Coaches and trainers really enjoy working with players who are enthusiastic about playing the game… even in practices. Players who show up early and leave late. Players who give it that little extra bit of hustle at the end of practice so that the team goes into the locker room all fired up and feeling good about themselves.
Rookies who may not be among the most talented draftees can make extra points with the staff and team by just doing all the extra little things… they do count.
Coming right out of college, the new class of NFL rookies are mostly around 21-22 years old and not really finished with their physical development as yet. They need to get bigger and they need to get stronger. Of course the place to start work on this most efficiently is in the weight room. Pro athletes spend a lot of time in the weight room working on their reps… toning their bodies and fine tuning their muscular coordination.
Rookies in the NFL should be seen and not heard. That should go without saying… but every year we watch new guys crash and burn by talking when they should have been listening. Star athletes in college these days get a lot of press attention and some of them have been built up to believe that they are heroes.
However, every player in the NFL is a hero… they have to be.
Incoming players must keep quiet and listen to the older, more experienced players without interruption. No one is really very interested in the opinion of a guy who just got there.
Modern Internet options now allow athletes and everyone else to make comments over what is known as “social media” that go out to anyone who is online to see it. It is an opportunity to express yourself and perhaps clarify a mis-understood situation.
It is also an excellent forum to make a fool of yourself in front of the whole world. Rookies, especially, should be very careful and conservative about what they put out on the web. Be assured that someone from the team is paying attention.
Of course, the very best way to make a good impression on your coaches and team mates is to get out there on the field and make something happen. Make an impact on the game. Block a kick, intercept a pass, run a punt back… whatever, there are many ways for a new players to get out there and make them take notice.
