’re not very useful.  Within that first training camp in college,  it is being determined if you were a worthy recruit or not.  Take too long to pick up the scheme,  the workout regimen or present the physical attributes deemed necessary and meetings are already being had about how to replace you in the next recruiting cycle. Seems harsh doesn’t it?  Well,  it’s kind of what you signed up for.  So how do you protect yourself?

You can avoid this plight by doing something that is so very hard to do and that is be honest with yourself.  The next thing is almost equally as hard and that is make a decision based on what you have honestly determined about yourself.  Here’s how you figure out what program is for you despite how many offers you have.  In my experience,  prospects fall into one of four categories.

Highly Athletic and Highly Skilled

Let’s define what athletic is for the purpose of this article (tall, big and fast).  Let’s determine what skilled is for the purpose of this article (great technique + hard worker).  The athletes possessing these qualities are usually 5 star or 4 star.  In some cases they are ranked lower due in large part to not being seen,  which is becoming harder and harder to have happen these days.  If you possess all the physical attributes that we ALL know that colleges like (tall, big, strong and fast),  then the upper echelon D1 schools will have the patience to withstand your early mistakes.  They will keep giving you opportunities in hopes that your awesome physical gifts will materialize.  Those opportunities will last two seasons then they start muttering about your inability to “get it”.   If you combine that high athleticism with high skill then there’s little to talk about.  You’re elite.  You will show your worth early and often.  You will play because you deserve to.  Go ahead and thank God,  don’t be selfish.  Power 5,  perennial Top 10,  conference champ Division I schools are for you.

Moderately Athletic and Highly Skilled 

You are either big and fast or tall and big or tall but not fast.  You’re missing something physically but not too much.  You also combine this with either high football IQ + technique and a tremendous work ethic.  You can chase the upper echelon always in the Top 10 school but you may be taking some risks.  Some of you in this group may even be ranked a 5-star so not going to Alabama or Clemson might seem absolutely crazy but I have news for you,  there were some  seniors on both of those teams that did not step foot on that field during that championship game in January.

These schools are always getting and are always searching for the complete player in high school every year.  Chances are they may get that guy at your spot in subsequent recruiting cycles and he’s going to play.  At who’s expense do you think that will come?  Yeah,  you know.  Perhaps you can overcome that but your highly skilled be better be REALLY highly skilled.  You better be sure about your self evaluation.  If not,  that transfer portal is awaiting you or a different set of tears are falling from your eyes when you hand momma those flowers on senior day.

If you want the best possible fit,  seek out that Division I program that has had success with your type of player before and won’t blink at giving you a “real” opportunity to play.  Sometimes a school will sign a 5-star because he’s a 5-star knowing full well he may not be “that guy”.  However,  that 5-star does improve their recruiting rankings so he’s a take.  Don’t get tricked. You might be that guy I just described but your honest self evaluation will protect you.  Perhaps a slightly less high profile program that is on the up and coming will have the patience to deal with your early shortcomings.  They will take the time to wait for you to blossom or show that what you lack won’t hurt you and them on the field.  You then turn their patience into all conference and all time great.

One other note,  depending on how much you are missing in the athletic department,  considering Group of 5, FCS and / or Division II football may be the move.  For instance if you are fast but not tall or big,  you might want to go this route. Group of 5, FCS and Division II schools will be more apt to accept that you were a high producer in high school and take a gamble on you being able to also do that in college.  While these schools would also like the recruits from the first category I named,  they are less likely to get them and will take you on board.  It doesn’t mean that you are less worthy,  it just means that you just need an opportunity and they are more likely to provide that.

Highly Athletic but Moderately Skilled

You pass the eyeball test and the scouts are scribbling in their notebooks the moment they see you check in to the camp.  At 6’5″ they’re going to love you and you will be praised for moving left or right without falling down.  You might also lose 3 out of every 4 one-on-one reps at the camp but will still be called out of the kneeling crowd at the end as the surprise MVP.  You’re the one that all the other kids’ dads are pissed about after the camp.  The reason they are mad is because you are getting hyped because you are just big or just fast but you don’t have the skills, yet.  Perhaps you just started playing football.  Perhaps you are playing football because the head coach won’t let you walk the halls of the school without harassing you about when Spring Ball starts.  You have not developed your love for the game yet. Right now all you are is a specimen and you damn well know you need to learn more about the game and improve your techniques.

