Category: Agents/Trainers/Misc.

Matt Whittier, President, O-D Life Sports:

First, can you tell readers about Offense-Defense, how it got started and who you work with?

Offense-Defense Sports got its start 45 years ago with a single camp in Putney, Vermont, of all places. My Father, Rick, and I, both always heavily involved in sports, saw how great a product and service the company was providing and purchased it 15 years ago in order to expand its reach nationwide and bring our great instruction both on the field with football and off the field, life skills-wise, to young athletes all across the country. We have a tight, dedicated staff at our headquarters in Myrtle Beach year-round and we work with thousands of prominent high school, collegiate, and NFL coaches and players during our busiest phases of the Summer.

I could name them all but you’d run out of ink!  But we’ve taken it from the one camp location 15 years ago to the 100+ locations we’re helping athletes in now.

 How do kids sign up and how does this football camp differ from others around the country?

We offer a lot of the traditional methods of registration. Campers can register through our website (//www.o-d.com/), by phone, or even by mail. In addition, we take a grass roots approach to getting out to communities in person and holding meetings with youth groups and leagues where they can hear us talk about the camp face-to-face and collect signups in person.  All campers must enroll in advance, well in advance in many of our locations, simply due to lack of space provided in dorms, cafeteria, field space, etc. 

Not all kids/athletes are the same in terms of their physical and psychological “make-up” – how do you address each athlete as an individual versus a one-size-fits-all approach to training?

 That’s a great question and a real big part of how we deliver our multi-faceted training. The first day of each one of our camps is generally reserved for non-contact drills where our coaches are able to evaluate each camper in a lower pressure environment. We’re able to get a gauge of every athlete’s size and demeanor as well as their athletic ability and position-specific skill-set. From there, we spend that evening’s planning session placing campers in appropriate groups of their TRUE peers – other athletes who fit the same personality, age, size, and skill attribute categories.  

It’s a great way to have campers not only make friends and improve at a proper pace, but it also instills confidence when you have a less talented athlete not getting his doors blown off by an All-American caliber camper. Each athlete is able to experience success and believe in themselves as well as become a better football player. We feel this provides a great foundation for future success.

A number of Steelers have come through your camps – Roethlisberger, Timmons, Porter, Will Allen….Any fun memories of those guys?

There was a time with Big Ben at our Pittsburgh camp where he was on the field helping not only supervise but also coach some of the kids. Our guys were really going at it! On one particular play a talented young ‘baller was headed downfield like a 10 year old Barry Sanders,  full head of steam and met a determined linebacker, James Harrison style, who made an amazing open field hit to separate this little monster from the ball. Both jumped up, showed the necessary “O-D Love” of respect, and Ben jumped in the air celebrating just as much if not more than the other kids!

You could tell he was not only excited to be there, but also genuinely interested and invested in our young players’ success.

Though he didnt work out as Pitt hoped, Kendrell Bell also came his 2^nd season and was just a big kid.  They’re all big kids to some gree, but he was always cheesin’ and hamming it up pretty good.

Mark Breuner, he’s out in the Seattle area watching his girls play lacrosse, but he’s become a very dear friend of mine…..and the list goes on…

Who were some of the more memorable athletes you’ve worked with – what made them so?

Cam Newton got a real bad rap while he was in college. Completely undeserved. We had him at our inaugural All-American Bowl where he took home MVP honors and we knew he was going to be something special. Before his amazing year at Auburn, he volunteered to come to camp in Atlanta and talk about some of the experiences he had, good and bad, and stressed the importance of making good decisions, learning from your mistakes (or hopefully even BEFORE you make them!), and how the O-D experience and exposure helped kick off his career. He’s a remarkable, intelligent, and caring young man.

Steve Smith has been a really special presence at some of our camps in the past as well. He never advertised the fact, so I hope he doesn’t mind me doing so now, but at each camp he’s been at he’s purchased merchandise from our on-campus store for EVERY single camper at our camp…thousands of dollars worth each time. He’s one-in-a-million.

