Doing what it takes to get to the ‘Next Level’

Sometimes parents and young athletes take the time they have for granted. Most believe that the time to prepare for the next level of competition is light years away and not even worth the consideration of preparing for. If you are playing at the Jr. High level of football and not preparing for each season, then nationally you are already behind the eight ball. In order for any University to really take a considerable look at you, as an athlete, going into High School you need to be ready to compete at the highest level your first year going in. Especially in the state of Utah where  most High Schools within the state only have three years of eligibility to play football. The majority of High Schools in the country have four years of eligibility to play football which gives those less developed athletes a year to get better and be coached up at that level. The majority of parents and players fail to come to the realizations that they are competing with young athletes across nation and not just the ones in their state. This means in order for a young athlete to move on to the next level he or she will need to be at the top in 3 key areas.

CORE GPA

Top Athlete in State & Local area

Exposure

If a young athlete is not already focusing in on these 3 key areas, he or she is already behind the rest of the nation. It is important for all young athletes to understand that these areas will make the difference in moving on to the next level of competition. All young athletes who want to move on need to understand that your CORE GPA in school is the most important key to success. Athletes in general have a hard time understanding that you are a student first and then an athlete second. The thing that makes a Student-Athlete so great and special is that he or she can go to school like every other student on campus and then put in the extra time and effort to compete at the highest level of their sport. Hit the books as hard as you hit the field!  

To go along with your CORE GPA all athletes who wish to move on to the next level need to be at the top of their game. In order for a University to give you the opportunity to go to school a young athlete needs to prove that they are worth it. Each young athlete is compared on a ‘Recruiting Board’ that is comprised of athletes all across the nation year around. So in order for a young athlete to even be placed on that board he or she will simply need to produce a High School playing career that is worth looking at. Also most parents believe that the only way their young athlete can get a college scholarship is if their young athlete is the star running back or quarterback. That is simply false. Universities give out scholarships for every position on the football field and in some can also offer ‘academic scholarship’. Skilled athletes who are FUNDAMENTALLY SOUND and have great TECHNIQUE can receive scholarship just as easily as the star quarterback Johnny.

With all that being said the key area were everyone fails at is EXPOSURE. In this day in age, young athletes need to be exposed to the markets that they want to be in. If they are not, then they will be simply over looked. There are plenty of talented young athletes across the nation and the majority of them are over looked because they are over shadow by a bigger or more successful neighboring High School, another player on his team that has better stats, or even by his own coach who does not do the leg work to get his name out to the Universities. In order for a young athlete to get picked up by a college program, he or she first needs to let the University know their available and interested. Now every athlete is not going to get the opportunity to play for the top college programs in the nation, but they can still get the opportunity to go to another Division I, II or III University and have receive further education for free.

The RLC program is meant to produce well balanced young athletes in Utah that have the ability to produce on the football field at a higher level. We also continue the effort to give each RLC athlete the opportunity to move forward and onto the next level of competition with a set of Fundamental Skills and Techniques that will help them make that transition to the next level easier and smoother.

Each day continue to get better!