Today we’re talking about football and making an impactful difference in the world through sports and community.

 

With Super Bowl LIV just right around the corner, it seems pretty fitting that our guest, Lynell Hamilton, just so happens to be a former running back and Super Bowl Champion himself whose life continues to revolve around football.

2010 Super Bowl Champion with the New Orleans Saints, Lynell Hamilton is also the President of the San Diego chapter of the NFL Alumni Association, the oldest, most well-known, and well-respected retired player organization in professional sports.

Lynell joins me today to discuss how times are changing in football and how the NFL Alumni Association works to inform and assist players in their post-NFL lives as well as raise funds for youth-related charities and prepare them for the future through interactive engagement with a hands-on approach.

 

We Discuss:

  • Why football is such a big deal in our country and why it’s more than “just a game”
  • Super Bowl LIV (#54) with the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs
  • The value of skill sets learned in the NFL and how they affect an athlete’s transition
  • Combining developmental platforms and academic performance to prepare young athletes
  • What the NFL Leagues United is doing to teach children how to play football safely
  • How non-contact leagues allow kids to play football while reducing the risk of injury
  • The powerful benefits of team sports and why it is important to be of service

 

“The goal is to keep kids active, to keep them doing things, and to kind of bring that love back to football.”  –  Lynell Hamilton

 

About Lynell:
Image of Lynell Hamilton

Lynell Maurice Hamilton was born and raised in the inner city of Stockton, California.

From the young age of 9, Lynell developed a passion for football that his Father nurtured. 

His parents believed it would be football that served as the distraction needed to keep him off the streets and out of trouble.

His parents also assured him that without an education, his successes in life and in football would be short-lived.

Lynell had a remarkable high school career and was listed by almost every recruiting service as one of the nation’s top 15 running backs.

He graduated from Edison High School in 2003 with Honors and more than 58 scholarship offers, which included some of the Nations’s top Universities and multiple Ivy League colleges.

In 2003, Lynell signed a letter of intent to play football for San Diego State University where he would go on to start at Running Back as a Freshman for the Aztecs, earning three Doak Walker Award nominations (top collegiate running back).

Lynell was signed by the New Orleans Saints as a Free Agent in 2008 and played a big part in the Saints Super Bowl Championship win in 2010.

Retiring because of injury in 2011, he returned to the Aztecs as an assistant coach all while continuing his education, earning a Masters in Post-Secondary Education from San Diego State University in 2014.

Shortly after graduating, Lynell took an intern coaching position with the Oakland Raiders. It was during this time that he and a former teammate, Brett Swain, would create a nationwide forum for current and former professional athletes to present themselves as coaches, emphasizing their expertise at specific positions and Fast Play Athletics was born.

Fast Play Athletics website currently hosts over 100 current and former professional athletes. And, as if that wasn’t enough to keep him busy, Lynell serves as President of the San Diego NFL Alumni Association, of which he is a member.

 

“In sports in general, it’s a thinking man’s game. There’s a huge physical component, but the ones that are faster, that think about what they’re doing and why they’re doing it at a young age will find themselves doing that throughout high school and throughout college, and at that point, they’re a smart young man or woman.”  –  Lynell Hamilton

 

Check out the video below to watch our live recording in studio:

 

Resources Mentioned:

 

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