white is right
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Here is a sample of Pat Kerwin's article on multi sport athletes helping their football skills....
Football prospects shouldn't drop other sports Click here to find out more!
Pat Kirwan By Pat Kirwan
NFL.com wire reports
(Feb. 20, 2007) -- As the draft hopefuls converge on Indianapolis over the next week to demonstrate their football talents, handle interviews with many of the clubs, pass medical exams and run for the scouts, something else rings clear with me about the football talent at the Holiday Inn.
There are a lot of very good athletes in this draft -- and many of the top prospects are more than merely football players.
Too often, young high school football players feel they have to throw away their love of other sports for the sake of a football career. What rings true about most of the first-day prospects in this draft class, like years past, is that participating in other sports is good for the development of the football player.
Quentin Moses could use his basketball skills to bat down, and maybe intercept, passes in the NFL.
Quentin Moses could use his basketball skills to bat down, and maybe intercept, passes in the NFL.
Too many high school coaches, parents and players themselves feel that in order to become a great football player, interest in other sports has to be dropped. Don't play basketball, lift weights. Don't run track, gain weight. Don't play baseball, go to spring practice.
I thought a quick look at many of the potential first-day draft picks and their other interests might send a message to some of our future stars to keep in mind there is much to be gained by multi-sport participation.
Learning to deal with different coaching styles, being part of an individual sport like track or wrestling, and competing most of the year and dealing with the ups and downs of winning and losing helps develop the whole person.
I know far too many coaches attempt to develop an environment of isolation for their athletes. The combine is a place where the well-rounded athlete will converse better with the NFL brass, move better in drills, and even handle the concept of position changes better than the young man who was trained to be almost robotic at one football position.
The top two quarterbacks in this draft, JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn, both excelled in other sports. Quinn played baseball and Russell was a heck of a basketball player. The top-ranked offensive lineman heading into Indy is Joe Thomas from Wisconsin. He threw the shot put 62 feet for the Badgers. In high school, he was captain of the basketball and track teams -- that tells me he has been developing his leadership skills for years.
Michigan nose tackle Alan Branch might be 6-foot-5 and 330 pounds, but he was also a pretty good basketball player; the lateral movement skills he developed on the hardwood will go a long way in the NFL. Gaines Adams, the outstanding defensive end from Clemson, played eight-man football in high school. LSU receiver Dwayne Bowe didn't play football until his junior year in high school. Levi Brown is a solid first-round tackle from Penn State, but was always too big to play Pop Warner football as a kid.
One of the more telling stories about athletes in this draft is first-round prospect Adam Carriker, a defensive end from Nebraska. He was a high school quarterback and he played baseball and ran track. Position change was something he handled well at the college level.
Daymeion Hughes, the corner from California, lettered in basketball, track and tennis. Watch a tennis player working the baseline and tell me if you don't see football movement skills... What I want to know is would a white ex- tennis player who had the 40 time and shuttle drill time get the same admiration for his abilities as Hughes(I'm assuming Hughes is black)?
Football prospects shouldn't drop other sports Click here to find out more!
Pat Kirwan By Pat Kirwan
NFL.com wire reports
(Feb. 20, 2007) -- As the draft hopefuls converge on Indianapolis over the next week to demonstrate their football talents, handle interviews with many of the clubs, pass medical exams and run for the scouts, something else rings clear with me about the football talent at the Holiday Inn.
There are a lot of very good athletes in this draft -- and many of the top prospects are more than merely football players.
Too often, young high school football players feel they have to throw away their love of other sports for the sake of a football career. What rings true about most of the first-day prospects in this draft class, like years past, is that participating in other sports is good for the development of the football player.
Quentin Moses could use his basketball skills to bat down, and maybe intercept, passes in the NFL.
Quentin Moses could use his basketball skills to bat down, and maybe intercept, passes in the NFL.
Too many high school coaches, parents and players themselves feel that in order to become a great football player, interest in other sports has to be dropped. Don't play basketball, lift weights. Don't run track, gain weight. Don't play baseball, go to spring practice.
I thought a quick look at many of the potential first-day draft picks and their other interests might send a message to some of our future stars to keep in mind there is much to be gained by multi-sport participation.
Learning to deal with different coaching styles, being part of an individual sport like track or wrestling, and competing most of the year and dealing with the ups and downs of winning and losing helps develop the whole person.
I know far too many coaches attempt to develop an environment of isolation for their athletes. The combine is a place where the well-rounded athlete will converse better with the NFL brass, move better in drills, and even handle the concept of position changes better than the young man who was trained to be almost robotic at one football position.
The top two quarterbacks in this draft, JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn, both excelled in other sports. Quinn played baseball and Russell was a heck of a basketball player. The top-ranked offensive lineman heading into Indy is Joe Thomas from Wisconsin. He threw the shot put 62 feet for the Badgers. In high school, he was captain of the basketball and track teams -- that tells me he has been developing his leadership skills for years.
Michigan nose tackle Alan Branch might be 6-foot-5 and 330 pounds, but he was also a pretty good basketball player; the lateral movement skills he developed on the hardwood will go a long way in the NFL. Gaines Adams, the outstanding defensive end from Clemson, played eight-man football in high school. LSU receiver Dwayne Bowe didn't play football until his junior year in high school. Levi Brown is a solid first-round tackle from Penn State, but was always too big to play Pop Warner football as a kid.
One of the more telling stories about athletes in this draft is first-round prospect Adam Carriker, a defensive end from Nebraska. He was a high school quarterback and he played baseball and ran track. Position change was something he handled well at the college level.
Daymeion Hughes, the corner from California, lettered in basketball, track and tennis. Watch a tennis player working the baseline and tell me if you don't see football movement skills... What I want to know is would a white ex- tennis player who had the 40 time and shuttle drill time get the same admiration for his abilities as Hughes(I'm assuming Hughes is black)?