Nate Newton of course had a pretty troubled time after he retired from the game. He’s another great example of a guy that likes to give back by coming to camp and talking to the kids honestly about the mistakes he’s made and how to avoid them. Further than that, Big Nate felt our instructional mission and his message were important enough that he would also tour with us, hitting upwards of 10 camps a Summer and serving as a super counselor of sorts. I guess we should actually call him Little Nate now…he’s lost 170 lbs! 

How do you work with kids on making good off-field decisions as well?

Obviously we have a limited time at each location to speak with our campers. That isn’t to say that we don’t try! Through a combination of O-D Staff…our coaches, pro players, etc…we’ll take time to speak to our athletes about making the right choices in life. We stress the importance of respect, community, family, and school and how a good foundation in each of these areas will most likely lead to success and happiness the rest of their lives. Recently, we set up a social networking site called OD4Life (od4life.com) where our campers can stay connected with each other and with us, even when they’re away from camp. They can talk about their game, their life, their troubles and successes…really, whatever they want!

With all their peers and our staff in the same place, it offers a great way for everyone to stay connected and enlist even a larger group for problem solving and guidance via crowd-sourcing. At its most basic, players can perform well on the field if they aren’t taking care of things off the field. It’s in everyone’s best interest to help out and we try to do that as best we can!

This will be the 6th year of the O-D All American Bowl – can you tell readers more about this – where its held and who is invited to play – is this a forum for recruiters?

Every year we take a long hard look at the best high school players in the country. We go over film, scouting reports, and rely on our own two eyeballs to make an assessment and invite the top 88 seniors to our game. Our game was the last ever football game played at the Orange Bowl and recently we’ve been holding games right here in our headquarters city of Myrtle Beach. This year is very special and exciting for us as we’ll be having the game in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. Each of these games have been broadcast on national television. Over time, the game has grown into a week long festival, really.

We’ve started inviting youth players ages 7-17 to participate in the Youth All-American Bowl, now entering its third year, and high school players not quite ready for the televised game this year get to partake in the first ever Junior All-American contest. There’s a Coaches Convention packed with clinics for all positions and coaching levels, and also a National Tournament of full youth teams that come from far and awaide to. All-in-all, it’s a happening. And of course, recruiters are able to and DO attend…as well as look over footage from our practices and the game both on Nationally TV and O-DTV.com, which is broadcast 24 hours a day, the entire week…..and with the 382 current players in the NFL that are O-D Alum, as well as countless players playing D-1 ball, you never know what friends are  going to swing by!

How do you prepare kids for the college game and life – where film study, educational and social pressures are much greater?

The past few years have seen us start up our O-DLife service which provides counseling and guidance to athletes of ALL ages…but particularly those just encountering the pressures and environment of the collegiate world. We found that in the vast majority of situations, athletes either weren’t shown or didn’t take seriously the risks and stories of those that came before them and encountered difficulties. An overwhelming sense of “It can’t happen to me” is everywhere.

We try to stress that these pitfalls – shady agents, money handshakes, and other extracurricular distractions – are far more prevalent that a lot of people might expect. We make sure to go over the rules with the athletes we’re helping…tell them what they can expect if they break those rules…and how best to keep their nose clean, stay straight, and fly right. It tends to resonate when athletes are being advised by people they know and have trusted for years…sometimes over a decade!

You still work with alumni, offering consulting, PR and financial services. Do you work with any Steelers – if so, how? 

At O-DLife.com we work with about 4,800 active and retired players, so of course there are a lot of Steelers mixed in.  Levon Kirkland and Dermontii are huge advocates of O-D, Terry Bradshaw called about two weeks ago and asked if we’d be on his TV show down in the Louisiana area, of course Timmons lives very close to our Headquarters in Myrtle Beach, so yes, we’re pretty active with the guys. 

Whether active or retired, regardless of team, they respect that we arent agents or salesmen trying to get in their pockets, we’re not full-time coaches operating just to make some money for the lower paid coaching staff members, not gym teachers looking for a summer job; we are 24/7/365 aimed at improving players on an individual basis, and also helping those active and retired guys in need.  With the development of OFF field focused O-DforLife.com and its progression into O-DLife.com, we are already having an impact on these athletes understanding non-football necessities like family roles and responsibilities, to goal-setting, community involvement and a heck of a lot more. 