If you fall into this category then you definitely want to stay away from the pressure schools.  The pressure schools are the ones where Twitter fanbases fire the coach for losing a game or failing to make the college football playoffs in back to back seasons.  Those coaches at those programs are feeling the heat and they won’t have patience with you as you continue your football education.  Take too long to pick up the concepts or techniques needed to make plays and your playing time will rapidly decline.  Next year,  a kid in a brand new truck is going to be stealing your reps.

Consider the following programs if you fall into this category: A once proud program trying to rebuild.  A group of 5 program like Utah St., UCF or the like that will cherish your athletic ability and have a great deal of patience to teach / develop you.  Develop your love for the game quickly and work hard to learn how it’s played.  Do that and these programs will do more than their fair share to promote your success and push you to the NFL when the time comes. Their success as a program will be tied to your success.  You aren’t just “another guy” that won an award and got drafted.  You’ll be one of a kind.

Moderately Athletic and also Moderately Skilled

This is a tricky group so read this carefully.  You are not as tall or fast as the highly ranked guys.  You may not have also produced on the field in terms of big numbers but you know you have talent.  You probably also go to camps and out perform most.  However,  you don’t get recognized like you should. That’s due in large part to you missing those eye popping physical attributes and / or your technique is not quite where it needs to be yet.  However,  you are willing to work on it.

This group has the toughest time in recruiting.  They often feel like they can play Division I football like some of their teammates and guys they’ve competed against.  A lot of times they were outstanding as youth football players but came back to the pack once they entered high school.  Players in this group may and I stress may be Division I football players but it will be hard for them to get the opportunity.  Their Division I scholarship offer will come extremely late,  if at all.  Some may choose to walk-on at a division I school and eventually get frustrated with walk-on life and quit.  Even the ones that get the late offer are constantly faced with attempts to replace their spot on the depth chart even when they are backups.

Your honest assessment of your physical attributes should be easy.  Am I as tall as,  as big as or as fast as the guys piling up the Division I offers?  Be honest about that.  Did I produce as much as some other guys who are getting some Division I offers?  Be honest about it.  Do I still have some things to work on technique-wise?  That’s a tougher thing to evaluate but you must accurately determine that.  If you fall into this category and you are truly interested in playing college football then pursue the FCS and consider Division 2 or even 3 football at a good program.  Do this early in your recruiting cycle.  Don’t wait till your senior season,  you’ll be left out in the cold most of the time.

Don’t let your pride get in the way of making a solid decision.  When you sign with that Division 2 school and rip it up,  you’ll have all the pride and honor you felt you deserved on National Signing Day.  Really excel at that less than Division I program to the point where you get a NFL combine or training camp invite and you get the last laugh.  This happens every single year.  If you watch the combine you will see guys participating from schools you may have never heard of.  Those guys tucked away their ego and invested in the future opportunities.  Many of them had high school teammates who went Power 5 and was at home watching them run a 40 yard dash on NFL Network.

There is one other group and that is low athletic and low skilled.  I have bad news for that group.  College football probably isn’t for you.  You may want to walk on and enjoy the experience of being on a college football team without actually playing.  You too,  must be honest with yourself.  If you are not in possession of major athletic attributes and you are not willing to pour a large amount of your time into being highly skilled then you are likely wasting time looking for a scholarship.  College football is a multi-billion dollar business with coaches earning thousands and millions annually.  They won’t risk their livelihood in hopes that you overcome all the odds to possibly,  maybe make an impact.  Determine your true talent and passion in life then pursue that.

