Hey, everybody, Welcome back to Campus to contracts. What are we talking about? What are we doing first? Let’s bring on the Agent Mason. How are you doing today, sir? I’m doing great. I’m doing great. So lovely day and can’t wait to get into this nice hot topic.
We are going to bust the door down. I am your host, Brendan, and we are talking club, football. Club, football club, football club, team, football folks. For those that haven’t heard me and don’t know what we’re talking about, this is one of the most exciting topics of our time in our era.
This has literally changed the footprint of quarterbacks. It has changed the footprint of so many speed positions, skill positions. This is a chance for folks to really see their talent outside of a high school environment. Whether you’re in a program that appreciates you or doesn’t appreciate
You signing up and playing club, he’s probably one of the best opportunities both for you as a young man or young woman and whatever club that may be. But we’re talking club football for young men to really excel and be shown the skills that they have and really develop those.
So, Mason, you’re going to kick us off because I was never part of a club football team. I know that’s shocking to many people considering my 40 time was horrible, but Mason has. He was a part of this. This was a huge part of his high school development.
And here we go. Club football. Mason, take it away. Yeah. Club football is a very unique environment, guys. It is a very unique beast, but club football, in my opinion, is very, very, very necessary for both the development and for the enhancement of a young athletes career.
Club football is only going to last really until their summer going into their senior year of high school. So if you look at our clips, we’re going to talk about we have freshman year of high school, sophomore year of high school, junior high school, senior high school.
But in between those summers, in between those seasons, I sprinkle in when you should be doing club football and how that’s going to work and mesh and with your schedule, both academically and athletically at your high school. So now club football, the question that people ask me all the time
When I consult them, when I consult parents is when should my child start? Well, really, it’s as soon as possible. As soon as your child starts liking football, as soon as you think that they really want to take this thing to the next level, you should put them in a club. Football team.
Now, parents, I want you to take this same model we talked about when it came to finding a high school. I want you to take that same model and I want you to use it for finding a club coach. For finding a club, A club team.
And when we say club, we’re really talking about seven on seven. This is no pads, no tackling. This is strictly pretty much for quarterbacks, receivers, running backs, linebackers, safeties, corners. So skill positions, as they call them. Now, parents, I want you to look at who the coaches. How long have they been coaching?
How long has this club been around? How many players from this club, historically, if you can find that information, have gone to colleges on scholarships? You want to see how good this club has been doing? How long have they been around? And and see basically their history, their blueprint on what they do,
What they have accomplished. You want to go to a good, good club program because not only is it going to help that your player develop, but give them a better chance of going to college. One of the areas that I think is is really important here.
There are kids that like to be with their friends and they’re like, my friend’s going to be on this club team or my friend is going to be on that club team. If you’re a parent involved in your kid’s life, that is not the way to do this.
If you want to take this seriously, look at this, you should vet it. You should look at what the program produces. What is the coaching staff? What’s the recommendation? I can tell you that the adults that are good coaches will recommend good programs. So if you’re listening to a bad coach,
They’re not going to recommend somebody that may be that great. So it’s about coaching. It’s about the respect of the coaches, whether it’s at a high school program, whether it’s the coaching staff of the club teams talking about which staff is good, which staff is not that great,
Because this is a really important time and this is these are years that are very critical to the development of that young athlete. And I know you were in a club team for for quite a bit. And I would say, you know, how that club team impacted your future or your life
At that time, I would say would probably be a pretty big deal for you. Yeah, I was in club football for only two years, so and this was back in 20 2013, 2012, 2013. Club football is still relatively a new concept. They didn’t really have it for the extreme youth.
They just had it for the young adolescent adults in high school and trying to make their way into college. But I played two seasons. I played in the summer going into my junior year, in the summer, going into my senior year. Club football was extremely instrumental when it came to my college recruiting.