We’re very proud and encouraged with the strides we’ve made in our mission to decrease the divorce rate, avoid bankruptcy and any legal issues we’ve helped prevent.
 
Do any Steelers or other players come to the camp to visit/encourage the next generation of players? 

Absolutely….we are pretty particular about who we have around the kids, some players just dont “get it” why they are there.  These guys are bigger than life on TV so for a camper to see this person in the flesh can be very positive. At the same time, if this player is the introvert, who’s on his cell texting away, and watching the clock, the kids see that and it can deflate them somewhat.  

That’s of course the opposite of what we aim to do, of course, so I’d rather have no pro player there at all than someone that isn’t going to interact with the kids an a 100% positive way.  Sometimes parents don’t understand that, but they realize the methods to our madness when their kids get hope and start pancaking and schooling the kids that didnt attend O-D. 

In addition, every camp we operate is stacked w/ NFL coaches….these are the people at camp who the kids really benefit from.  Tom Moore, Colts ex-OC, and handpicked by Archie why Peyton was to land with Colts, has been the Head Coach of our camps for 42 of our 45 years.  Actually Tom won 3 SuperBowls with Pittsburgh in the 70’s, he also coached Barry Sanders, again Peyton, another SuperBowl with ther Colts, the guys an offensive mastermind, but he also knows how to relate a curriculum involving full-contact to our 3000+ camp coaches nationwide that will best benefit them.  Tom and about 50 other O-D Coaches help us fine-tune our curriculum in a huge weekend meeting we have a few months before the camp season starts. 

They also respect how much we care about the product we are giving the kids, so in turn, they make sure every coach on their particular camp staff understands how serious we are and how he better treat his role the exact same, whether he’s coaching a 6 year old or an 18 year old.
 
What do you find is the biggest adjustment for players who enter the NFL, and how do you help them overcome those challenges? 

Its very similar to the transition they have to make from HS to College mentally.  Deciding on a college isn’t easy, and picking an agent is a downright dreadful process.  I, personally have negotiated w/ just about every agency in existence for one thing or another, and these guys wake up in the morning wondering who and how they are going to take advantage of people.  Fortunately there ARE some honorable, relaiable, trustworthy guys in the industry that we simply let our kids know about when they are making that jump to the league.  So mentally there are those stressful decisions that they have to take very seriously.

Physically the jump from college to the pro’s is normally summed up in one word; Speed.  Guys are getting bigger, faster and stronger every year and there’s no grace period to catch up.  You either arrive physically prepared or you better be prepared to find other employment.  On top of it, that playbook you better know like the back of your hand.  That involves intelligence and efforts that some guys just arent use to. 

Then there’s the pocket full of new money that many aren’t use to having, so that have to be on their toes intelligence-wise there as well because the average NFL career being 3.4 years they better not take that pocketful for granted or they’ll find themselves in tough shape, going from the top of the mountain to the dregs of the valley very quickly.

You might expect athletes who’ve made it so far to have the hardest parts of their journey behind them. It’s true in SOME ways…financial temptation doesn’t tend to be as big of a problem. For one, these players are now ALLOWED to make money and for another, their first contracts are likely to include more money than they’ve ever seen before. Still, it’s a big jump from the college game to the professional and the pitfalls that DO exist are likely to be more damaging in the long haul.

For one, a lot of players still believe themselves to be invincible. They think they’re going to be earning big money paydays in the league for 15 or 20 years when the stark reality is much, much different. We try to get them to look at the big picture as far as building a nest egg right away and making sure they maintain or build further their commitments to family so bonds form that are much harder to damage and the money is there if and when they need it in the future.

Some statistics are pretty depressing, particularly those that pertain to divorce, bankruptcy, and even mortality rates as players leave the league…a majority less than 6 or 7 years after they entered it. We’re just trying to do our part to make sure those statistics improve and in the best cases, stop these young men from becoming statistics in the first place.

Warren Anderson, President – Rehab Plus/Makeplays.com (April 1,  2011):

First, can you let readers know how you got started in sports training and offer any advice for those that would like to do the same?

