PRO PLAYERS ASSOCIATION

ANY PRO WHO WANTS TO COME OUT AND PARTICIPATE AS AN INSTRUCTOR AT THE CLINICS, OR, FOR MORE INFO, PLEASE CONTACT THE PPA OFFICE AT: 720.327.9207

Pro Players Association was honored to have had Bill Harris represent us when he addressed over 650 members of the Broomfield Youth Football Association at their annual combine on Monday August 6, 2007 at the Broomfield Commons Fields in Broomfield, CO. Bill spoke to the kids about Leadership, Sportsmanship and Life.

Bill Harris is a former Denver Bronco Running Back, Punter, Kick Return, Defensive Back and Special Teams player, graduated the University of Colorado with a B.S. in Marketing in 1971 and an MBA in 1974.  At CU, he was voted the Big 8 Sophomore Back of the Year, and 2^nd Team Look All-American in 1965.  Bill was voted Most Valuable Player in 1967, and was Senior Team Captain.  In 1967, he ranked the 8^th in All-Time Career Leader in Rushing Yards and 10^th in All-Purpose Yards gained for the University of Colorado.   

Bill’s professional football career began when he was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons where he played the 1968 season.  The following two seasons, 1969 and 1970 he played for the Minnesota Vikings and played in Super Bowl IV.  In 1971, Bill played for the New Orleans Saints.  He completed his football career playing with the Denver Broncos in the 1972 season.  Bill went on to have a 35 years plus senior management career in marketing, sales and general management for several public and privately held firms.  Bill has since completed post-graduate work at Wharton School and MIT.  He resides in Colorado and is president of Marketron, Inc., a 17 year old consulting company.  He is a board member of “Save Our Youth” and he is a marketing and branding instructor The Art Institute of Colorado and Colorado Technical University in Denver.  He is a valuable asset to Pro Players Association, actively volunteering his time to many fund raising and community events and serving as an Advisory Board member.  Bill is the father of four (4) sons and a daughter.  His daughter Keela, a four year veteran of the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders recently retired to concentrate full-time on graduate school at Regis.

As junior high school programs diminish, the NFL Junior Player Development program is an attempt to rebuild youth tackle football as an effective feeder system for high school programs.

The program is a re-adapted youth tackle football instructional and developmental playing method for junior high school boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 14. In order to receive a full experience and understanding of the game, every participant receives a wide range of training in a number of positions.

 • All basic fundamentals, such as tackling and blocking, are taught and reviewed at every practice. They are best taught progressively, with the idea of “crawling” first, then “walking, jogging and finally running.” Fundamentals of form tackling and the six-point progression of blocking are first introduced six inches apart and then slowly separated by distance. This structured and controlled environment enables all players to learn at their comfort level.

• All practices are broken into instructional segments lasting no more than 15 minutes. The particular assigned position of the day is taught in an upbeat tempo that holds a player’s interest throughout the entire practice.

• Every practice ends with a review of skills. To further emphasize skills learned that day, there is also a weight-based competition between two adjacent teams on the field that have learned complimentary positions through one-on-one individual competition.

• The objective of competitive play focuses on the execution of basic skills learned, not necessarily the end result of a play. Participants compete for points awarded by a referee for proper set up and stance, as well as proper execution of skill.

• JPD is broken into three six-week stages. Every participant graduates from stages one through three in consecutive years and/or seasons. For example, each stage can be implemented every spring over three consecutive years or over three different seasons (spring/fall/spring). The focus of instruction and competition shifts after stage one to a progression of sharpening and combining with other skills. At this time a semblance of the actual game of football is developed. Instruction then focuses on how different positions work together, with competitions reflecting these changes.

• Each head coach applies the incorporation of life skill messages throughout all on-field skill training. Coaches follow a specifically designed curriculum created by a sports psychologist. Each week a different life skill is integrated throughout the on-field curriculum.

USA FOOTBALL OFFERS EQUIPMENT GRANTS

Each year, USA Football offers an equipment grant program for eligible youth, middle school and high school sponsored football organizations.

Youth and middle school organizations are eligible for equipment grants with a retail value of approximately $1,500 and high school programs are eligible for equipment grants up to $2,000.  Flag football grants are also available to interested organizations. The rolling application process starts in January and concludes in September. 

Interested youth groups must be a federal or state non-profit organization (501-C-3) in order to quality for a grant.  Applications are available online at www.usafootball.com and will be considered on need and merit. Each application consists of a league profile and a short essay section.