It doesn’t help everyone, but it helps a lot. I would say that most of my interactions with college coaches came from my my time in club football. The thing about club football, the thing that’s so good about it and we talked about traveling parents, we talked about traveling
In the freshman, sophomore, junior, senior year of high school series. We talked about taking your kids to colleges over the summer. When you’re on a club team, you will be traveling. You could be traveling out of state. You could be traveling all throughout your state and you will be in tournaments
All around the country that will bring the attention of Scouts, college scouts looking to fill their rosters. This will be a very critical moment for them to decide which players do they want to see in that next upcoming fall. These are going to be scouts that are not they may offer you,
They may offer just on the spot, just off that alone. But most of the time they’re going to start putting their list together of guys they want to see in full pads coming into the fall. So think of it as an opportunity to put yourself on the radar,
To put yourself in the eyes in front of the eyes of these college coaches and scouts. That’s what I want you guys to look at this for the most part. And was your college program or your scouting out the high school kids? What this allows them to do
Is go to a club tournament where you have lots of different teams. All the kids have been granted this permission to be on a club team. They don’t just accept everybody. You’re not talking about just a Johnny wants to play on a club team. great, let’s just let him on.
This is they actually are training you. They want some players that are elite. They want to win these tournaments. So as a college program, you can show up to this tournament. You’re seeing 12, 16, 20, some teams that are in the tournaments, whatever the number may be.
But as a college recruiter, that helps you a lot is already traveling a ton. Now you get to travel to one tournament, you to look at all of the talent and see which which cream is rising to the top. As we always say, especially in college programs,
The cream always rises to the top. That’s always the case. So when you play against other kids, you get to find out how good you are, what you need to work on. But this really is a big advantage to your point about being seen. Yeah, you’re actually absolutely right.
And a lot of people don’t know this too. But these club teams in high school, they’re recruiting you guys. They’re recruiting players in high school to be on their team. They’re going to want to stack their team with all the five stars. All the four stars. All the three stars. Right.
Whatever the case may be. And they’re going to try to stack those type of players on their team. If you’re not a three, four or five star guy, it’s a perfect opportunity to go to those clubs where they hold their tryouts for non invited players and to compete against some of these players
That they did invite and win spots, change their minds, win the hearts of some of these coaches and some of these scouts, or just think about you’re going to be playing on a team against some of those teams that have all these star guys and these scouts are going to be watching them.
But when they see what you can do against those players, you’re going to get put on that list of, this could be a potential player, this could be a potential guy that I would actually want on my team instead of the guy that I actually came here for.
So you got to think about all the possibilities that can happen that can take place due to you being on a club team. A lot of things can happen. And think about from a from a high school kids perspective. If you’re get to join a club team, if you’re being recruited
And you get that thing about the I mean, that’s such a high emotion for those kids to not only feel special or feel like their talent is worthwhile or being looked at, but you’re also being developed. What’s the developmental part of a club team
That’s unique in comparison to a high school program per se? So I would say it’s so much more focused on really what the game is about today passing. It’s going to be a high paced passing. It’s going to get you, you know, basically more involved with a lot of concepts,
A lot of different schemes that you might not even be running at your high school, but it gets your football IQ up. It helps you keep in shape, keep in playing shape, different techniques that you may not be aware of at your high school. You’re going to have
A different defensive back coach that you do in high school probably, So you’re just going to be adding tools to your toolbox as an individual player, you’re definitely going to get better. There’s only benefits from playing and having more reps doing this live and live and live instead of playing the same players
That you play every single day at practice at school, you’re going to be seeing new faces, new new players, new athletes from different regions of the country that have different ways of playing football, that have different philosophies and different schemes. So you’re going to be able
To put your talent against an array of different athletes. And I think that that’s just irreplaceable because when you get into college, you’re going to be playing with and against college players from all across the country that came from different walks of football, different schemes, different talent levels, different ways of playing,
Different philosophies to themselves, different, just everything. So when you play club football, it’s getting you kind of acclimated to that because even when you’re playing in high school, you’re only really playing high school players in your area, right? You don’t get exposed to players across the country, throughout the country.
