Yes! Let’s Ruin College Football By Paying the Players

Chad Wilson

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

The NCAA announced their revenues last week and all hell broke loose.  $1.1 billion is a huge number.  It’s an emotion evoking number.  Billion is a word that absolutely raises eyebrows.  A billion anything makes you turn your head.  I hope I’m dead and gone by the time that number becomes ho hum to society. So with that,  the number $1.1 billion was a glass of ice water in everyone’s face especially the “athletes need to be paid advocacy groups”.

Has anyone read the stories of the lotto winners and what life is like after they get their check? Once people start counting their money,  they’re are dead.  Here come the aunts, uncles, cousins, lawsuits, etc.  The NCAA had no choice but to announce the revenue but now here comes the student-athlete advocates who think college athletes need to get a check because,  well,  those thugs in the NCAA are getting rich off their backs.

I’ve argued about this topic ad nauseam on social media.  Before I start,  let me just lay this out because people just love to argue.  I wholeheartedly agree that student athletes should have all of their expenses paid for.  We know their classes and books are paid for,  that’s never in dispute.  However,  any situation where players’ rent checks can’t cover the rent and utilities or any situation where food is not supplied in plentiful amounts is a travesty.  Wherever that exists,  it should be rectified.  An off campus check that comes up hundreds of dollars short of reasonable rent costs is an abomination.  So if that is your argument,  you can rest easy because I am with you.  I also agree that players should have enough money to travel back home reasonably when there are holidays, vacations, etc.

With that said,  my issue is with the athletes should get a check or revenue share of the NCAA profits folks.  Stop right there.  First of all,  most of you didn’t go past that $1.1 billion revenue headline.  You can lie to me but you can’t lie to yourself.  That’s the social media timeline world we live.  We don’t click on the stories because the headline is all we need to formulate a granite hardened opinion.  When you have some time,  read an article on how the NCAA both acquired that money and then how they distributed it.  I don’t want to bore you with numbers because most of us don’t care about numbers until our bank account says zero or you hear that someone made a billion.

My stance by and large is this and many of you may not like it.  The NCAA built this thing.  Over the years they have grown it and turned it into the grand corporation that it is now.  In the process,  it has developed a major platform for student athletes that the savvy ones can use to benefit from handsomely once graduation comes. College student athletes get more exposure now than ever before.  College athletes are celebrities now more than ever.  College institutions and their teams are more known now than ever before. Has this come as a result of the blood, sweat and tears of the athletes? Yes it has.  Has it grown to this outstanding level as a result of the various contracts, partnerships and deals that the NCAA has pushed for and negotiated?  Yes it most certainly it has.

Forward thinking student-athletes think about their future and also have a backup plan.  The greatest athlete can have his career ended in a second. The most talented college athlete may find he’s no fit for the pros.  As such,  forward thinking young adults (the ones we want running the country in years to come) will prepare for their future. They will accept the very valuable education that when all is said and done will cost upwards of $250,000.  They will use their personal celebrity status or that of the team to network with important people in their field and exploit that relationship upon graduation.  Can you be a biology or engineering major as a college football player?  Probably not.  Can you adjust yourself to another suitable major then attend grad school (which you would’ve wanted to do anyway)? Yes.  Does football teach you to cry when you can’t get your way? No.  Does it teach you to find a way when their doesn’t appear to be an obvious one. Yes?  Is this not a successful skill to cultivate for life’s journey? Yes.

For those of you counting the NCAA’s money and saying these college athletes need to get paid.  To those of you thinking 18-22 year old students getting a free education should pull some game checks,  my message is for you and the players that might be listening to that. College football is tough.  You will work hard,  the hours will be long and thoughts of quitting will enter your mind.  Take advantage of the free education you’re getting from institutions that 1,000s up on 1,000 of others were denied entry to and when accepted had to pay $1,000’s upon $1,000’s to attend. Realize that some of the athletes made it in with academic numbers that would not have come close to being accepted otherwise.

