What do you think?

[santanadasavior]

This is a football website so I thought I'd ask around. I am going to be a senior next year and am going to start playing football for the first time competitvely. My goal is to play at a small Div 1-AA school by at least my sophomore year (the top 3 right now are La Salle, Drake, and Hoftra). I have been told by many that it is a stretch and it may be true, but I am still going to try. I am 6 foot about 170 and I'm probably going to be about 180 at the start of the football season and be able to run about a 4.5-4.6 40. I would play safety and WR. It's not like I am just starting to play sports, I have played soccer my whole life and play football almost weekly with a group of guys. I don't really know how you are to judge my chances considering I'm just talking but what do you guys think of my chances of playing Div 1-AA in two years.

[redskin_rich]

This is a football website so I thought I'd ask around. I am going to be a senior next year and am going to start playing football for the first time competitvely. My goal is to play at a small Div 1-AA school by at least my sophomore year (the top 3 right now are La Salle, Drake, and Hoftra). I have been told by many that it is a stretch and it may be true, but I am still going to try. I am 6 foot about 170 and I'm probably going to be about 180 at the start of the football season and be able to run about a 4.5-4.6 40. I would play safety and WR. It's not like I am just starting to play sports, I have played soccer my whole life and play football almost weekly with a group of guys. I don't really know how you are to judge my chances considering I'm just talking but what do you guys think of my chances of playing Div 1-AA in two years.
I think you can't go wrong by trying. Give it all you've got and you can take comfort in that no matter what the results are.
Nobody here can honestly tell you what your chances are, without seeing you play. I wouldn't worry that you haven't played organized football before. Either you can play or you can't. There are plenty of guys that play all through their youth up into high school and still are terrible players.

[RedskinsDave]

Good luck to you but the odds are against you. Could you imagine someone who never played anything but pick up soccer coming in and playing with you who played all your life? Then making that leap to college ball, no matter the level, you are talking about players who were the better players on their teams in high school.

[santanadasavior]

Good luck to you but the odds are against you. Could you imagine someone who never played anything but pick up soccer coming in and playing with you who played all your life? Then making that leap to college ball, no matter the level, you are talking about players who were the better players on their teams in high school.

I understand where you are coming from, but taking up a sport like football, may not be as hard as say a sport like soccer. I am in great shape and am very athletic, I personally know the defensive coordinator at my high school (my soccer coach), and I play center back in defense, where I just sit back and read what is going on and make a jump on the play. That is similar to free safety and I also played goalie and baseball for a number of years so I have good hands. I would consider myself a possession reciever and a coverage safety.

[csquared]

I understand where you are coming from, but taking up a sport like football, may not be as hard as say a sport like soccer. I am in great shape and am very athletic, I personally know the defensive coordinator at my high school (my soccer coach), and I play center back in defense, where I just sit back and read what is going on and make a jump on the play. That is similar to free safety and I also played goalie and baseball for a number of years so I have good hands. I would consider myself a possession reciever and a coverage safety.
Well good luck. I second what Dave said. Also not sure what kinda highschool your going to. The school i went to the soccer coach was the soccer coach and the football coach was the football coach. And the football coach had his own football assistants. How can the soccer coach have time to coach the defense for football when both are played in the fall??

[SpicyMcHaggis]

I agree with Rich 100%..give it your best shot, and then what happens happens..you won't be disappointed if you try..the worst that can happen is you play some football (which is never bad), and nothing comes out of it..best thing that can happen is you find out you are pretty talented and the whole thing works out great.

[WarEagle]

Makes me think of the MTV show "Two-a-Days" about the high school football team up in Birmingham. Those players have been playing the game for a long time, and they still struggle as seniors. Former soccer players make outstanding kickers, though, so if you modify your dream a little bit, you might increase your odds of playing college ball. Best of luck to you. :)

[LadyNRedskinsfan]

you may be behind the others who have been playing organized football since they were kids, but there isnt any harm in trying. if you're an athlete, you're an athlete and if you make plays, you can make it. good luck :).

[joethefan]

Well what I'll say is how are your grades....that IMO is the most important thing...I hear stories all the time of kids that only played one year in hs and got scholarships...

If you are serious....I swould join the track team and try to get my time on the track as low as possible....Don't let anyone talk you out of your dream if that is what you wish.....