That’s a very unique advantage that gives you that ability to test your skills against everyone else. And one of the comments that you said that I think is extremely important, especially for a young kid, is that football IQ, if you’re playing in a high school program and this high school
Coach runs a certain offense or a certain defense, and that’s all the running, that’s all you’re going to learn. You may be watching tape of what other kids are running, but to be part of a club team, they’re going to teach you probably several different formations, several different offenses.
And to your point about this is the way football is, it’s a more pass heavy game. So the schemes of defenses are more aligned to trick the quarterback into poor decisions or to trick wide receivers into taking the wrong route. So enhancing your football IQ as early age
As two to go along with the development of your athletic ability. Those are both so important. You can’t just be an athlete and not have that football IQ rise. You have to help the football IQ start to rise and how the club team opens the door for that variety of understanding I
Think is such a big importance for a young athlete to be exposed to that. Yeah, no question. I mean, it offers so much and offers so much and you know, you want to get into it as young as possible because you get exposed to more from a younger age. They have, you know,
The same the same age that they have for pop, they now have for non non-contact club football. You know, I’ve already explained what I felt about in our first couple of episodes about how early you should start tackling and getting comfortable with tackles.
And when it comes to club football, I think you should play that as soon as possible because you don’t have a risk of injury or as much of a risk of injury. You don’t have contact, you don’t have to worry about the head as much.
So I think that that route should be started a lot sooner than your tackling route when you’re playing tackle football. And to add on a point, I mean, the breaking news for this year is they always do these odd sports for the Olympics.
I don’t know if you saw that they’re adding flag football to the Olympics. And when you’re talking about these countries are now going to play and the United States is obviously going want going to want to represent and probably win flag football competition. I would say it’s kind of our sport
When you’re talking about non-contact club football, things of that nature. Do you foresee because they just announced an Olympic sport, you can get an Olympic gold medal for playing flag football? If I would have said that 30 years ago, we would have thought that was wild. Yeah. Now that that is today’s world.
So how have we haven’t even seen that? What effect it’s going to have you as a as an agent looking at that you do get excited about that. Is that interesting or you you wanted to see what the landscape looks like because of that decision? I mean, I think it’s great. Honestly.
This also goes hand in hand. You know, they added three on three basketball right into the Olympics. Yeah. Which is fantastic. It goes hand in hand. It does add, you know, kind of that opportunity maybe to have a profession or seven on seven lead possibly. Right. Because there already are talks
About having a professional three on three league and that’s not going to be comprised of NBA players. It’s going to be a whole separate group of guys. Right. Right. So there’s possible that there could be a whole separate group of guys that play flag football, which is essentially seven on seven,
Because the rules for seven on seven is to hand touch just like in the backyard with your friends. It’s two, it’s not even two hand, it’s one hand touch. If I touch you, you’re down. That’s it. It doesn’t matter to hand just one. So you’re talking about
You’re talking about routes and schemes and passing and catch. And these are the most important parts of that game because if you’re just talking about a touch, you’re talking about route running, quick stops, quick goes. These are all important things that in my opinion an athlete working on
It will only benefit and tackle football and avoiding a touch because if you avoid a touch, guess what you’re avoiding tackles. I don’t care what you say. Avoiding a tackle. If you’re good at that. Like, I mean, again, I think it opens the door to your point
About a possible flag football league, a possibility of that because why wouldn’t you have it if you’re going to have an Olympic sport? And I mean, growing up playing flag football, to me until it was done, that was a blast. I enjoyed it. It’s very competitive. It was great. It was great.
But yeah, I mean, when it comes to club, start as early as possible, go through the same steps that we went over in choosing a high school, choose your club in the same manner in which you parents needed to choose a high school.