Paying college football players would be like setting up a welfare system.  People want money just for showing up.  As a college ball player,  they haven’t done anything yet.  Start putting some money in their hand and there goes some of the motivation on the field and most certainly off of it.

College is for the grind,  not for the comfort.  As long as the student-athletes are comfortable, their mind is off of achieving.  A full stomach does not make a steadfast hunter and necessity is the mother of invention.  Make our students and our athletes comfortable and they need nothing,  they invent nothing which would include a post graduate career either as an athlete or other professional.  The little bit of money thrown the athlete’s way in college or handed to them afterwards will run out quick.  After that,  they’ll be left with the currency they built up during their college years which will likely be nothing because they were very comfortable.

College students need to embrace the struggle. The struggle won’t kill them and if they let it,  it will make them stronger.  The struggling actress waiting on tables doesn’t make it to the big screen one day by getting a huge cut of the restaurant’s profits.  That waitress is grinding while she hunts for her opportunity to make it big in film.

Someone out there is trying to sap the motivation of our young student-athletes. I’m sure welfare was created to help those who couldn’t help themselves.  Somewhere along the line it morphed into making able people comfortable so they would stop reaching for greatness. Athletes,  don’t let them do that to your career. If you’re hungry in college,  grind and hit those books.  The percentage say you’ll live a better life if you do so.

College is a proving ground for everyone from the students to the student-athletes.  It’s not a place for you to experience a windfall. If a regular student creates something exceptional like Facebook or Microsoft while in college, they can elect to leave school to focus on that business. Likewise,  the college football player can leave school early after three years to focus on football.  The three year wait is necessary as football is a sport that requires a certain amount of physical maturity.  I’ve heard the argument that regular college students are not providing anything that contributes millions of dollars to the school.  Oh, did you forget the tuition they’re paying?  Those numbers at a school like Alabama yield in excess of $770 million per year.

Young student athletes, your decision to attend college on a football scholarship was just that,  a decision.  This means you had a choice.  Our military members put their lives on the line and our government has trillions of dollars which many could argue that we waste.  Anyone up in arms about what they make?  They get education, medical and other benefits true but there’s no professional athletic career opportunity waiting for them at the end of their service.  Could the NCAA offer more benefits to their athletes? Perhaps and they may be indeed examining a way to do that while attempting to keep a level playing field.  After all,  they just announced the revenues a week ago.

To the athletes,  grind, hustle and be uncomfortable. That’s what college is for. When you become a pro,  whether that’s in athletics, business, etc.,  success will taste all the more sweeter.  Stop counting the NCAA’s money and focus on your plan to get yours with or without the pigskin.

You want to ruin college football?  Let’s start paying players.

 

5 Important Differences for Players to Know Between the CFL and NFL

Chad Wilson

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

Over the next few months the NFL draft will take center stage as players head to Indianapolis for the combine and continue preparations for the actual draft at the end of April. For many college football seniors and even some early draft entires, the NFL won’t be an immediate possibility but some can find a home in the Canadian Football League aka CFL. Here are five major differences between the NFL and CFL.

The Size of the Field

American football players are used to a football field’s dimensions. From the time they can remember playing, they have been on a a 120 yard (including end zones) long field that is 53.5 yards wide. While those calculations aren’t stuck in the mind of the American football player, they are certainly, through years of playing, aware of where the space is and runs out on a football field. However, a trip to Canada will certainly require an adjustment to the size of the playing field in Canadian football. A Canadian football field is significantly bigger in that it’s 150 yards long (including the 20 yard end zones) and 65 yards wide. There’s icertainly more room for the East West runners of the football in Canada.

Number of Players on the Field

The amount of extra room on the field would be worrisome for an American defensive player heading over to Canada but don’t worry too much. In Canada, there are more players on the field of play. In American football, teams are allowed to have 11 players on the field at the snap of the ball. In Canada, each side may have 12 players on the field. Like in American football, Canadian offenses must have seven men on the line of scrimmage, so the extra player is usually in the backfield. On defense, most teams deploy an additional defensive back in their lineup. The extra player per side basically makes up for the additional space that a Canadian field has. However, the number difference may present some different schemes both offensively and defensively that the American player may need to adjust to.