To make a long story short, I was coaching in the old USFL, starting in 1983 with the Chicago Blitz and Hall of Fame coach George Allen, the next year they moved our franchise to Arizona.  In 1985 we became the Arizona Outlaws and were coached by Western PA native and ex-Arizona State coach Frank Kush.  

When the league went under in 1985 I started working in physical therapy with Coach Kush’s brother Steve.  At the same time Coach Allen’s son Bruce became a sports agent and I began working with him as well.  Bruce (currently the GM with the Washington Redskins) and I started the first NFL combine training camp in 1985 as a way to add a competitive advantage for agent services.  We kind of merged all our services into a physical therapy/sports training facility and moved forward.  In 1988  I opened my own
physical therapy/sports training facility, and we’ve grown and diversified over the years.

You focus a lot on combine training for players looking to get into the NFL. While so much emphasis is on physical training, how do you prepare players mentally for the litany of Questions and pressures that occur at the combine and in the NFL?

The combine was originally created to bring the top prospects together at one spot and conduct medical exams and physicals.  It quickly morphed into all the physical testing, i.e. “measurables” and interviews and position drills. etc.  

Today the combine is another venue for the league to broadcast, hype, “sell their product”.   That being said, for most coaches and gm’s the combine is their first opportunity to see the new prospects “on the hoof”, get to meet with them, watch them move around and do some athletic things.  Still today, the medical exams remain one of the most important aspects of the combine.

The interview process has taken on added importance and most prospects will be well versed on this component as well as the physical testing component.  The combine is an intense, pressure filled event for the players, and, given these circumstances, allows teams to observe how the player handles the environment.  We just want to have our players thoroughly prepared for every component and understand they may have to “adjust on the run”.  

For example if a team wants to send a player off for an MRI it may alter his schedule some, and the player has to adapt to that.  We like to use the adage “be intense but not tense” when dealing with all the pressures of the combine.

Do players often find the mental aspect of the game and combine more difficult than the physical demands of the game, in your opinion? How do you work with them to improve their mental approach to the game? What techniques do you use?

In regards to the combine, the mental pressures are definitely more of a concern to players.  

Candidly, most of the players in this era have been doing all the “measurables” since they were attending high school combines.  The tests like the short shuttle and 3 cone are learned skills that aren’t that difficult.  Speed can be improved, but at the end of the day, the evaluations are going to go back to game tape.  

The evaluation BEGINS with the tape and ENDS with the tape, all the other things help fill in the blanks.  In my opinion, one of the biggest misconception players have is that if they blow away all the combine tests they’re going to be a high pick.  We’ve had kids call us before the season wanting to know about getting ready for the combine, we just tell them they better worry about making plays on the field because that is going to get them drafted well before what they look like running around in their underwear.

Continuing on with preparing players mentally/psychologically for the NFL game and combine – how much do you alter your techniques and approach depending on the position an athlete plays- and how so?

In recent years, more facilities and agents are bringing in position coaches to work with prospects preparing for the draft.  In my opinion, this is one of the smartest thing a young prospect can have available to him.

After the draft, all these rookies are going to have to perform on the field, and understand it is their ability to make plays and DO THEIR JOB that coaches care about.   We’re very fortunate to work with some great coaches.  

Rod Dowhower, who was an OC and QB coach for 25 years in the NFL, is unbelievably good in working with young QBs.  An old Pittsburgh Steeler, Andre Hastings, works with wide receivers.  Dre is a wealth of knowledge that is put from a players perspective.  Dre has no patience for anything less than 100% and he’ll let them know.  

Doug Plank, a Western PA guy who played with the Chicago Bears ( the 46 defense was named after him) and has coached most recently with the Jets, is fabulous with secondary players.  Position coaches like this can prepare the player for what he will incur at the combine, but more importantly, have an understanding of what it takes to play in the National Football League.

What do you find are the biggest misperceptions most of these players have when they first start working with you?

As I stated earlier, I think the biggest misconception is that how they perform in the “measurables” will make or break their draft status.  Especially offensive lineman.  We always use the saying “you gotta know who you are”.  