Think about all the things that you need to to think about, like choosing the coach, the scheme, the the how many players have gone, How many players or players are staying through their program. Also, I want you guys to also think about what
What is the club going to do after I can’t play in the in high school. Do they have a professional alumni situation where I can come back when I’m in college and start working out for them or working out with them and preparing myself for each summer
Or each a college football season that I have. Because you’re going to have times where you go home and you need to train. So back up for just a second on that. When is the last season you can play with a club team?
You said that in between your junior to senior year, correct? Yeah. So you’re you’re you’re summer going into your senior year of high school. That’s the last time you can play. So when you’re talking about a program that has things for people
Who are part of the club team post senior year you’re talking about these are these are programs that we bring back players. Yeah. So and so. If you’re on a club team, just if you’re on a club team, would you see some of these players coming back?
If you’re on the club team training in the facility or helping out? Yeah, I certainly did. I certainly did. I certainly did. When I was on my club team. Great club team, by the way. Fantastic club team. They’ve only grown since I’ve been part of it. I was coming back.
There were players that were before me that were coming back. And when I was in college, whenever I was home, that’s where I was. I was training with my club team. They had, you know, their own their own college guys and then they had even pro guys that were training.
So the college guys, we would all train together in, the pro guys would all train together. Then their high school guys would all train together. So it was an it was it was a facility. It was a real deal facility. And they had it going on.
And I can’t tell you as a I mean, again, for kids grown up and for parents, this is the disconnect. A lot of parents think they can relate to their kids or the kids can relate to them. You, as a parent are so far ahead of your child,
It is so hard for them to see where you’re at and how to get to where you are because it feels like you’re trying to jump over the Grand Canyon with one leap. It’s literally impossible. It is so important for your child to see what a college athlete
Looks like while they’re in high school. It’s also important for college athletes to kind of see what a pro looks like. I mean, that four year gap, 2 to 4 year gap, that you can see what’s ahead of you and to see what they’re like feels also like a big leap, especially athletically.
I still remember when I was, you know, in junior high, you look at the high school kids, you think that’s impos sible and then you’re in high school and then you look at the college kids like that’s also impossible. You get there.
But when you see that development and you see to your point, these kids come back and they were like, I was on this club team that triggers something within you. Like, what did that do for you emotionally? What did that do to you mentally when you’re like these kids, Are
These kids are now adults and they’re coming back? There’s nothing like seeing a player 2 to 3 years older than you, who is way bigger than you, way faster than you and is relatively the same size. And you’re like, how do I get from me to him, Right.
That’s that’s really what is going on. You’re like, I’m in high school, I’m 5859, £150 and he’s five, nine, five, ten, 188, £195. How do I get from here to there? Well, he did. So it’s not impossible. And he’s telling me that he wants to looks like
Me and was in my shoes and has been here the whole time. So it comes down to what everyone says. Trust in the process, keep coming back. And when you find a good club that can stick with you guys for years on end like mine does,
Like I can go back now, I’m not going to I’m not in that type of shape. It’s going to be embarrassing. You can go back and say, this is what it’s like to be a lawyer, though. so sorry for you. Yeah. No, it it.
And to be in a room with guys who are as intense on their goal. Right. Because everyone wants this is campus to contracts. This is this is everyone has the same goal in there you just at different ages whether you’re a pup who’s 12 years old to a high schooler at 1516
To a fresh new college kid at 18, 19 to I’m on my way to the league at 2122, I’m in the league for years, five years at 26, 27, 28. You know total vet at 31, 32, 33. We had all of them in the same weight room, in the same facility.
You got different, you know, aspects and prospects because the club was that important. It was that it was that jazz institution where you had players like like a factory going in and staying and coming out. Now, did everyone make it to their contract? No, not everyone did. I didn’t
Even get that to that point in another time. But, you know, my brother did, who was with me every single time I was there. But for me, going back to that emotional standpoint, when you looked at that
And they said, hey, I was here, I was like, you, Yeah, yeah, you can get there. I believe in you. Like having that person who’s not 40 looking at a 16 year old. Yeah, because that’s what your high school kids are. High school coaches are a lot older.