Motion Before the Snap

Talk to any American player that has made the move across the border to play in the CFL and they’ll tell you that the motion before the snap is the biggest adjustment. All offensive players in the backfield (except the quarterback) in Canadian football can be in motion at the snap of the ball . Equally important is that those players can be moving forward at the snap so long as they are not across the line of scrimmage prior to the snap. In addition, the two players at the end of the line of scrimmage, typically wide receivers can be in motion along the line of scrimmage prior to the snap. These rules make it tougher for defenders to cover their man and for cornerbacks to get a jam on wideouts. An adjustment to long standing techniques for defensive backs may be in order to adjust to the Canadian game. This is a big reason why Canadian League games typical are higher scoring and CFL betting sites often have higher betting point totals posted for CFL games.

Roster Restrictions

The biggest issue for American players heading North of the border to play in the CFL are the roster restrictions. NFL rosters can carry 53 active players on their roster during a season. In Canada, teams can carry 44 players. However, the biggest note is the fact that the CFL rules mandate that 21 of those 44 players must be Canadian citizen’s or a resident of Canada for five years prior their 18th birthday. So sometimes, for American players, it truly becomes a numbers game when trying to make a CFL team roster.

Player Salaries

Here is the biggest kicker for American college football players looking to head to the CFL. If your thought was that you will just go to Canada to play ball and live the lifestyle of a NFL player then you will need to exterminate that thinking. Here are the foggy facts. The average CFL salary is $80,000 per year with the rookie minimum being $50,000 per year. Compare this to the NFL average salary being $1.9 million with a rookie minimum in 2017 of $465,000 for players on the active roster. Furthermore, Canadian born players are compensated better as a whole than American players in the CFL. It becomes a little bit more difficult for American players to be paid an All Star salary in the CFL as opposed to Canadian born high performers. Add to this that salaries are paid in Canadian currency so there is a loss once converted to to American dollars. A $50,000 salary in the CFL actually converts to $39,500 in US dollars. When you consider the expenses involved with maintaining residences in two different countries, it’s little wonder why American CFL players often maintain offseason jobs. Despite these facts, one must keep in mind that for many American born CFL players you are either playing to earn a NFL opportunity or you really love football and would play it no matter what the salary. This video by an American born player on YouTube gives a solid perspective on this topic.

So there you have it. The differences outlined in this article are not the only ones that exist between the NFL and the CFL. However, I feel these are some of the most important ones to be aware of and consider when you weigh your options for a professional football career in Canada.

Three Things You Need To Get From College Football Recruiting Camps

Chad Wilson

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

It’s that time of year.  Some call it the offseason,  a bunch of others call it camp season.  Recruiting camps as some call them will be plentiful and consistent over the next few months.  Some will make very bold promises about their ability to bring you recruiting exposure. Other camps will be expected to perform that task whether it is true or not.  Who knows who coined these camps by the phrase “recruiting camp” but whether or not they will get you recruited depends on your approach and what you expect going into them.

I can not tell you how many times I have overheard disappointed camp goers at the end of the event complaining about not being picked for a MVP award or part of the all camp team.  I can not tell you how many times I have heard disappointed camp goers weeks or months later moaning about how their performance at a sneaker camp did not turn into one offer from a college scout.  Many prospects expect immediate and sudden recruiting results when attending offseason camps and I’m telling you that this is the wrong mindset to have.

Offseason camps can lead to college scholarship offers but only if you take the right approach.  Here are three things a prospect needs to get from a college football recruiting camp in the offseason to make it a success.