A kid with a late round or free agent grade, for example, has to understand that the measurables may have more relevance to him because, if he tests well it is an impetus to go back and look at some more tape,  Again, the game tape is the critical factor.

What’s the toughest adjustment for college players coming into the NFL – both physically and psychologically?

In my opinion, the biggest adjustment for young guys is to understand the National Football League is all business.  “No more marching bands or cheeleaders”.  

You better have a thorough understanding going in you are trying to take someone’s job and livelihood away from them and the body of work you produce on a daily basis will be evaluated and scrutinized.  I think the complexity of the NFL game is different for some players, and they have to understand they must have the ability to process information quickly then translate that information into physical execution.  

The length of the season is tough on young guys too, when they’re used to their college season ending, the NFL is just starting to kick into high gear.  

Is there a worry on your part that the pre-combine preparation you give to players won’t “stick” once their training with you ends? How do you help prevent that from happening?

Working with prospects prior to the draft, you just try and educate them on the process.  From bowl games (senior bowl, etc.) to the combine, to pro day, to visits with teams, to the draft, then you get to your team and the real work starts.  

You better keep yourself in great physical condition all the way through, keep working on your skills, until you get to a team.  The team you end up with will train you and coach you the way they see fit.  

Have you worked with athletes that are resistant to the process or your specific techniques? How do you handle those circumstances if so?

Through the years we really haven’t had any players that were resistant to anything.   All the kids we’ve been fortunate enough to work with just want to get better and insure themselves they’ve done everything possible to give themselves the best chance to play in the National Football League.

What do you think would surprise readers most about the athletes and pre-combine process?

With the NFL Network and all the media coverage I don’t know if too much would surprise your readers.  

One thing I have found kind of disturbing is some players go to facilities with the sole purpose of improving their 40 or whatever, and neglect their position skill work.  We’ve had a number of quarterbacks in recent years, and quarterbacks are basically evaluated on their ability to throw the football effectively.  

Especially with QB’s who have played in a spread type offense, their ability to learn the proper footwork in the 3,5,7 step drops, for example, are of much more relevance than what their broad jump, for example, is.

For Pittsburgh fans here – have you worked with any Pitt players and/or players that have gone on to become Steelers? If so, who, and without getting into any issues of confidentiality, how were they to work with?

We have a long and very fond relationship with Pittsburgh.  

Starting back in the 80’s we had Pitt players like Tony Woods (DE), Craig “Ironhead” Heyward (RB), Alex Van Pelt (QB) , Bob Buckowski (DE) to name a few.  One of my real good buddies is Eric Metz who is from Monroeville and is a prominent NFL agent.  

I mentioned Andre Hastings, former Steeler WR who resides out here in Phoenix and helps us out with football training.  Dre also has a real successful dog training business which is really his passion.  Back in 2001 we worked a project at UPMC in conjunction with SFX sports to do some combine training.  That was a ton of fun and we had some good players in Pittsburgh training with us, Deuce McAllister , Justin Smith, Chris Chambers, Matt Light to name a few.  

Brett Kiesel who presently plays with the Steelers trained with us.  What a great guy.  Brett had a great story coming out, you just knew he was a tough guy that wouldn’t be denied, plus he had really good athletic ability.  Jeff Otah who played at Pitt and is currently with the Carolina Panthers is out here in Phoenix rehabbing a shoulder with us.  Jeff is getting in a ton of strength and conditioning work at the same time.  He’s working real hard and looking forward to getting back on the field next year.  

On a sad note, one of my good buddies was Tony Brown, who played OT at Pitt in the 80’s.  Tony passed away from cancer last June.  He was one of a kind.  

Last thoughts?  

Young high school players keep working on your skill sets as well as your strength,speed, re-direction skills, etc.  Be an athlete.  And if you’d like, feel free to drop a note to our website: www.makeplays.com.  

Thanks Ron.

Marty Fischman, NFLPA Certified Contract Advisor

First, can you walk readers through how and why you became an agent and offer advice for any who would wish to do the same?

