Omar's Career Research Adventure

Transcript

1. By  Omar  Elliott-­‐Diab   NFL  Wide  Receiver  
2. Description  of  the  Job        An  NFL  wide  receiver  is  a  football  player  at   the   professional   level.   NFL   wide   receivers   have   to   catch   passes,   get   yards   and   try   to   score.  They  have  to  be  fast,  to  get  open  and   beat  the  defender,  and  strong  to  take  a  hit   and  hang  on  to  the  ball.    They  also  have  to   be  coordinated  to  catch,  have  the  ability  to   run   precise   pass   routes,   and   have   good   concentration.  They   have   to   get   open   (get   far  enough  away  from  the  defender  so  that   the   quarterback   can   throw   you   the   ball).   I   chose  this  job  because  I  love  playing  football   and  I  love  this  position.  
3. Training       To   be   an   NFL   wide   receiver   you   need   lots   of   training.  You  need  to  be  really  fit  and  strong.  You   train  at  practice  but  you  also  have  to  train  a  lot   by  yourself  because  practices  are  only  about  two   hours.   Most   of   the   physical   training   is   done   in   the   offseason   when   there’s   no   practices   or   games.  You  also  need  to  memorize  a  lot  of  plays.   You  need  to  memorize  at  least  30  new  plays  for   every   game.   You   can   get   training   for   being   a   wide  receiver  at  any  college  that  has  a  football   program   (including   2   year   colleges,   there   are   about  800  colleges).  It  won’t  cost  any  extra;  but,   if  you  get  a  scholarship  for  football  you  can  get   into  the  college  for  less  money.  A  good  college   for   a   wide   receiver   is   a   college   that   runs   a   pro   style  offense  like  Stanford.    
4. Requirements  to  Keep  the  Job          To  keep  the  job  of    an  NFL  wide  receiver  you  need  to  stay  fit   and  the  best  of  the  best  to  compete  with  the  rookies  and   any  other  players  coming  onto  the  team.  So  basically  you   need  to  keep  training  a  lot.  
5. Drills   •  Agility  ladder   •  Cone  footwork  drills   •  Routes   •  Routes  with  obstacles   •  Jogging   •  Stretching   •  Run  plays  
6. An  Average  Day  for  a  Wide  Receiver      The  following  is  a  typical  schedule:   •  6  a.m.:  breakfast   •  7-­‐8  a.m.:  special  team  meeting.   •  Remainder   of   morning:   offense   and   defense   meetings,   then   individual  meetings.   •  12:30-­‐2:30  p.m.:  lunch   •  2:30-­‐4  p.m.:  practice,  at     •  4-­‐6:30  p.m.:  more  meetings.   •  6:30-­‐8  p.m.:  weight  lifting.    
7. An  Average  Day  for  a  Wide  Receiver   •  On  Wednesdays  and  Thursdays:    practice  is  in  full  gear.   •  On  Thursdays  and  Fridays:    players  can  go  out.     •  On  Saturdays  before  game-­‐day:    9-­‐11  p.m.  -­‐  free  time  inside;    curfew  at  11  p.m.     •  Tuesday  is  the  player’s  day  off.  
8. Film  Study            Film  study  is  a  essential  part  of  being  a  wide  receiver  or  any   kind  of  football  player.  You  need  to  watch  the  film  for  your   games   so   you   can   improve   and   also   for   the   opponent’s   team  so  you  know  their  tendencies  and  try  to  figure  out   there   game   plan.   There   is   more   film   study   involved   in   football  than  actual  practice.  It  is  usually  6-­‐7  hours  of  film   study  a  day.  
9. Career  Opportunities  for  an  NFL   Wide  Receiver            It  is  not  common  to  be  a  wide  receiver  in  the  NFL  no   matter  where  you  are  or  where  you  live.  You  need  to  be  in   top  physical  shape,  talented,  and  most  importantly,  very   fast.  You  can  do  this  job  anywhere  where  there  is  an  NFL   team.  For  example,  you  cannot  be  an  NFL  player  in  Idaho   because  there’s  no  Idaho  team.      
10. NFL  Wide  Receiver  Salary       An   NFL   wide   receiver   can   get   paid   various   amounts   of   money   a   year.   It   depends   how   good   you   are.  The   better   you  are,  the  more  you  get  paid.  On  average  a  wide  receiver   makes   $1,054,437   a   year.  The   highest   paid   receiver   right   now   is  Calvin   Johnson   Jr.   He   signed   a   7   year   132   million   dollar  contract  with  the  Lions  on  March  14th,  2012.  
11. Interview  with  Joe  Abdullah          Joe  Abdullah  is  a  former  NFL  player  who   Noah   and   I   interviewed.   He   came   from   Oakland   to   meet   us   at   Larkspur.   His   opinion   of   football   is   that   it   is   the   most   intense  game  in  the  world  because  of  how   much   film   study,   memorization,   quick   decision   making   you   have   to   do   and   the   competition  between  teams.  He  also  told   us   that   an   average   career   in   the   NFL   is   about   3   years   because   of   injury   and   the   newer   players   coming   in   to   take   your   position.   This   is   one   reason   why   people   joke  that  NFL  stands  for  “not  for  long”.  He   said  that  if  he  could  go  back  in  time,  even   though   he   had   a   passion   for   football,   he   would   have   played   baseball   because   his   career  would  have  been  longer.  
12. Works  Cited   l  SI.com,  October  3,  2012   l  YouTube,  October  3,  2012   l  Yahoo  Answers,  November  4,  2012       l  Bass,  Tom.    Play  Football  the  NFL  Way:  Position-­‐by-­‐ Position    Techniques  and  Drills  for  Offense,  Defense,  and   Special    Teams.    New  York:  St.  Martin’s  P,  1990.     101-­‐103.     l  Interview  with  Joe  Abdullah,  October  10,  2012  
13. THEND