Question: You have been working with many top draft prospects. Which results are you the most proud of? Clay, Los Angeles CA

That’s a lot like asking a parent, “Which of your children are your favorites?” (laughs) We have been so fortunate to work with some of the most gifted athletes in the world here at CES, and we’ve had dozens and dozens of PRO Bowl players here over the years. But for us, it’s really all about those personal relationships. There is nothing in the world more personal than someone’s dreams and goals. Each guy that comes in here has a dream. And when you know that you have the knowledge and tools to help that player realize his dream, it’s about the most fulfilling thing in the world. Of course, there are certain guys who are just physically gifted. We see tremendous improvements in those guys as well, but cutting two-tenths off a guy’s 40 time is not really what makes us tick around here. It’s seeing a guy who is projected to go in the 5^th or 6^th round in December coming in here and working his butt off, and then getting drafted in the 2^nd round 3 months later. Then having that same guy come back in the off-season and work even harder, and watching him have a successful 6-7 year career in the league. He may never make the PRO Bowl, but knowing we have had something to do with him being the best possible player he can be…that’s the real measure of success in that business. If you come into our facility, you see hundreds of pictures and jerseys and balls we have on the walls and say “Wow, CES trains a TON of pro guys!” and that’s correct. But go around to each one of those items on the wall and read the personal notes from each player, and you’ll know what we mean when we say “It’s all about relationships!” Now we have been doing this long enough that we are starting to see the children of some of our clients beginning to train for their careers here at CES. That’s when you know you are doing something right. When you have trained fathers at the highest levels, and then you see their sons getting the same results…that’s really something to be proud of.

Until next time, keep training hard!

Coach Smith