Can You Realistically Start Playing In College?
by Riding The F Train on Jun 3, 2010 10:47 PM PDT
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PrintI got the idea to post this after reading the post about experience we've all had playing football. I've never played organized football, but always wanted to. I played for years on the street outside our house, 1 v 1 against my incredibly athletic older brother with an older sibling as permanent QB. It was like Marcus Hudson playing against Larry Fitzgerald with no safety help. To make matters worse, there was no pass rush. (Trust me, I know how Mark Roman feels.) As you can guess, I've never beaten my brother. However, I like to think my coverage skills have really improved with that kind of practice. I've learned to jam the receiver at the line of scrimmage, use my hands to slow him down. I can also play off coverage (10 yards deep) and force him into a bad route and jump the ball. What I'm wondering is if I can realistically walk onto my Junior College team. I'm 5'11, 175 pounds, and have never gotten into good shape. (Because of some stuff I've been through, for the past few years I've pretty much sat on a couch watching tv and eating junk food whenever I wasn't doing school.) I've done a zillion different outdoor activities though, from kayaking and crew rowing, to road biking, rec league basketball, High School tennis, and dancing. (My longest bike ride was a hilly 91 mile ride after literally sitting inside stuffing myself with junk food for three or four months. Yeah, I'm proud of myself.) I like to think that I've got pretty good balance and footwork from all the dancing I've done (ballroom, contra, tap, jazz, etc). I've got good leg muscle from biking, and learned burst, acceleration, footwork, hand eye coordination, wrist strength, etc from 2 years of tennis on my high school team. I've been held back by some mostly non-physical medical problems. These have kept me from being able to stick to any kind of a workout schedule, so I'm in bad shape and have terrible wind (fortunately I sing on stage and choir, so I do have a little). However, thanks to some expert help and breakthroughs by specialists, I'm finally getting my life back. What do you think, is it too late or can I realistically walk onto my junior college team? Competitive football experience is supposedly a requirement, so I guess I'd have to really show the coach something. I think with a good workout regimen I could end up at a good 185 pounds of solid muscle as I've got a big frame (which I can move around pretty well too). Thoughts?
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Honestly
it depends on how athletic you are. There are tons of examples of Div I and even pro players who didn’t start playing football until after high school.
Logic merely enables one to be wrong with authority
Ok
So just assuming I’m athletic enough (I can’t control that unfortunately), do you have any suggestions on what to do before I would approach the coach? (Learning basics of football plays, getting into football shape, etc)
by Riding The F Train on Jun 3, 2010 10:57 PM PDT up reply actions
Honestly
I’ll do whatever it takes, but I have no idea where to start.
by Riding The F Train on Jun 3, 2010 10:58 PM PDT up reply actions
Come in great shape
Understand the rules and always bring energy in practice and you’ll have a good chance to ride the pine and learn and maybe even start if you’re very, very athletic
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Jun 4, 2010 4:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Jason Pierre Paul was just drafted in the 1st round....
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
"I'm just like you, but 10 times better"
by SportsChicken on Jun 4, 2010 1:49 AM PDT up reply actions
If you got skill....you got skill
Example: Chester Pitts didn’t play until college. I’d say it worked out for him.
If you’re motivated….and willing to work, go for it.
"Lord, beer me strength."
Give it a shot
If you don’t, you’ll always wonder if you could have done it. In the mean time, get your butt into the weight room, and start skipping rope (it’ll do wonders for your footwork). Start studying video, learn systems and schemes (Smileyman has given several terrific tutorials on different coverages). The more knowledgeable and conditioned you are heading into this, the better chance you’ll have.
After all was said and done, a lot more got said than done.
Go for it.
Like OldJock said, you’ll never know if you dont try. I would highly recommend spending the entire summer working your body into shape. Lift weights AND run everyday. Try running bleachers as that is a great exercise to put you in football shape. Go in with a set standard and dont quit because you are tired. I would hope you are fast because even at the high shool level they wont give you a look as a DB if you dont have speed. As you dont have a whole lot of size, speed at any position you would be considered for will play a big factor. Show them you can tackle well and even try to work yourself onto a ST squad as any way to make the team will be enjoyable and a way to gain experience. Good luck. Oh and definitely can’t forget the aspect of hitting. Being that you have never played organized ball, I think the biggest shock you are up against is going heads up with someone. Proper technique, especially at that level is essential. You need to work on making your legs explossive and staying low, keeping your head up and driving your legs into a hit.
Perfect!
This is exactly the kind of advice I need. The knowledge stuff can most likely be found on google, but the training advice is harder to find. Thank you so much!!
by Riding The F Train on Jun 4, 2010 1:38 AM PDT up reply actions
You MUST get your body in shape
I don’t know what you look like, but losing body fat will be the #1 way to increase speed. You should have someone help you time your 40. Get your core as lean as you can. Stand on a bench or a curb and hold a 7’ weight bar in front of you and lean forward until the bar is lower than your toes. Go slowly. It’s more of a stretching excercise than anything, but it will help you get your speed up.
by mr. instigator on Jun 4, 2010 9:55 AM PDT up reply actions
You should really try to approach a coach right now
It doesn’t have to be the college coach.
Go to your old high school if you can and ask the coach if he’s willing to let you work there for a bit.
