Every year the NFL holds a draft of the top Collegiate players from the prestigious world of College Football. When a young mans name is called on the microphone his life could change forever. Money is dispensed into his account immediately upon signing, in form of a signing bonus and old friends seem to creep out of the wood works, saying "Hey Remember Me!?" Everyone now all of the sudden wants to be your best friend, but we must always remember how and what got us to this point. A majority of the players drafted do not even make a NFL roster, after forgetting that you must evolve with the pack to coincide with greatness. 90 players will attend camp, with only 53 making the final playing rosters. So in essence, 2,880 players attend training camps and only 1,696 will make the final roster, hence receiving a weekly game check. At this point, I hope most athletes did not blow whatever signing bonus they acquired, because the street's do not care once you get CUT. If your lucky enough to get picked up by another NFL team, then you had a great agent and better take full advantage this time. But what if the phone does not ring and your stuck back at home with mom and dad, with or without a degree. Hopefully you acquired that degree and basic knowledge in some field, in order to obtain a job. Most athletes I have found sadly, have not received one or the other and endlessly look at alternative football leagues as paths back to stardom. The road leading back is often rather dreary and complicated, but your pride/ego will not let you quit. You find yourself without adequate meals and slowly turn to drugs and alcohol to numb your pain. You could have chose a more productive route and went out and got better, made connections, helped coach our youth and in the mean time, better your game at the same time! See, whether you like to admit it or not, you were lacking something in the eyes of your organization, so the only conducive solution to this equation is to "make your weaknesses, your strengths". Come back a complete ball player and maybe get another shot, if not, you are still productive in the game and are probably coaching somewhere by now. Losing quality years physically on the field is also a concern for many NFL staffs when you enter ulterior leagues, that sometimes can be even more physical. So by playing in say, Any Arena league, I feel as if you are taking steps backwards when it comes to your so-called dream. You can try the 9 team CFL, where they get only so many import players (players outside Canada) and work your way into the NFL. Our athletes with Scout Trout will receive every opportunity at whatever level they so choose, but we always must keep in mind these numbers. 

Every athlete great or average will have to come to the reality that it is over. Sometimes the greats of the game are left with nothing, because they never took the same mentality that made them great on the field into the real world. They were to absorbed with how great they were on the field and/or pursuing athletic goals, that they never created a solid plan for life after football. Most of the guys I work with still have a shot at the NFL and joining the highest level of Professional Football. How are you going to separate yourself today in order to be apart of that 1.5% statistic? I see a lot of Facebook profiles stating Student-Athlete's are already in the NFL, which makes me believe they truly do not understand how hard it is to be apart of the National Football League. I encourage all of our Scout Trout athletes to start adapting to being great EVERYDAY, in EVERYTHING you do. Your interactions with others, your discipline,  YOUR SCHOOL WORK, your relationships, your faith and most importantly your ATTITUDE! If you control the outside variables, as far as your game is concerned, you will find that the pieces will fall together on the field as well. 

Send your highlights to me at merfdigg@aol.com, facebook, and/or downloaded page so I can make you mix-tape. Video is then posted to Scout Trout's Youtube page, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Videos will also be placed under each profile and in scouting reports. Check out a few I did for prospects below! GOAT Mixtapes are 9.99 and payments can be made by clicking the PayPal button below. Normally can fit up to 8 clips per mix-tape. 

Thanks to one of our new sign ups, Ramsey Sites, father John Sites, and the wonderful staff at Oak Hill High School, we will be using their amazing facilities for our first Regional Event. Registration will begin at 10:00 AM , as players are getting registered/warmed up, I will be conducting a short recruiting seminar and going over very important details, THAT ARE A MUST for your Student-Athlete. The pertinent subjects will include;

• Important documents/applications that need to be completed ASAP, for each student-athlete to be able to receive a Football Scholarship. 
• Dealing with College Recruiters/Coaches from respective Universities. 
• The difference in College Football Divisions/Playing levels and Eligibility rules pertaining to each. 
• Our Combine/Mindfulness Training program for athletes. 
• Why we are the most successful Football Recruiting/Scouting/Training Company in the World, as far as 100% scholarships. 
• How you can join our team and become a Scout Trout Regional Scout. 
• I will be available to answer any questions after we complete our event.

By now our Student-Athletes should be warmed up properly and ready to compete at a high level on film.  