Once again and in closing,  making this important decision begins with honest self evaluation.  It’s tough not to say you are not in the A group.  However, a truly elite thinker,  knows his weaknesses and exploits them.  How do you exploit weaknesses?  You do so by putting yourself in position to have your strengths flourish while gaining time to improve the weaknesses.  Not every athletic program will provide that for you and often time,  it’s your pride that will set you up to have your weaknesses exposed.  Don’t let that be you.

 

Reasons Why Film Study Is Important for Your Football Team

Chad Wilson

By: Kevin Moritis – Contributor – GridironStuds
TwitterID: @DefnseUnivrsity

For coaches the use of film is a valuable resource for both correcting your players and preparing for the upcoming opponent. If you are a HUDL team you have one of the best tools to help your team get better. HUDL allows you to see and correct errors by both players and coaches. It allows you to leave notes for your players on what they need to work on and how to avoid the same mistakes. Then you can take multiple films of your upcoming opponent, make your plan, print out it to use at practice.  Another tool is the ability to film your practice and critique your players from that day and week. That’s how coaches benefit from the use of film.

So how do players use the film? I can safely say that players use it mostly for their own personal highlights to post up on social media to attract college coaches to be recruited. For players, it’s a tool to get to next level. The serious player will look at film when the team is watching it or when his position coach has left game notes for him. It’s a much better tool than just that. So, my fellow coaches,  here is how you can turn the highlight tool into a learning tool.

The main reason you should make it important to players is it helps them LEARN the game, not just their position. You are building up their football IQ. Being able to have highly intelligent players is only going to make your team BETTER. Smarter players = WINS. It also makes it easier for you to teach and for them to learn.  If coaches make it important then so will the players. Film study for players is just as important for players too. This is how you should set it up for your players.  Each position coach will have guidelines, but these are the basics.

Each position group will watch the film of the opposing position for at least 2 hours a week. The DLine will watch film of the OLine. They will look at the splits, the type of blocking, style of offense, and which opposite player is hardest working.

The LBs will also check out the OLine for the guards and type of blocking, is the QB right or left handed, and the backs and are they power or finesse, and can they catch out of back field.

The DBs will look at the Wide Outs, the type of routes they run, the splits they take, how they align, can they catch under pressure. Can they block in the running game?

Now to take it a step higher.  Have your players write one to two paragraphs on what they saw and have clips as examples. Then you have different players from the position groups get up in front of group to read their reports, show the clips and answer questions from the coach. Each player should turn in the report but you can choose a different player each week to get up to read.

This helps with building confidence in your team, gives them public speaking opportunities, provides them an opportunity to learn how an offense works and how that team will attack them that week. Players with high intelligence will player faster because of the knowledge they have from that film study. Players can learn and absorb more at practice by adding in this one detail. As the season moves forward, the players get to see the same style of formations. Their ability to understand the concepts and react to them become faster and your defense benefits. You will see the results on game day as your players come to the sideline to tell you exactly what’s happening on the field. Your head coach needs to be on board and Mondays should be allotted for longer film session to allow players to read reports. I encourage you to implement this practice into your routine and watch how it changes your team.

They Already Had the Team Picked Before I Got Out There

Chad Wilson

Chad Wilson – Editor – GridironStuds Blog
Twitter: @GridironStuds

It’s camp season and it’s also 7-on-7 season.  Along with the high speed athletic workouts and amazing physical feats comes a ton of disappointment.  Camps pick MVPs,  they hand out invites to bigger camps and 7-on-7 teams have tryouts.  With that being the case, a lot of prospects are going to fail to hear their name called and fall short of their goals.

When you are young and full of testosterone,  admitting failure is hard.  Accepting it is even harder.  One of the most common ways we cope with failure as human beings is by criticizing the system.  Nothing soothes us more than by making our failure the result of being cheated by those running the show.  Perhaps the temporary relief of calling out the short comings of others can keep our egos from being eternally bruised but there’s a danger in extending our arms to finger point.