So having that person who’s just a couple of years from you telling you that, yeah, this is what it takes. This is you put in the hard work and trust the process you’ll get here. Yeah. Yeah. You’re just instilling. That belief. In you.
Just like, yeah, you’re like, All right, he’s a little faster than me. He’s a little stronger than me. All right? I got to get to him in two years, you know? But you still see that guy because in two years, he’s going to be still a little faster, a little stronger.
But the progression is still the same, right? Like everyone’s chasing it. You’re competing. Yeah. So club football, I think it’s standing. I think it’s the most important thing of all. Of all those of all the sports. Obviously you have a leap. A leap. People who are just an incredibly gifted.
But from a standpoint of giving you a pathway, going back to the parents, you’re looking for a pathway for your talented child to take it to the next level. Yes. These decisions that you’re looking at and your evaluation is extremely important for putting them on the right pathway.
You don’t want them to be hanging out in a club space that as a program that isn’t nurturing, isn’t showing them that it is possible, but it’s detrimental. The environment may be or may be a little more toxic, whether it’s emotional or whether it’s physical, there has to be that building.
And when you ask those questions and go interview these folks and go see if they’re worth your while, because to me, that’s that’s the key piece to a lot of this, not just saying, whatever, as long as they’re not in the house, as long as they’re not bugging me
As a parent, when you’re when you’re not asking those questions, we’re asking, what does this look like in two years? Will they accept them back after they’re done with the club room? To your point, that’s a huge question because that acceptance, that brotherhood
That you get with a club team, I bet you feel it to this day. You feel a part of that. You know, it’s crazy. I was in the gym today. I was wearing my club shirt. Someone comes up to me and says, You played for that club. I was like, Yeah.
He was like, That’s a really good club team. I swear to you, it was crazy. I had a whole conversation with the guy. He was from L.A. He played in a another club team that was, you know, down some ways. And yeah, people people in the football community,
They understand what club is which and they know my club. So there’s a lot of there’s still a lot of emotional pride for you. It’s not like you’re like, I just did this. There’s a lot of people who feel that way about their high school
Because whether it’s a coach or whether it’s teachers like the club program allows in my in my opinion, based on what I’m hearing from you and what I’ve heard from others, that club team experience really allows you to form a fraternity of common, a common goals, common futures, a common direction
That everyone can come together and really like, you know, mold each other into a better human being, a better man for that, for that, they want to be as far as football is concerned. Yeah, most definitely. So club teams all end, parents all in soon as possible.
Stick to the process. Find a good one. If you’re not at a good club and you figure that out, switch, Make sure you have a good club. Make sure it has everything that you need to help your student athlete progress athletically in his career. Make sure they have connections.
Make sure that they have players that have gone to colleges before, make sure they have notoriety, make sure they’re playing in all the big tournaments. parents. If you want to reach out, have any questions about what your club team is doing or what kind of the best club teams
Or best tournaments to go to, please reach out at my either my agency Instagram or my personal Instagram. And leave comments. If you if you were on a club team, what was that experience? Life experience like for you? What was that brotherhood like and what kind of memories
Do you have to being a part of a club team? It’d be great for parents to see what their kids saw or what their kids experienced, and it’s always great to go back and revisit that. Mason’s got a lot of pride in his club team. Obviously, he’s got a lot of
You know, a lot of excitement, a lot of brotherhood was was built there. So it’s really exciting. So I hope you found this information really helpful. I know for myself, looking at club teams, I always was like, but this is a crazy environment.
Why would anybody want to sign up for these kind of things? The way you’re talking about it and what you’re learning, just what a wonderful experience. So I for campus to contracts. I am your host, Brendan, That is the Agent Mason Williams.
And I want to thank everybody for joining us for club football. Don’t forget to like us. Don’t forget to subscribe. You can get more videos and thank you, Mason, for being a part of it. I appreciate everybody.
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