Competition

The number one thing a college football prospect should get from an offseason camp is competition.  Some of the biggest and best camps around the country will bring out 100’s of kids from the local and surrounding areas.  Nothing else during the calendar year will bring together competition like Nike, Under Armour, Rivals or similar camps.  Your high school football district is your district.  You have to play the teams in your district and outside of that there are restrictions on the level of competition you play.  This is not the case at the camps.  Camps bring out the biggest and the best.  This is your chance as a prospect to see how you stack up.  This is your chance as a prospect to see what you need to work on.  What price would you put on that?  Of course,  you can take the approach of “those camps are political and full of bs” and just stay home.  That’s fine but you’ll just miss out on a chance to get better by competing against the best prospects in your area.  Competition makes you stronger,  it makes you better and for that reason alone you should attend as many of the well run offseason camps that you can.  Saying you are not going to any of the camps because it’s political and I won’t get an award is like saying I’m not going to any of the track meets because I won’t win first place.



Technique

At the offseason camps, a portion of the event is devoted to individual skill evaluation and development.  Sure,  if you are an advanced player who is experienced in the game and have received good coaching,  there’s less for you to learn.  However,  there’s always at least one new thing technique-wise that you can pick up from a camp.  Whether that is foot placement, hand placement, body control, eye discipline, leverage, etc.,  if you can go into the camp saying,  I want to learn at least one new thing that can improve my game,  chances are that you will find it.  Many other prospects will go into the camp with a real snobbish attitude and pretend that they know it all.  The truth of the matter is that you are 14-17 years old.  If you think you know it all about football then I can already write your future in this game and it won’t be pretty.  Open your mind to the adults and coaches that are there instructing you and I promise you can pull something out of it that will give your game a boost.

Contacts

Very little gets done in the World of business where billions of dollars change hands without knowing someone.  Playing high school football and obtaining a college scholarship is your business.  If you want to run a successful business then you need to make contacts.  Before, during and after the event,  make it a point to meet people that can aid you in your core business which is getting a college scholarship.  Whether that is connecting with other talented players,  recruiting reporters, coaches from the event or even parents of kids who have received scholarships,  meeting these people and networking with them will help you reach your goal.  Outside of that,  learning how to and practicing networking is a skill that will aid you far beyond your years as a football player.  Most successful college students have mastered the art of networking.  Spending the time to talk to recruiting reporters or meeting someone like myself to learn more about the recruiting process has a value that’s far beyond anything you can measure.  Perhaps you make contact with someone who trains kids to play your position.  Getting together with that individual for some sessions or for consistent work can take your game to a whole different level.  Many times,  I have been approached by young defensive backs at camps who learn more about what I do with AllEyesDBCamp.com.  Some have become consistent members and I’ve watched their performance take off to the college scholarship level.  Make contacts at the event that will help you for years to come.

None of the three things I mentioned above can happen if you stay home during the event because you have the attitude that you won’t be picked for any top prize.  Some prospects will refuse to go if they are not invited.  I know that pride is a huge thing in teenagers.  However,  pride can be a serious barrier to success.  If you are an underclassman that is not invited to an event when there’s a chance you can go in future years,  then I recommend you attend as a spectator.  Being a spectator will serve two purposes.  First of all,  two of the three things I mentioned above can still be accomplished (Technique and Contacts).  You can observe what the guys at your position are being taught and take notes.  Or you can observe what the players you go up against are being taught and learn.  So for instance,  a defensive back can watch the WRs and hear what they are being taught to beat DBs.  You can’t really do that if you are invited to the event because you’ll be with DBs the whole time.  Offensive lineman can watch the techniques being taught to defensive linemen and become more aware of how they beat you.  You can also still make contacts and network at the event if you weren’t invited.  Not being invited does not stop you from meeting important people that have to do with your business which is getting a college scholarship.  Finally,  going to the event when you’re not invited and watching the others should motivate you greatly to make it next year.

If your sole purpose for attending an offseason recruiting camp is to get a scholarship offer or be picked for the MVP team then you stand a great chance of being disappointed.  The offseason camps have 300-400 prospects in attendance with only 10, at most, being picked as MVPs.  However,  if you apply the principles I outlined in this article you can get so much more out of attending the event than you thought possible.  If nothing else,  you will put yourself one step ahead of the 300 other kids who will leave the event pouting like a 7 year old who was told he couldn’t go to McDonalds after his football game.