Really, just find coaches (strength, conditioning, etc) and ask for advice…
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
"I'm just like you, but 10 times better"
+
I mention this because if you make the team the coach might not want to play you at DB and you’ll likely have to start from scratch.
Find out what they see in you now so that you can have a clear idea of what it is you’re trying to do.
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
"I'm just like you, but 10 times better"
by SportsChicken on Jun 4, 2010 1:55 AM PDT up reply actions
If you can get a tryout then why not?
Worst that can happen is you don’t make it and you keep working at it.
It's as much about are you willing to give up your time as it is how good you are.
There are some really good and experienced players at the JC level, but you’ve got good size, and if you’re a good athlete, you should be able to make the team.
I played in high school, and know some guys who weren’t much better play at local JC’s. You just have to be willing to work hard, grind out the long hours, and accept that you may not get to play that much.
And you don’t have to worry too much about getting hit, as I played DB in HS and hated contact, but it was never much of an issue.
Note the lack of a hyphen.
Adopted father of Evan Crawford, leadoff hitter of your 2014 San Francisco Giants.
Yup
All the elite HS kids run off to the major D-1s and the normal starters generally go off to other schools. JC will have you generally playing with the backups and tweeners of HS.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Jun 4, 2010 4:59 PM PDT up reply actions
"the normal starters generally go off to other schools. JC will have you generally playing with the backups and tweeners of HS."
This is at least partly inaccurate. I coached high school ball for 12 years. Over that time span, we put about 10 players into D-1 and a like # into D-2, D-3, and NAIA. That’s an average of about 2 players/year. We had another 2-3 players a year, all starters, most of them having earned some type of all-league mention (if not 1st team, then 2nd team or HM) who went on to play JC ball. Many were, as you designated them, “tweeners”, not really big or fast enough to play at a 4 yr college, but generally having some talent and definitely NOT “back-ups”. This experience is pretty typical of most (except the most elite) public high school programs.
As an aside and on a humorous note: I had a lineman who played for me who did a real good job for me, and I thought he had a real “upside” (he graduated HS at 6’-3" and about 255-260 in the mid ‘70s). Darryl Rogers was the head coach at San Jose State at the time. We had Darryl to lunch, showed him film on the kid, brought the kid out of class to meet and talk with him, then we sent the kid back to class. Darryl left soon after, with the comment that he didn’t feel that the kid was “the quality of athlete we’re looking for here at San Jose State.” Well the kid went to U of Washington and played for Don James there, started in 2 Rose Bowls, went on to play about 7 years for the Dolphins and played in 2 Super Bowls… but he wasn’t good enough to play at San Jose State.
After all was said and done, a lot more got said than done.
I ended up 1 year removed from playing against
Onterrio Smith, Lance Briggs and Ryan Dinwiddie, 2 years removed from Donte Stallworth. Jesuit sent 2 guys pro a couple years before my time in Giovanni Carmazzi and J.T. O’Sullivan. Maybe its just Sac during that time frame but I remember a lot of guys went off to different schools to play ball. Even my alma mater which would go on to get smashed against Jesuit, EG and Grant, had a couple guys go off to play college ball. I just used the examples of the guys that were at the top of the heap back then. I guess now that I think about it that situation is kinda out of the norm.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Jun 5, 2010 3:11 PM PDT up reply actions
We didn't play Dixon
But David Ball of the Jets came out in 99 from there too… Sac put out a ton of pros over those 4 years…
Seneca Wallace was at Cordova in 98 and played JCC ball at Sac City too
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Jun 5, 2010 6:58 PM PDT up reply actions
Coaches are funny when they get cocky like that
I think it says something about his ego that he’d rather transform an athlete into a player than take a player and work on his athleticism. Some guys can just flat play ball.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Jun 5, 2010 7:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Go for it
It could hurt to try ( literally ). But at least you’ll be able to say that you tried out. And if you make the team, then you get to play the Awesome-ness that is football. Win win except for the possible injury thing haha.
Start getting yourself into shape now.
And then go walk on to your college team.
Honestly, some schools will be happy to have you there to fill out the roster. Others won’t have room for you. Depends a lot on the program.
I wish...
I went to a school with a football team. I’d totally walk on as a quarterback. Didn’t play in high school, played some baseball and ended up being recruited to college for sailing (of all things). My college built a science library instead of a football stadium, go UC Irvine haha. Everyone I’ve played with thinks I’m crazy for not trying to go somewhere with it, People have been telling me to play football since elementary school. Maybe I’ll go help out my local JC over the summer and see where that takes me, since I couldn’t find a job.
UCIrvine, the "Anteaters"...
After all was said and done, a lot more got said than done.
Hate to rain on ur parade...
but by the sounds of it ..sounds like you dnt have a good chance..unless im missing out on something and ur a natural athlete, workout/get into shape all the time, or have supernatural genetics..theres probly not a good chance..seeing how youve never played b4 and claim ur a couch potato…but if you could tryout..feel free to..its an experience and footballs an amazing sport..its just at the college level basically all the players have there football instincts and all that built in where you would be majorly behind.. thats my opinion but do what you wanna do
GeT Ya Popcorn ReadY
The Last Names Ever, First Names Greatest.
I'd be worried about
getting used to playing full contact in pads and the helmet to helmet contact along with tackling.
Playing without pads is one thing, playing with pads is completely different.
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