Every kid has dreamed about growing up to be a professional athlete.
At some point or another, a child will take a football in the backyard and pretend to be their favorite athlete. Running for a touchdown like Barry Sanders, throwing a perfect spiral like Dan Marino or making a diving touchdown catch like Jerry Rice. (OK, so maybe with today’s youth it’s Adrian Peterson, Peyton Manning and Larry Fitzgerald.)
While it’s a fact that most kids won’t make it that far, there’s nothing wrong with trying. If you strive to be the best, you might just land on great, and that’s not always too bad. So, if a kid wants to grow up to play in the NFL, you have to start somewhere.
Youth flag football.
Playing flag football, kids can learn the fundamentals of football before putting on pads. Running backs learn how to run with the ball, read defenders and cut through the defense. Quarterbacks learn how to throw, read defenses and hit a receiver in string. Wide receivers learn how to run crisp routes, find holes in the defense and catch the football.
Kids can take these skills and use them in pads putting them ahead of everyone else. It gives youth the opportunity to perfect their craft and builds a solid foundation of skills. If the child keeps improving on these skills, someday he could get paid to play.
But everyone has to start somewhere.