If you are college football prospect that is serious about getting recruited, connecting with college coaches and building a fanbase then you absolutely must download the GridironStuds Recruiting app and create a profile today.  College coaches are using the GridironStuds app to find prospects from around the country. Plus fans from around the country are using it to get the latest info on college football recruiting.  Develop a fan following and boost your college football prospect profile.  We all know that fans rule college football.  Download the app today  | For iPhone click here | For Android Click here.

Is A College Football Offer Really An Offer?

Chad Wilson

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

When I was a kid growing up, we had something known as Cracker Jacks.  Cracker Jacks was a box full of candied popcorn that was very tasty. The candied treat was only part of the allure of Cracker Jacks.  What really drew people to the treat was what was inside.  Inside the Cracker Jack box was a prize.  It could be a tattoo, a magnifying glass or any other assortment of bite size toys to occupy an adolescent mind for hours (it was a simpler time then).  That toy was everything and so that Cracker Jack box was important.

Fast forward to 2018.  Cracker Jacks may still be around but it’s not nearly as prominent and I can’t tell you the last time I saw a kid holding a Cracker Jack box on purpose.  Times have changed and so has college football recruiting.  If I compared college football recruiting to Cracker Jacks then I would say Cracker Jacks in 2018 would have no prize inside or the box would include a note inside that read “we may have a prize for you later but for now enjoy the candy.”  There was a time when an offer was everything.  If a college program offered you that meant they would sign you right then and there if they could.

During my junior year in high school,  the starting free safety on our team came into our English class holding up a letter from USC over his head like Deion Sanders holding up an errant throw from a QB over his head as he high stepped to the end zone.  That letter meant,  USC has been watching and they had an interest in him.  It certainly wasn’t an offer but it was a reason to be proud.  USC knew who he was.  I was full of envy and ready to prove to USC that I deserved an envelope too.  The letter from USC merely stated their interest and included a questionnaire for our free safety to fill out.  Letters were not plentiful back then,  they meant something but not everything.

Over the course of time,  letters became more plentiful and less important.  My sons have letters in our house from Top 10 schools that they have yet to open and likely never will.  Had the free safety on our team or had I received those letters we would have passed out right there in room 1101. With letters flooding recruits’ mailboxes in spectacular fashion these days,  recruits are ignoring them.  So how do college programs let kids know they are interested?

Enter the college football scholarship offer in this modern era.  Mail delivered by the postman is considered deathly slow.  A college football coach who sees a potential prospect on a high school campus can ill afford to wait till he gets back to the office to have a letter sent to that recruit.  First, that’s too slow, second a letter is meaningless and third other schools are going to have already offered the kid.  In 2018,  an offer is the letter that our free safety was high stepping across the front of our classroom with.  See a prospect,  offer a prospect or face the consequences when his senior year comes.

Our free safety never received that offer from USC as their interests turned to other players with greater intensity as we got closer to our senior season and signing date.  It didn’t stop him from being encouraged and motivated to play his best.  Offers in this modern era as they have always been are not binding for either party.  However,  they are less meaningful today than they have ever been.  An offer to a prospect before his senior year is basically a letter in 1988.  That college football coach and program is basically telling you that they are interested in you.  Most of the time they can’t accept your commitment at the time of the offer and don’t really want you committing in your junior, sophomore or freshman year.  Often times they accept the commitment if the prospect pushes for it because they don’t want to ruin the relationship they seek to build with the prospect.

