Get Cut? Why You Should Never Give Up!

It's not what you achieve, it's what you overcome.

If your child got cut from his youth football team but still loves the game, please don't give up. I assure you, no coach or team manager can make perfect decisions on every player evaluation.

Case-in-point:  Let's look at the career of Jim Finks.  Finks was a highly regarded NFL GM that made it to the NFL Hall of Fame as an Excutive for the Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints.  He was also starting Quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 1950's.  He was a good (not great) quarterback but  among the best NFL executives in terms of player evaluation.

1. As a quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Steelers kept Finks while cutting a fellow named Johnny Unitas.  Good thing for Baltimore that Johnny Unitas did not quit football after being cut.

2.  While directing the NFL draft, Finks drafted or signed such blue chippers as Jimbo Covert, Keith Van Horne, Jay Hilgenberg and the legendary Walter Payton.  In fact, he acquired 19 of the 22 starters for the 1985 Super Bowl Bears.  But he passed on a chance to draft Notre Dame's Joe Montana.  Instead he picked Georgia running back Willie McClendon.  Ouch.

3.  In basketball, Michael Jordoan was cut from his high school basketball team.

4.  In hockey, Hall of Famer Chris Chelios was cut from U.S. International University, the only NCAA Division I hockey team west of the Rockies.   He went onto an NHL Hall of Fame career.

Politics aside, evaluating players is complicated and one person's decision should never define your self-confidence or commitment to playing youth football. The fact is a youth football coach will never know if he was right or wrong until time passes.  And one person's opinion should never define your goals, even if they create a significant road block.

As we said, it's not what you achieve, it's what you overcome.

Good luck youth football parents.  To those kids who are currently discouraged--don't give up if you love the game!

Tom Finks
Executive Director
Pro Sports Experience, LLC

Pro Sports Experience is the official management company of Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles Youth Football Camps.

http://www.prosportsexperience.com/

Does Madden NFL 2012 Put Parents in Bad Mood?

In terms of teaching the game, the Madden NFL 2012 might be the best way ever to independently learn football players, rules, plays and strategies.

But it's a video game.  And according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, not only do video games replace physical fitness opportunities, researchers found children who exceeded the 2 hours per day of screen time (TV or Video Games) were 1.5 to 2 times more likely to be above average in attention problems. 

Playing football is more fun than playing video football.

So, while the Madden NFL games are great fun and socially interactive, parents must effectively manage the amount of time kids stay connected to video games and TV for the child's health and cognitive development.

See both sides of the issue. 

You need a good reason to request "a stop" to video game play.  Tell them your reason.  Without a good reason, kids figure the request is arbitrary and "Dad is in a bad mood."  

As youth football camp coaches, we want kids to be physically active--every day!  And, we want your child to learn and appreciate the game of football.

Learn more.  Check out the links below.  Get your facts straight about the joy of the game and the health related issues.  You can find a balance that will work to everyone's benefit. 

MADDEN NFL 2012 REVIEW

AAP:  VIDEO GAMES LINKED TO ATTENTION PROBLEMS

KEVINMD: VIDEO GAMES LINKED TO ATTENTION PROBLEMS

Hopefully this helps your parent-child communication.

Tom Finks

Pro Sports Experience, LLC

Pro Sports Experience is the official management company of Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles Youth Football Camps. 

“I Won’t Cheat!” --A Little League Life Skill Campaign that Scores.

Bears Youth Camp running back

Our youth football camp coaches constantly state, “Don’t cheat yourself!”  We say it before camp, during camp and at the final whistle.

What do they mean?

*Come mentally and physically prepared to get the most out of the camp day.

*Get enough sleep before the day.

*Eat a proper breakfast.

*Think about what you want to accomplish.
*Leave your problems behind and enjoy the moment.

*Run out every play and give a 100% effort.

*Do things the right way.

Talk about a simple sports lesson that translates to true life skills!  Consider NCAA football team violations, baseball players using steroids, golfer Tiger Woods, skater Tonya Harding and sprinter Ben Johnson.    Then consider any coworkers, friends and family members that cheat their way through life.   They take shortcuts, sandbag and use smoke and mirrors.  But everyone knows the difference.

It makes me think everyone should be required to play team sports while growing up.  It’s the best platform for learning how to compete with integrity.  Note:  I said “team sports” as I believe the environment is much more conducive to competitive integrity than most individual sports (golf excluded).  

While many more cheat without getting caught, I suspect that every perpetrator big and small has significant regrets and would do things much differently if given the chance.   We all make mistakes and fall to temptations of easy success and quick adoration.   Nobody is completely innocent. 

Pro Sports Experience tips its cap to Little League Baseball and their “I Won’t Cheat” jersey patch campaign.  It’s a sharp message that is a more valuable takeaway than football skills or baseball skills. 