I became an agent for several reasons.  At a very early age, I decided that I wanted a job that allowed me to combine my passion for the game of football and my passion for helping people.  Over the years, the more I began to learn and grow as a person, the more certain I became that representing athletes was my calling.

There really is no sure-fire way to become an agent.  In 2009, I earned a J.D. and a certificate in Sports Law from Tulane University Law School, and formed the sports agency Fischman & Smith Sports.  In 2010, I became a licensed contract-advisor with the NFLPA, and partnered Fischman & Smith Sports with Dynasty Athlete Representation.    

For those who wish to become an agent, I would definitely recommend law school.  While law school certainly does not prepare a future agent for the day-to-day activities of the trade, it provides a great educational background for anyone wishing to negotiate player contracts.  

In addition to law school, I would recommend finding work experience.  The summer after my first year of law school, I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to work for the now defunct sports agency, Executive Sports Management (ESM).  ESM represented over 50 collegiate coaches and a handful of NFL and CFL coaches.  Although I did not get experience in representing players, my role in reviewing contracts, marketing clients to potential job openings and observing contract negotiations, provided me with a great experience as to what the day-to-day business of a sports agent entails.

If you are unable to find work with a sports agency or a law firm representing athletes you are not out of luck.  I think a huge benefit to anyone wishing to become an agent would be to work with a players’ union, league office or a professional team.

How do you decide on who to target to represent and do you ever turn players away? If so,  for what reasons?

Thus far in my young career, I have been fortunate to have represented players that were referred to me through mutual friends. However, my partners and I have compiled lists of potential prospects in our respective states, cities, universities, etc., whom we feel would be good targets to approach about representation.  

Occasionally, I am forced to turn players away.  I turn players away if their request for representation comes at a time that would be deleterious to my fiduciary duties to my other clients (such as weeks before the draft).  I also turn players away if their resume/body of work indicates they have no realistic chance of being signed to a professional sports team.  

There are some athletes that believe if they have an agent, they will sign with a team.  If that were the case, everyone in my flag football league would have an agent!

How are the CBA negotiations affecting you – what worries you most about what a new agreement could entail?

The suit against the NFL is affecting me in that I am now required to advise clients about the unknown.  I am representing two clients in this year’s draft, and both are likely to go undrafted.  I had a client ask me today if we could find other job opportunities for him if there is no season. While sending guys to the CFL seems like a viable option, CFL player contracts are minimum 2 yr deals, so signing a CFL contract could thwart a kid’s chances of having an opportunity to play in the NFL.

What are the biggest misperceptions most players have when entering the contract negotiation process  – especially as rookies?

That they have finally “made it.”  Guys haven’t made it just by signing an NFL contract.  It is very rare to see a contract where every component is “fully guaranteed for skill, injury and cap.”

Other than the first round guys, the only component of a drafted player’s contract that is guaranteed is his signing bonus.  For most rookies, they will have to earn every cent of their contract.  Unlike in other pro other sports, an NFL player’s contract is not guaranteed (unless otherwise stated) and can be terminated at the team’s whim.

How do you prepare rookies for the pro game – and for life after college?

Sometimes, the combine training facility will have psychologists and former players to serve as mentors, but some facilities we have used do not have those amenities. Additionally, I try to serve as a mentor for my clients, by stressing the importance of staying out of harm’s way and focusing on the goal of making it into the NFL.

I remind clients all the time that they are entering one of the toughest job markets in the world.  In order to earn a job playing football in the NFL, they must make the necessary sacrifices.

I urge all of my clients to get their degrees, even if it requires them to go back to school in the offseason.  I also help them with non-football resumes in the event that their football careers do not last as long as anticipated.

With more and more of players’ personal lives – especially legal issues – becoming public, how do you prepare players to protect themselves from these situations and has that become a bigger part of your player preparation?

For the same reasons I’ve mentioned above, I prepare players by showing them real-life examples of how current and former players have screwed up their finances and in some cases, their careers, by making poor off-the –field decisions. I urge our clients not to post anything on twitter or facebook that is lewd or could be misinterpreted.

Can you give a quick run-through on how a standard contract negotiation/process would work in the NFL?