Finger pointing can become a nasty habit that eventually preps you for failure in almost every big time situation.  Over time you can enter every big competition waiting to get “cheated” so you can be ready to not be harmed mentally by the failure.  You don’t need me to tell you that this is a “weak” mentality.  Most of you will say that you never act like that and most of you would be lying.  As we grow older,  most of us tend to come to grips with our shortcomings.  Through this enlightenment we either do the work we need to do to change them or we learn how to get by in life despite them.  Here’s the hard thing about this when it comes to football,  it’s a young man’s game.  Football is not going to wait for you to get to 40 years old and figure this out.  By then you don’t move as fast,  you are not as energetic and your knees hurt.  So this article is here for you to think like a 40 year old in a young man’s body.

Having worked many football combines, camps and coaching on South Florida Express’ 7-on-7 team for five years,  I heard time and again, “they already had their guys picked before we got out there.”  I would hear this coming from guys who had zero chance of making the team based on their skill level.  They would not have made the team if they were the only one at the tryout.  With that mentality,  they won’t make the team next year.  Why? Because their thought process won’t bring them back bigger, stronger and more skillful next season.  They already have their excuse ready.

Here’s the truth of the matter.  Combines, camps and tryouts already have a list of guys that they know or have reason to believe are great players.  Right or wrong,  certainly players have attained a certain level of notoriety and status.  Some may have had great seasons,  may be already ranked or quite honestly,  they “look” like great players.  The people running the camps and tryouts have to have an idea going in as to who the top players may be.  You simply can not evaluate everyone based on one day of competition.  Imagine you have a tryout and Julio Jones is off of his game that day for some reason.  Do you ignore everything he’s done up to that point and leave him off of the roster?  How many people will call you stupid?  How would you feel if another team picks him up and uses him to beat you?  Imagine if we all judged Tom Brady off of this last Super Bowl?  Would we have missed the mark?  Of course we would have.

So here’s the deal,  when you enter a camp or tryout without the big name,  you have to perform on that day.  Being lights out still may not get you on the team or picked as a MVP but you have no chance at all if you don’t perform on that day.  Sure,  you may have outperformed Bill Five Star on that day but remember,  he already had a resume coming in.  On any given day Josh Rosen can out perform Aaron Rogers in a single game but what about over the course of a season?

If you perform well and don’t make the cut,  chances are that you got someone’s attention.  Take the failure and internalize it.  Go home and get faster.  Hit the weight room and get stronger,  get in the film room and get wiser.  Get on the field and get more skillful.  Show up next year as the improved you.  When you come through the gate,  that coach will remember you from last year and puts a star next to your name on his list.  That means he’s going to watch you more today than he will the other 7,985 prospects at the camp.  When you unleash your improved skills from last year,  that coach is going to go to bat for you.   Now you’ve become that guy that the others will hate on because you got picked before you even got out there.

Successful people internalize their failures and seek opportunities to point the finger at others when they achieve success..  Who do you want to be?

An Offer from Any School is A Blessing…. Here’s Why

Chad Wilson


By: Chad Wilson – Editor – GridironStuds Blog
Twitter: @GridironStuds

Signing Day just came and passed.  If you did not sign with a school,  then you need not read beyond the headline to feel the message that I am putting forth.  However,  this article is not for those guys,  it’s for the highly recruited prospect that feels he is sitting on top of the World and has so many gifts under the Christmas tree that he can ignore the pair of socks that grandma gave him.

I was recently scrolling through my Twitter timeline and came across a high school coach’s tweet in which he said that prospects should stop tweeting out their Division II football offers.  I am not sure what the spirit of that tweet was but the overwhelming perception of it was a negative one.  It also helped breed a stereotype that many young prospects have easily fed into.

Before a prospect receives that first offer,  he is definitely in a mental state where he is wondering if he will ever be a college football prospect.  Rarely is there a time when a prospect receives a college scholarship offer the very first time he does anything worthy in a game, camp or practice.  Often times,  the prospect has been putting in work,  making plays and has gone unnoticed for a period of time.  During that time,  there can be seeds of doubt rumbling around your head.  Often times,  the prospect forgets about those days once offer number 10, 15 or 20 rolls in.  You went from I hope, I wonder, I wish a school,  any school,  will give me an offer to “why the hell is the school offering me,  don’t they know who I am?”  Perhaps society has shaped this view.  Maybe it was how you were raised.  Or perhaps the overwhelming desire for status when you are a teen would keep you in that mindset.  Whatever the case may be,  I’m telling you to get rid of that thought process immediately.

