Our coaches believed in him: Coach Benjamin Carey, Gerald Filardi, James Brady, Keith Maurino, Chad Ellis, Coach Barry Baker, Coach Jonathan Risbrook, and many others from our program believed in him.
When he was 7 years old other Coaches at the time didn’t think he was good enough. We disagreed.
As a youth football player he was frequently disregarded because he wasn’t as fast and coordinated as the other quarterbacks. Other coaches didn’t believe in him.
But we did.
Young quarterbacks who can run the ball in youth football get lots of attention. But it doesn’t always translate to the higher level of football. Quarterbacks need a lot more than just speed.
This kid was not the fastest when he was young. He was not a dual threat. And everyone knows that blocking and all the other aspects of football are still in development in youth football. Blocking is sub-par, exchanges are still improving, and most kids can’t run routes or catch well yet. So youth coaches sometimes make the fastest kid the QB even if he doesn’t have good mechanics, even if he has a bad attitude, even if he can’t throw the ball.
Most youth coaches just care about winning games and don’t want to be bothered teaching fundamentals. They’ll make the fastest kid the QB with no regard for anything else and have him run sweeps all day. That’s not development. That’s not taking into account all the other qualities of being a quarterback and considering projections 5 and 10 years out. Inexperienced youth coaches don’t have the foresight to see the potential in young quarterbacks.
Martin was thin and lanky as a kid. He was not the fastest, but as a young QB he was extremely intelligent, coachable, had a great attititude, poise, and good throwing mechanics & footwork. The awkwardness slowly disappeared, he became more athletic, and every year he got faster and gained muscle on his frame.
He had something else that was very special:
A thick skin, and an unfathomable work ethic and commitment. No one was deterring him, he just needed expert guidance and coaches who believed in him.
We believed in him and gave him the same commitment back that he gave us from the time he was 7 years old all the way until he was in 10th grade. We saw something special and we helped develop him.
Martin Koppelman is now one of the top Quarterbacks in New York High School football and leads the new powerhouse EAGLE ACADEMY. He has become a die-hard competitor, a field general, and a absolute gentleman with class.
No matter what position you play, if you’re 11, 12, or 13 years old stop chasing gimmicks. Join a program and coaches that have experience, and care.
Expert development and work ethic beat talent every single time.