For rookies, most agents wait at least til the pick in front of them signs. Once that happens the negotiation for the agent generally goes much easier. A team gives an original offer, followed by an agent’s counter-offer, and it goes back in forth until the two sides reach agreement.

However, because each team is limited by its rookie pool number, the negotiation process for an agent does not always become easier even if the picks both directly in front of and in back of their client have signed.

Regarding veteran contracts, the market value is usually clearly established although there are some cases where an agent has inflated their client’s market value to such an extent that he ends up having to take less than what his client’s true market value probably was had he not inflated his market value in the first place.

Do you represent any Steelers players (or have you in the past)? If so, can you let us know which players?

I have not.

What tends to be the most frustrating part of the job?

1) When a player screws up off the field and decreases his market value to teams. 2) When teams pass on a client that you believe has the ability to play in the NFL.

Trevor Moawad, IMG Performance Institute (April 20,  2011):

First, can you tell readers how you got started at IMG training players for the combine and NFL?

Actually, combine training got started here in Bradenton. IMG has been here since 1987. Tom Condon and Ken Kramer decided in the late 80’s that they wanted to send their NFL prospects to train before the combine to improve their draft status – it was like Kaplan for the SATs.

Before then athletes just trained at their respective colleges with their strength coaches. Tom figured that training before the combine would help players get drafted higher in the draft. It’s a pretty new thing.

We trained guys like Charlie Batch and Pennington and as success grew for all of these trained players other agents were forced to do the same thing and the facilities sprouted up in many other places.

A lot of the training focus in readers’ minds is on the physical side – can you tell readers how you prepare players for the psychological rigors of the combine and NFL?

The combine gets lots of press for the physical measurements, but the majority of the combine is about the Players’ mental states. We train them specifically and heavily on expanding their awareness. Anxiety comes from what you don’t know, so we make them aware of the process and give them techniques like positive visualization.

The combine is a marathon – not a sprint. Pressure comes when players feel the demands on them exceed the resources they have to survive those demands. We provide them with the strategies they need.

What are some of the strategies teams use to test players psychological makeup?

Well, here’s a good example. One NFL team I know will make the whole interview room dark except for one light behind the coach who stands in the middle of the room, in front of the player who is seated. The coach is silhouetted by the light and he and everyone surrounding the player will shoot questions at the player as he sits in the dark.

Typically, coaches will have every mistake a player has made over their college career in front of them during interviews and will ask the player to explain their mistakes and dissect their playbooks.

What are some of your best memories to date in the combine training process?

A good time was watching Heath Miller, Alex Smith and Chris Spencer singing Jimmy Buffet songs at karaoke with Miller playing guitar. It was a classic moment. Miller was a special guy. A real great character guy.

Guys develop fellowships here. And another great memory is of Boston College’s Mark Herzlich who is training here. Watching him after his battles with cancer was a privilege. He inspired and motivated everyone – here’s A guy that was minutes from losing a leg and not playing football.

I hope teams are smart enough to draft him early. He’d be a perfect fit in Pittsburgh with his attitude.

Other fun memories are the cross-disciplinary trainings – Brees playing tennis with Maria Sharapova. Eli Manning playing soccer with Freddy Adu.

And there was no better guy than Byron Leftwich. He’s a world class character – great with young athletes and helping out in training them. His appreciation for our help in getting him drafted #7 was sincere and generous.

How has the NFL changed over the years?

Players need to be more well-rounded – especially in Goodell’s NFL. They have to be intelligent and good citizens.

Miller and Batch have been here and were great citizens, Teams are not looking for perfect people- in fact, some teams like players that made mistakes early in their careers – as long as they proved they learned from them.

Matt Jones is a good example. No one touched him after a 70+ catch season.  With Goodell more willing to suspend players, teams are more at risk.

Draft mistakes don’t just affect the players – front office staff and coaches lose jobs because of bad picks. Look at Beathard…. So drafting players that are suspension risks are greater risks for teams now.

How do you work with players on character issues?

We now have more ways to indicate and predict whether players are red flag characters. Our Combine 360 Tools test players in all aspects to flush out all weaknesses and improve players on all levels.

