adidas Euro 2008 Mini Soccer Ball (Ro/Wh/Bk)

#615361 The little ball with big style and quality

My rookie season in the NFL, I had the best coach I could of had. He was a perfectionist, and would only talk to you when you made a mistake! So you can imagine he talked to me a lot during training camp. Coach would not just give you constructive criticism... he would GO OFF ON YOU for running the wrong route, or making the wrong read.

In 1996 we were still running the run-n-shoot offense in Atlanta, and every play had multiple options for every person. If the play called for a simple 12 yard out route, I could have a combination of routes based on the coverage of the defense, and the position of the defensive backs. My head was swimming the first week. But I soon figured coach out. He knew you were going to mess up occasionally. But as long as you don't make the same mistake twice, or make the same mistake that someone else just made, then you were fine.

I decided to take daily notes in our meetings of my mistakes and the mistakes of others to make sure I would not do it again. This habit allowed me to make the team and play over guys who were bigger, and faster than me. To quote coach, "I'm going to cut you, before the owner cuts me. If I can't trust that you are going to do the right thing every time, then I can't play you in a game." Eventually, I was able to not only know my assignments, but because I took the time to listen to the coaching points for the other players, I learned their assignments as well. This allowed me to be more valuable to my team, and to the coaches at the same time.

Most people tend to only want to do enough to get by. But if you want to be truly successful in life and in football, you must me teachable and able to handle criticism. This mindset will allow you to learn things about yourself and the game that you would not have known. You will also put yourself in a position to be as successful as possible both on the field and off of it.

I made a decision to allow the coaching points to help me develop as a player. I choose to apply what I learned about myself and my teammates immediately in practice. Consequently, I was able to play at the highest level of football with confidence.

If you want to make it to the next level, start paying attention to the little things, and do the right things right every time!

Freddie Scott is a former NFL football player who played 4 seasons from 1996 - 1999. He played with the likes of Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison, as well as played for famous and Hall of Fame coaches such as Joe Paterno, Dan Reaves, and Jim Mora.

While at Penn State, Freddie set school records for most catches in a game (13), most touchdowns by a sophomore (9), and dawned the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1994.

Freddie is currently a Minister and Dean for a church in Nashville, TN, and does speaking engagements for organizations and youth nationally. He is also an entrepreneur who has partnered with doctors and former NFL players to educate people about health and wellness internationally.

For more information about suppliments that Freddie endorses, feel free to visit: http://www.claimwellness.com