IMO I would focus on the grades, then my track time and then go hard at the game....If it is for you, it'll be for you.

I'll be praying for you...

[santanadasavior]

Well what I'll say is how are your grades....that IMO is the most important thing...I hear stories all the time of kids that only played one year in hs and got scholarships...

If you are serious....I swould join the track team and try to get my time on the track as low as possible....Don't let anyone talk you out of your dream if that is what you wish.....


IMO I would focus on the grades, then my track time and then go hard at the game....If it is for you, it'll be for you.

I'll be praying for you...

Right now I have a 3.6 and it's getting better, and I don't want to go to some of the bigtime schools. I'm going to major in broadcast journalism so I'm not looking for good schools, I'm looking for good communications programs.

I did indoor track and am playing soccer right now so I'm in shape. I have always been a physical soccer player and one reason I am switching to football is I'm tired of getting fouls called on me.

Some one else said this but at my school, the football coach and the soccer coach are different. But the JV soccer coach is the defensive coordinator. He played both sports in college so he knows his stuff.

Thanks for the support guys.

[AGibbsGirl]

Go for it...but one piece of advice, decide where you are going to go and then ask for a copy of the play book...even if it's last year's

I know from having a kid playing organized football since he was 6, that a lot of football is about learning the plays as you come up through the years. No matter how great an athlete you are, the other players will have very little tolerance for you if you do not know the plays.

Each year Coaches add more and more plays, building on the basics until they are pretty complicated...and before you know it the playbook is 700 pages long... :D

Good luck! Let us know what you decide

[Iceman330]

This is a football website so I thought I'd ask around. I am going to be a senior next year and am going to start playing football for the first time competitvely. My goal is to play at a small Div 1-AA school by at least my sophomore year (the top 3 right now are La Salle, Drake, and Hoftra). I have been told by many that it is a stretch and it may be true, but I am still going to try. I am 6 foot about 170 and I'm probably going to be about 180 at the start of the football season and be able to run about a 4.5-4.6 40. I would play safety and WR. It's not like I am just starting to play sports, I have played soccer my whole life and play football almost weekly with a group of guys. I don't really know how you are to judge my chances considering I'm just talking but what do you guys think of my chances of playing Div 1-AA in two years.

Well ALRIGHT! GOOD!

OK my man, the first thing RULE #1 is conditioning. Be certain that you are in condition to play. Run, run, run. If you can, at any given moment, run five miles you're on the right track. Distance will help you're stamina, which will help recovery. The question for you in a workout (at practice particularly) is NOT whether you get tired (b/c you will) it's how quickly you recover.

Also make sure you do hills, nice steep hills.

Of course, lift weights.

Core workouts are also great b/c you'll need good hips for either position.

Finally, IMHO, I think you should decide which position you want to play and focus on those drills. I say this b/c you have to be realistic in that you've never put the pads on and each skill position has a unique skill set.

At safety, you have to have great feet (along w/ hips) to change direction at almost full speed. WR's are fast and seek to get you to commit your hips. Of course they do this in conjunction w/ the QB who will attempt to look you off. Additionally, a good QB throws passes that can be hard to judge when the ball's in the air - so you're ability to change direction and keep your balance while moving near top speed is a must..... Then, there's my favorite part, the hitting. Work w/ someone who can show you the art of tackling. You cannot allow a ball carrier to get their shoulder under yours or you'll get run over.

At WR, you have to be a good route runner. Must stay low when coming out of your breaks. And, of course you have to be able to catch. Catching is not as easy as it seems as a good QB will break your fingers if your hand placement is improper. The "catch and tuck" has to be so automatic that you do it in your sleep. Additionally, you have to be a little suicidal to be a WR. Meaning, you have to have no regard for you body/physical health when the ball is in the air. If you cannot take the hits (and getting hit hurts like a mother) you cannot play WR. You HAVE to work out w/ a QB as often as you can.

Finally, 1-AA is good football. Most guys at that level bave been playing ball for years and have alot of talent. So I encourage you to get Ronnie Lott's workout tape if you want to focus on safety. Get Jerry Rice's workout tape if you want to play WR. And don't afraid to simply go talk to the coaches and, of course, listen to them above all.



Keep me posted.

GOOD LUCK!