​Teenagers live in a world that bombards them with constant stress—school, family, work, relationships, sports, extra-curricular activities, ACT’s, SAT’s, prom, phone, computers, dating, social media, Facebook, Instagram…..and the list goes on.
When you feel constant stress and anxiety, day in and day out, what do you do?  How do you cope?
Do you ever get to a place of feeling calm, focused, thoughtful, and happy?  When was the last time you were able to sit quietly and be ‘in the moment’, not stressing about all the mistakes of yesterday or worried about what will happen in an hour, day, year?  
Let’s talk about being ‘mindful’---being in the moment, recognizing how you fell right now, with no judgement, only kindness. 
There is a lot of research that suggests practicing Mindfulness can help you mentally and physically:  decreasing anxiety and anger, boosts energy, improves sleep, boosts concentration and focus, improves mood and happiness, helps heart function, improves self-esteem, and reduces chronic pain.  

Being Mindful can also help us rewire our brains and strengthen the smart part of our brain (pre-frontal cortex) so we are able to respond to stress in a healthier manner. 
Athletes are seeing the benefits of incorporating Mindfulness in their training practices.  Athletes spend hours every day working out their body to improve their skills in the game, and now also realize they need to focus on working their brain in order to deal with the mental aspect of the game.
 
So, how do you do this?  How do you train your brain to respond to things in a calm, thoughtful way, instead of with anger, irritability, and negative emotions?  It’s easy, doesn’t take a ton of time, and can be done anywhere, anytime, anyplace.  
 
The best place to start is with your breath. 
 
Belly Breathing:  Use your breathing to calm your thoughts and settle your brain.  When we intentionally focus on our breathing, ​we calm the alarm part of our brain that takes in all the anxiety, and we began to relax and focus.  Make sure you take slow belly breathes, inhaling for 4 or 5 seconds and exhaling for 4 to 5 seconds.  Try to really concentrate on your breaths in and out, if your mind wanders, just go back to the breathing.  Do this for a minute before a test or a game to help your body and mind connect and perform your best.
Catch your Thoughts:  What we think about is what will flourish and grow in our brains and lives.  If we constantly are thinking of negative things, that is what will flourish in our brains and lives and make us more miserable and unhappy.   When we intentionally pay attention to happy and positive things we feel happier.  Pretty simple.  Every morning when you wake up, take some deep belly breaths and think about something or someone that makes you happy—focus on all the wonderful things about this person, place, or thing.  Do this for one minute in the morning, and one minute before bed.  This practice will help rewire your brain to be more thoughtful and happy.  

Our last three athlete's that have joined the Scout Trout Pipeline Program have all now received offers and have numerous school's pursuing them. I have known Xavier King for sometime now and he is a amazing athlete at the Receiver position. He is a tough young man who possesses skills that translate into what I like to call a "young Randy", meaning he could pan out to be the next Randy Moss (Goat). That being said, Xavier messaged me about going the JUCO route after not testing well and has heard from 8 Juco/NAIA programs including Ottawa (Surprise AZ), Scottsdale CC (AZ), Webber Int (FL), Hinds CC, Hutch CC, Northland and NDSCS.  

When it comes to dynamic athletes, Juwaun Mcfalls can do a lot of things on a football field. Juwaun was able to post a 4.48, 40 yard dash and can play both sides of the football at a high level. He showed great route running ability and caught nearly everything within his range. Juwaun has now heard from Kentucky Christian, Lindenwood - Belleville and Arkansas Baptist! Juwaun is looking to get a education and continue his dreams of playing football at a high level. 

Felix is a phenomenal athlete at the kicking position and was able to post a 4.14, 40 yard dash, which can be seen in his youtube video. Felix has great hands and did not drop one pass, but what was extremely impressive was his kicking abilities. Felix is able to strike from as far as 60 yards and has become very consistent. The height that Felix is able to achieve on his kicks are second to none at his age.  Felix highlight's have been taking off on social media and he has made a few world wide top 5 plays! We also were featured on the front page of the Overtime app today! Follow me on instagram @merf_trout and on twitter @scouttrout122! Felix has already received 3 offers in Kentucky Christian, Arkansas Baptist and Lindenwood-Belleville! This young man is going to be a special kicker at the next level with his power and accuracy! 

In a advantageous way to help my athletes prepare for the evolution of the Collegiate scouting process, I am now training athletes weekly in combine related events, along with football activities to prepare them for the next level. Upon enrolling in my program we get your information out to every school in America that offers scholarships. With this not being my  goal, we develop you and prepare you FULLY, for everything you will need to be prepared for at the next level. Our next meeting is here in Colorado in preparation for our Colorado Regional Mini Camp. We have a great group of athletes already attending and will be working with athletes from Rangeview High School as well. All athletes 25 and under that aspire to play Collegiate/Pro football should attend. Information is attached in buttons below about our program.