More on the Subject

Little League’s Simple Pledge to a Better Future

15 Greatest Sports Cheats of All Time

Tom Finks

Pro Sports Experience, LLC

Pro Sports Experience is the official management company of Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles Youth Football Camps.  

Have Youth Sports Parents Lost All Perspective?

You might laugh or you might cry.  Either way, ESPN Writer Tim Keown throws at tight spiral at youth sports and its escalation over the years. 

My favorite lines from his article "Where the 'elite' kids shouldn't meet," include...

"Waving the prospect of "travel ball" under the nose of the ambitious father of a talented 9-year-old is like wafting a steak under the nose of a sleeping dog."

"We're left with the following walk-off quote from our coach: 'Some parents claim they're the best team in [the county]. I must agree with them.' "

"We're nearing the point in youth sports where we need to stop the "elite" and "select" madness because we're raising a generation with too much self-esteem. They can't handle failure because they've been conditioned to believe they're too good to fail."

Personally, it's good to be in the youth football camp business (as opposed to leagues) because we have far fewer external issues to face.

Tom Finks
Pro Sports Experience, LLC
Official Management Company of Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles Youth Football Camps.

Football Tackling Skill: Put Aside Pride for Safety

Our non-contact NFL youth football camps teach form or fit blocking and tackling techniques to prepare kids for the tackle game. 

Equally important is the need for coaches to be prepared for their season so they may provide proper and safe instruction.  

The internet is loaded with a variety of tackling instruction videos.  A good series comes from USA Football.

Youth football coaches and parents--be sure to check out their Introduction to Tacklng Video and help assure your players are doing it right.

Tom Finks
Pro Sports Experience for Kids
Management Company for Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles Youth Football Camps. 

Win $10,000 for Your School, Friday September 9

If your school loves the NFL and needs a financial boost for health and wellness programs, enter the Back to Football Friday program from NFL Play 60.

Schools are encouraged to show off their love for NFL Football on Friday, September 9.

34 winning schools will receive an NFL team celebration and a $10,000 NFL Play 60 health and wellness grant. 

http://www.nflrush.com/BackToFootball

The Most Iconic Figures in NFL Football

Close your eyes and think of the NFL's most iconic figure.   What do you see?   Vince Lombardi?  George Halas?  Dick Butkus?  Bronko Nagurski?  Jim Brown?  Joe Montana?  Walter Payton?

Suprising, many 40-somethings will mention John Facenda.   John Facenda was the voice of NFL Films.  Combined with the great writing, his narrative provided the perfect sound to the world's greatest game.

What NFL figure(s) do youth football players admire most today? 


 

Youth Football Camps Score on Mother Nature

New York Giants Youth Football Camps

You can’t beat Mother Nature. But Pro Sports Experience Youth Football Camps were able to score lots of points against her and her repressive heat this summer.

 “We plan for situations like this.” says Tom Finks, Executive Director for four NFL teams and their Youth Football Camp initiatives. “We acquire full service facilities so we can operate indoors and keep the kids safe. We hire highly qualified staff, including a Certified Athletic Trainer for each camp. And most important, we change the program so we operate safely but the kids still have a productive football experience.”

Finks concedes that it is tougher to have a wildly successful camp under such conditions. “No question that everyone gets fatigued a little faster. But the kids and parents have been great. They understand that our program must be altered and they appreciate the measures we take.”

Instruction and football competition were front-loaded in the “cooler” morning hours. Interactive class room games such as Eat Like a Pro, The Franchise, Chief Scout and Playmaker were huge hits and kept the kids engaged and cool.

“If we did play football in the afternoon, it was brief and hydration breaks were taken every 5 to 10 minutes,” say Finks. “We had hoses and sprinklers going and the kids loved it. We still had to cut things short and take water breaks because sometimes the kids don’t know when to stop.”

The hot weather also gives coaches a great teaching platform. While they would prefer cooler weather, it becomes much easier to teach the kids about hydration when it’s so easy to break a sweat.
“Hydration becomes part of the conversation. They go home talking about the importance,” says Finks. “It’s something they will always remember and a good life lesson.”

Recently, the American Society of Pediatrics developed new guidelines to protect children from the oppressive heat wave that has overtaken much of the United States.

Chicago Bears Youth Football Camps, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles Youth Football Camps are managed by Pro Sports Experience of Chicago, IL. Learn more about these camps at http://www.prosportsexperience.com/

Caution: Teaching Moments with Golf Cart Crashes

In sort of a lightweight but effective way, this video compiliation of golf cart accidents may demonstrate to your kids that you better be careful when operating the carts.

Reckless behavior can lead to serious accidents.