First of all,  if you are really young in the game like a freshman, sophomore or even a junior,  you don’t know what could happen by the time signing day rolls around. Things are ever changing in recruiting and even a perceived 5-star can roll down hill and lose a bunch of offers. It happens almost every year and don’t think it can’t happen to you.  The essence of excelling in football is being prepared for any and everything.  Any school offering you a scholarship is worthy of your consideration and at the very least,  your respect.  Thank that coach the way you did the first coach that offered.  Thank that coach like you thanked the one who was from a program that went to the college football playoffs last season.

Here’s the other part you may not have thought about.  In December,  North Dakota St.,  a FCS school,  lost their head coach to Kansas St.,  a school in the Power 5’s Big 12.  Head coach Chris Klieman then brought four of his assistants along with him to Kansas St..  Imagine if you were holding 30 FBS offers and North Dakota St. came long to offer you a scholarship which you promptly blew off in a disrespectful manner.  Imagine that you committed to and signed with Kansas St. before they announced the hiring of the new head coach.  Imagine that the coach you blew off from North Dakota St. is now your new position coach at Kansas St.  Coaches are supposed to be professional but first they are human beings and you may have shown him a little bit of who you are.  Time to his the transfer portal or nah?

You don’t have to have a 99 in awareness to realize that coaches are very mobile in this new era of college football.  It’s not always a whole staff that is moving.  It’s individual coaches that can leave one spot and head to another.  Division II coaches can become FBS coaches in a heart beat.  I hope you listened to the adults in your life that told you that you treat everyone with respect.  If no adult has ever told you this then allow me to be your parent for 10 seconds…..  treat everyone with respect because you never know.

Every offer should be treated like the first one you received when you were thirsty for it.  First of all because you never know if that school is the one that will be there in the end.  Second because you never know if you and the coach that made that offer will cross paths.  Third because 1,000’s upon 1,000’s of prospects from your class have not been blessed to receive any offers from any school anywhere.  Finally,  in a mindset that has been totally lost in our current society,  it’s the right thing to do.

Recruiting School: The School I Signed With Was Not Where I Wanted to Go

Chad Wilson

By Chad Wilson – Editor – GridironStuds Blog
Twitter: @GridironStuds

Signing Day was yesterday.  It was a joyous occasion for 100’s of high school football players as they ended their recruiting process by putting pen to paper bonding themselves to universities all across the country. Not everyone who signed yesterday was happy. Some student athletes signed on the dotted line to schools that they really didn’t want to go to but felt like they had to.  This article today is for them.

I was a lightly recruited prospect coming out of high school.  Having transferred from Florida to California in my junior year and getting injured,  I entered my senior year of high school with very little fanfare.  Despite having an All-Star type senior season,  my late arrival on the scene left me out of the big boy scene when it came to college football recruiting.  Like most kids my age without guidance in the process,  I was disillusioned. I thought that all that playmaking in 12th grade meant the entire Pac-10 (as it was called at the time) should’ve been parked on my lawn waiting to offer me a scholarship.  I knew nothing of how the process works, how exposure happens and what college coaches think when they are out on the recruiting trail.

At the end of the day,  I only had five real offers that I could’ve committed to:  Cal (which I lost when I took too long to commit), Cal State Fullerton (I absolutely wasn’t going there), UNLV (no way I would have completed a degree at that place), San Diego St. (committed to them for one hour on my trip before my dad bit my head off) and Long Beach State (the school I committed to).  I have told this story before on this blog but I saw Long Beach St. on TV my junior year of high school and they were playing in a one sided stadium.  I saw cars on the street in the background.  I could not remember the name of that school but after signing with them and going to the stadium during our summer practices,  I realized this was the school I saw on TV a year ago and was clowning their stadium.  Imagine my surprise.

