NFL is arguably the most dynamic, and athletically demanding sport in the world, period.
NFL athletes are subjected to every physical, mental, emotional and social demands required to perform the activity effectively.
So, Colin Kaepernick’s two-year hiatus from the NFL playing field, is sure to exact a significant toll from his sports future.
Analyzing what’s at stake and what is likely to happen next is sports authority Taylor Jones.
Q&A:
1) Let’s start with JUST the physical demands of the game. What’s involved here?
Answer: Athletes must be conditioned to sustain on average 20-40+ minutes of running, jumping, throwing, catching, tackling, blocking and defending. **It’s very difficult to replicate that when you haven’t been in a game-simulated training scenario. It’s specifically why the NFL uses the pre-season to prepare the athletes for the speed and duration of the game.
2) These athletes are getting bigger, faster and stronger every single year every year, are they not?
Answer: Yes. So, the Kaepernick of 2 years ago, even if he kept up his game, is already behind because the field has become more competitive.
3) We hear the NFL is looking at younger players. How young?
Answer: Resources for training continue to advance every year from the top down – NFL, Collegiate, High School and even Youth are being monitored.
4) Let’s go beyond exercise. What else is needed for Colin Kaepernick or any one of us with competitive aspirations?
Answer: The entire human body has to be coached at the highest level – from their physical training to nutrition, mental health, personal development, etc. That concept has now stretched to the youth level where we see athletes having access to skill coaches (QB, WR, RB, OL, etc – Position Coaches) to direct their exact sport attributes.
5) You talk about and addressing the rigors of an ever-changing market. Expand on that.
Answer: For the most part, we see maybe 3-5 teams regularly at the top of the NFL competitively. This means 25+, 80%+ teams fluctuating to compete yearly for a top spot. The demand to remain or get to the top is higher and more cutthroat than ever before.
6) Contrast that extra unprecedented level of work and training with the shrinking length of an NFL player’s career.
Answer: Ouch. The current NFL shelf life of an athlete’s career is around 4 years. And the NFL shelf life of a coach’s career as a head coach is about 3-4 years as well. The NFL style of play is changing yearly, and the only way to keep up with it is to keep adapting to it and stay on top of it. Colin is in the latter part of his career now. The style to which he played may have to change to the current style of the NFL. And there are no guarantees that the way he played game, then, will transfer to now.
7) In the 2000s, we witnessed one of the best athletes to walk the face of the earth play QB in the NFL. His name was Michael Vick. How did his time away from the NFL impact his game and professional career?
Answer: Michael Vick was the #1 in the NFL draft and became an MVP candidate on track to become a perennial top QB in the NFL. Due to legal reasons, he was sidelined from the NFL for a few years. He later came back giving the NFL another shot. He successfully found himself back in a starting role as a QB but was never quite the same. And, I believe it’s due to, in large part, his losing a feel for the game that is ever changing. It’s just too difficult to keep up from a distance, when you aren’t in it. You will lose the ability to keep your football instincts at the highest level, the test of time and age takes a toll on your body, and the game continues to move forward – with or without you.
8) You are a professional fitness coach who has owned training facilities. Tell us more about that and where we may get more information about what you are doing.
Open Letter regarding the Colin Kaepernick debate – from Sports Trainer Taylor Jones:
Indeed, Colin is not only one of the best athletes in the NFL, but on the planet.
However, being out of the NFL for nearly 3 years will hurt any of the highest-level athletes.
The QB position is the one of the most demanding positions in all of sports because so many other teammates are counting on you to execute.
Wide Receivers can go about their business and go missing. Quarterbacks may not.
If a QB goes missing, there are drastic implications to the entire play and entire team.
This is why – I believe – the risk vs. reward for a team acquiring Colin Kaepernick is much larger than just the social situation.
ABOUT YOUR EXPERT GUEST, TAYLOR JONES…
8-year Human Performance Practitioner & Coach
Graduate of Springfield College
Held Certifications for:
– National Strength & Conditioning Association
– Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Coaches Association
– USA Weightlifting Association
Former Owner of Myrtle Beach High Performance Center
Formerly the Assistant Director of Strength & Conditioning Coach at Coastal Carolina University
Interned & Assisted at the University of Maryland & University of Missouri
Has trained over 20 Professional Football and Baseball Players, 50+ Collegiate Athletes, 100+ High School Athletes, 400+ Everyday Competitors of Life in the last 3 years independently in the private training sector.