As I observe high school football players on an annual basis,  I notice them “chasing offers”.  It has become a drug for high school football players.  They will do anything to get it.  Sometimes that means going to four, five or even six different high schools to chase offers.  Has it gotten out of control?  Probably.  Others may just look at it as the way of the times.  Whatever the case may be,  people involved need to understand where we once were and where we are now.  This will allow you to understand what is in an offer.  An offer in 2018 to an underclassman merely means that a college is interested in you and you will need to continue to progress for that offer to turn into a commitment that a school will accept.  Hell,  schools are even accepting commitments from prospects that they really don’t want to sign.  They do this so as to not cancel out the kid later on in case they fail to secure some other guys they are after or they don’t want to ruin a relationship with a school that is pumping out top talent every year.

Perhaps at some point,  some wise individual will come up with a name for what it is when a team is 100% interested in signing you to a scholarship to join their college football program.  Until then,  prospects, high school coaches, parents and other interested parties will continue to joust over how real an offer is when a prospect announces it to the public.

Early Signing Period Means College Football Recruits Must Have Their Act Together Sooner

Chad Wilson

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

I am sure we all remember the debates that were going on some time ago about the possibility of an early signing period in college football.  Some wanted it to be December while others wanted it in June.  Quite a few did not want it at all.  Whatever the case may have been,  enough people wanted it and so we now have it in the month of December.  While the appearance in the early going is that it went off without a hitch last month,  I am not blind to see that it will change the way college football prospects will have to go about doing things.

In a move that may or may not have been anticipated,  many schools signed the majority of their recruiting classes in December and are now spending their time “spot’ recruiting or waiting for the more elite prospects that did not put pen to paper in December.  For college football programs,  even those who vehemently opposed the early signing period,  getting as much of the class completed in that first signing period appears to be of the utmost importance.  College football programs have a deathly fear of being left out in the cold come February as competitors out on the recruiting trail get the bonded commitment from recruits before Saint Nick comes tumbling down the chimney.  Top programs like Notre Dame, Ohio St. and Penn St. all signed 20 or more of their allotted 25 recruits in December. Many more programs signed 18 or more meaning many classes were some 70% done before the new year hit.

I suppose we could have seen this coming.  Few things in America are more competitive than college football recruiting.  Begging, borrowing and stealing are all accepted practices when it comes to recruiting for the college football gridiron.  Freshman, 8th graders and 7th graders are getting offers now as the scramble is on to identify and mark talent earlier than “the next guy”.  Before the early signing period,  many of your Division-1 schools would declare their recruiting class done by the end of December anyway as they had secured the required amount of commitments.  Now, the early signing period turns those commitments into reality.  It’s like turning in your stock options for the real stock.

What does all this mean for the potential college football prospect?  I can guarantee you this,  it means something.  If the ability to sign players earlier than before exists then that certainly means having your affairs in order sooner is an absolute must.  You remember those October and December ACT test dates you thought you could wait for to hit your mark?  No more unless you are a Top 100 prospect.  Remember those recruiting visits in January you thought you could take when you weren’t consider an elite prospect?  I wouldn’t play that type of recruiting roulette wheel with my scholarship opportunity.  How about those senior year Fall semester classes you needed to boost your GPA to make yourself a qualifier?  Just get ready for Juco ball if that’s your plan.  Maybe you want to skip over making a junior year highlight or pre-senior year Spring highlight reel because you know you’re going to dominate come Fall.  Or perhaps you’ll just by-pass making that early senior season 3-game cut-up cuz you want to drop the hot full-season edition after the final game.  I wouldn’t do that if I were you.

With an early signing period,  everything gets accelerated.  Fringe recruits (meaning lightly recruited) don’t have time to play around.  If you are a 9th or 10 grader reading this, bless you,  you’ve put yourself in solid position.  Before your senior year of high school,  you better have a test score that matches your GPA for qualifier status.  You better have amassed some kind of quality film either through in-game action, 7on7 work or offseason workouts to catch the eye of a college program.  You also better make way to some colleges unofficially to see what the deal is.  If schools in the spring showed interest,  try your best to go see them in the summer.  Yes,  it will cost you money but not going to college will cost you infinitely more either in hard currency, future earnings or hurt feelings.