Some players may resist tests – but they are outliers. They know that check-in here at 6:30 am means being there at 6:30.

What are the biggest misperceptions players carry into the process?

Players don’t always realize that you can improve dramatically by improving technique. The science behind the whole process like vision training and improvisational games make a big difference. The amount of areas they can train in and how much they can improve surprises players.

We sent 18 guys to the combine – it’s like training them for the Navy Seals. We’re teaching them to be good
pros – not just improve their combine performances.

That’s an important distinction – how do you train them to be better NFL players – not just improve for the combine?

We get players ready for the NFL.

As an athlete, there are specific physical attributes the combine measures – speed, power, acceleration, etc.

But we show them – educate them – on how it all relates and applies. What are the common denominators of successful players? That’s more than just tests and getting players ready for the combine. We have lots of  former players that help as well. We show them videos of what’s worked and hasn’t, teach them to have a plan, to be good characters. It’s not just about physical tests.

It’s also about perspective. Martin Grammatica once said to me that he wished every player would be forced to take one year off to appreciate the game and what it takes to succeed.

How do you teach attributes that to some seem like intrinsic values?

But they aren’t intrinsic. You can educate and instill values. Showing up on time and being positive are choices players make. We teach them techniques to help them do so. These can be taught.

Lot’s of players come from tough backgrounds – single mothers and the rest of it. But that’s not an excuse not to do the right thing. A lot of what we teach is about cause and effect. Of physical training decisions and social decisions. It’s all about educating them on the big picture.

How do you help players after they get drafted?

We stay connected to many players by phone, text etc. We’ll provide meals for some, send mental coaches to them for 2-3 games a year, send strength coaches to them during the season as well.

With the lockout, more players will visit us in the offseason. I’m expecting that players get more flexibility in the new CBA to do what they want in the offseason and train where they want to. The OTAs are not really voluntary – the players won’t be stuck at the team facilities in the new agreement where they have just 3 or so strength coaches for 85 players.

The lockout is worrisome because most players won’t come out to facilities like ours during the lockout and won’t stay in good enough shape or stay out of trouble.

It’s no coincidence that 1982 and 1987 were the two years in the NFL that had the highest % of injuries – they were lockout seasons.

What would surprise readers most about the combine and training process?

Really, the level of analysis – how thorough it is. Background checks are very detailed – high school coaches and friends are interviewed.

Also, just the intensity of the psychological tests and the importance of vision testing and anxiety measurement.

Any last thoughts for readers?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Really. I remember spending time with Pittsburgh’s Mike Wallace. Not everyone liked Wallace but I thought, what a great kid. I’m not surprised at his success.

Some guys are just late bloomers. Colleges don’t usually have time to develop talent like we can and the NFL staffs can. Good coaching and training can help being out that talent with focused attention these guys don’t get in college.

First, can you walk readers through how and why you became an agent and offer advice for any who would wish to do the same?

Sports led me into wrestling and football-strong arms, strong back, weak mind. With that agent thing, I took a wrong turn early on and kept on going.

Are you still involved in any way with the school you played college football at – the University of Pittsburgh? What do you think of the state of their program and the new head coach?

I thought the handling of the firing of Dave Wannstedt-a former teammate and friend—was an embarrassment and disaster. I met the new coach briefly at the Dapper Dan Banquet and he seemed like a first class guy.

Continue reading “Ralph Cindrich”

Leigh Steinberg (September 10,  2011)

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First, can you tell readers how you got started as a sports agent and the biggest  misperception some have about sports agents

Back in 1975 there wasn’t an established field of sports representation, it was more like the Wild Wild West. The right of representation in the NFL was not guaranteed until the 1977 Collective Bargaining Agreement and executives like Mike Brown of the Bengals would say “we don’t deal with agents” and hang up the phone.

I was attending law school at the University of California at Berkeley in the early 1970’s and working my way through school as a dorm counselor in an undergraduate dormitory. They moved the freshman football team into the dorm one year and one of the students was Steve Bartkowski, quarterback on the team, who went on to be selected as the first player in the first round of the 1975 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons.

Continue reading “Leigh Steinberg”