Even before I got the stadium shock,  I was not in love with Long Beach State.  Hell,  I wasn’t even in like.  Long Beach State was not where I wanted to be.  It was far away from the big time football I wanted to play at USC or UCLA,  the two big local colleges in the area.  The weight room (if you could call it that) was primitive, the facilities were archaic,  the team was not good and it was a brand new coaching staff filled with guys I had never heard of.  They said it was Division I football but it damned sure did not feel like it.

Thankfully in life,  my family groomed a you are no ordinary person mentality into my head.  So while the college program I almost had to commit to may have seemed ordinary,  the person going to it was not.  My goal was to play big time college football and while this was not it,  I was going to make it be that for me. I trained like I was big time, studied the game like I was big time and walked around like I was big time.  I am certain that several of my teammates did not care for the attitude but if I was to stay at Long Beach St.,  it was a necessary evil.  If any of them are reading this now,  please accept my apology but it was an act of survival.

To make a long story short,  the combination of my attitude, determination and focus resulted in me playing as a freshman and starting several games.  It carried over into me being a full-time starter at cornerback for my entire sophomore year.  At the end of year two,  Long Beach St. cut their football program allowing all of the student athletes to transfer to other schools and be eligible to play immediately.  I went from lightly recruited high school prospect who signed with a bottom of the barrel Division-I school to an intensely recruited young and experienced prospect with Division-I experience.  Schools from across the country came calling and after setting up several official visits,  I elected to comeback home and sign with the number one team in the country,  the Miami Hurricanes.  Most people who know of me,  think that’s where my story begins but as you can see now,  that’s not true.

When I tell high school football prospects to be realistic and seize the opportunities in front of them,  I am speaking from experience.  Football is made for competitive people and if you have excelled at it,  you most likely did so because of your competitive spirit.  So when it comes time to choose a college,  your competitive spirit may overcome you.  However,  successful football players also have some intelligence.  You can’t allow your competitive spirit to overwhelm your intelligence.  I could have sat around angry and banging on the doors of the Division-I powerhouses demanding a scholarship.  I would have risked all of the scholarship offers to those lesser known schools in the process.  I would have ended up missing out on a free education and where would I be?  I may have even been successful in coercing one of the big boys into letting me in.  However,  would they have given me the opportunity to shine like Long Beach St. did when there were other guys that they really wanted on that field?  Probably not.

The opportunity that came to me at Long Beach St. was truly a once in a lifetime.  So by no means am I telling you to go into that school you didn’t really want to go to and hope for them to drop their football program.  That would be foolhardy. What I am telling you is,  opportunities come in all shapes and sizes.  What is important is that you are ready for them when they come.  I could have walked into Long Beach St. feeling sorry for myself.  I could have sat around bitter that I did not go big time like some of my teammates and my cousin who signed with UCLA,  the school I wanted to go to.  That attitude would have certainly delayed my entry into the starting lineup and thus I would not have been ready for the unexpected opportunity that came when they cut the football program. Your opportunity will most certainly be different but it will be an opportunity nonetheless.  Perhaps you will be the school’s all time leading rusher. Or perhaps you’ll be the conference’s all time leader in interceptions.  Being an all-timer will certainly get you NFL attention but if nothing else,  will get you eternal respect.  The question is,  will you be ready for the opportunity when it comes?

Aside from all my misgivings about Long Beach St. in the early going,  the school turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life.  The student body, my teammates and believe it or not,  the game day experiences helped shape who I was as I moved on and morphed into who I am today.  There were days where I wondered what am I doing this for but I quickly washed that away with thoughts of the end goals that I set for myself.  Nothing says you are not in the big time like getting handed Converse high top cleats to go cover speed receivers with.  Nothing says you aren’t at the college football mountain top like watching your team trainer fight with the star wide receiver over using too much pre-wrap.  Block out all of those things and remember why you play football and what your goals are.

The school you signed on with may not have been your first choice but it could be the best thing that ever happened to you.  The key to making that a reality is your mindset.  Your college experience will be what you make it.  That is true whether you signed with Oklahoma or your signed with Bucknell.  It’s all up to you.

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