| Becoming an NFL player was my dream since I was in | | | | be kicked off the high school team. And, if I was |
| junior high school, and I was one of the lucky few who | | | | kicked off the high school team, I would not be able to |
| actually made it all the way to the NFL. I have played | | | | play college football, and college football is a |
| for the New York Giants, the New Orleans Saints, the | | | | requirement for becoming a pro player. Because of |
| Washington Redskins, the Baltimore Ravens, and the | | | | that, I worked very hard to keep my grades up. |
| Jacksonville Jaguars. | | | | If you want to become an NFL player, you must take |
| My life in the NFL was a remarkable experience. | | | | your class work seriously to give yourself an |
| However, getting to the NFL was very difficult. In this | | | | opportunity to play college football. Here is a secret |
| article I want to discuss a few of the mental hurdles a | | | | most student athletes don't know. Colleges love smart |
| young athlete will go through if they want to make it all | | | | athletes. By being both a great student and a great |
| the way to the NFL. | | | | athlete, you greatly increase your chances of being |
| My preparation for the NFL began in high school when | | | | recruited by a scout for a major college football team. |
| I realized that I had a chance to play Division One | | | | Why you ask? Smart players make smart decisions |
| football. I attended an outstanding high school program | | | | on the football field and help win games. If you look at |
| at Eisenhower High School in Lawton, OK where I | | | | many of the greatest NFL players, many of them are |
| played against a rival school (Lawton High School) that | | | | not the best athletes. What they are, are the smartest |
| has produced NFL talent including Michael Minter of the | | | | athletes. When you play in the pros, the plays are very |
| Carolina Panthers, Will Shields of the Kansas City | | | | complex and you need to think very quickly. That is |
| Chiefs, Daly Gardner of the Miami Dolphins, James | | | | why it is so important to build your brain power just as |
| Trapp of the Oakland Raiders, and Jamal Brown of | | | | much as your athletic skills. Accomplishing this is one of |
| the New Orleans Saints. | | | | the first big steps towards becoming a pro player. |
| Playing against the top athletes in high school really | | | | Another important part of being a pro player is how |
| helped to raise my game to be the best it could be. As | | | | you present yourself as a person. Do you get along |
| an athlete, your preparation for the pros starts when | | | | well with your fellow athletes and coaches? Are you a |
| you decide you want to be the best athlete you can | | | | good member of your community? College and pro |
| be for you--not for your parents, not for your girlfriend, | | | | teams want cooperative team members, not spoiled |
| and not for your friends. To be an NFL player you | | | | athletes that cause problems, get into trouble, and are |
| must have a burning desire to play with the best and | | | | an embarrassment to the organization. An athlete that |
| you must do everything you can physically and | | | | causes problems with his team members and gets into |
| mentally to make yourself able to compete with the | | | | trouble with the law hurts a team. Problem players are |
| best. | | | | quickly removed from competitive sports teams. |
| But being a great athlete is only half of what it takes | | | | Therefore, if you want to make it to the NFL, keep |
| to make it to the pros. Developing your mental skills is | | | | yourself out of trouble and be a model person. |
| just as important as developing your physical skills. | | | | In conclusion, being a great athlete is not enough to |
| First, you cannot play football if you have bad grades. | | | | make it to the pros. You must work hard both on and |
| The real work for becoming an NFL player starts in | | | | off the field. Be a person that your team can count on |
| the classroom. For me, the class room was difficult | | | | and be proud of. If you do this, you will increase your |
| and I had to work very hard to keep my grades up. | | | | chances of being recruited by a college scout and |
| But I understood that if my grades were bad, I would | | | | making it to the pros. |