The college football recruiting landscape is changing and like any good team or player,  you are going to need to make adjustments.  Failing to do so will net you the same results in the recruiting game as it does on Friday nights if you fail to adapt and that’s a big fat ‘L’.

3 Reasons Your Football Player Needs to Play Other Sports

Chad Wilson

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

As some of you may know,  GridironStuds.com is not the only thing I do.  I also run All Eyes DB Camp and train defensive backs.  I am often approached by parents of youngsters in the age range of 8-12 years old asking if I would train their child to be a defensive back.  My immediate response is no.  Of course I don’t ever just leave it at that. With that no comes the explanation that I only train individuals age 13 plus and I recommend that their child play a different sport in the offseason.

There are several reasons that I give that advice but in this article I am going to give the top three reasons that I think a football player should play other sports.  This advice is not only for kids under the age of 13 but for football players in high school that are skilled enough to pull it off.

Improves Your Athleticism

Having been in the recruiting game for a decade now,  I can tell you the number one thing college recruiters are looking for at any position is athleticism.  If you are not athletic then college coaches start seeing you as limited.  This does not only apply to defensive backs and wide receivers.  It also applies to offensive linemen.  An offensive tackle better be athletic and able to move his feet or he will get killed all game long by the converted basketball player charging off the edge to sack his quarterback.  How about a guard or center who can pull and not look like a 100 lb. bag of sand when doing so?  That has value,  lots of it and college coaches are looking for it.

How do you develop athleticism?  Well some will have you believe that the best way to do that is to send your youngster to a trainer who will have him run around cones and through ladders for an hour.  I’ll tell you as an experienced athlete and father of three that nothing brings out athleticism like competing in another sport. Practicing a set of skills to help your team win and be accountable to your teammates each and every week will accelerate the learning process.  Often times,  different sports will develop skills that are just simply hard to mimic in a training atmosphere.  Playing basketball, soccer, baseball, etc. will develop a set of skills that will help you on a football field in a way that sessions with a trainer will never accomplish.

Help Them Become Better Teammates

Football is the ultimate team sport and when you have a team full of good teammates,  it just stands to reason that your team is going to go far.  A individual who can bring that dynamic to the team has value.  Playing a variety of team sports develops the teammate gene in a young athlete.  Growing that trait in an athlete is something that needs to be cultivated all year long.  Solo or even group training sessions with a trainer will not duplicate this benefit the way playing another team sport can.

In addition, multiple sports often provide a variety in terms of types of individuals your athlete comes in contact with.  Exposing your young athlete to others from different racial and social circles will only broaden his understanding, patience and ability to communicate with people.  This skill can not be underestimated within a football locker room or huddle. Communication is one of those skills that are not readily apparent to those observing an athlete on the football field.  Yet,  it is so very crucial to the overall success of the team and thus the individual. Keeping your young athlete around the same group of people all year long has it’s diminishing returns.  I am sure that I will receive the responses that say,  it builds a bond with your brothers.  Sure,  I get it but that’s what the summer conditioning is for.  Nothing builds a bond like throwing up on the side of the track together after that fifth 400 meter run for time.

Improve Their Mental Skills

Mental skills are what separates great ones from the good ones.  Exposing your young football player to a variety of competitive situations will develop that like no other.  My children played multiple sports and from them, an array of crucial mental skills were acquired.  For instance:

Taekwondo – discipline
Basketball – consistency
Baseball – patience and handling failure
Track – handling individual pressure

Other sports develop other mental traits.  I played soccer growing up and it aided in my ability to perform at a high level when completely exhausted (Also served well to keep body fat low but that’s an adulthood bonus).  I have played with and coached young men who were wrestlers,  the amount of mental toughness they brought to the table was often more than anyone else on the team.  So as you can see,  the benefits to multiple sports is wide sweeping.  If you were building a football team, program, or organization you would want to incorporate individuals that brought these benefits to the table.  Aside from making your athlete a better player,  it will also aid them in being a better overall human being.  Change their perspective.

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