Washington Redskins’ running back Chris Thompson is only in his second year in the National Football League but he is as wise as some of the most aged veterans in some regards. And fortunately, for a couple of local high school football teams, Thompson is willing to pass along some of that wisdom.
In the last 10 days, the Florida State University grad has visited two very different Washington, D.C. high schools — Woodrow Wilson High School in North West Washington and Ballou High School in South East — to impart some of what he has learned in his 23 years to the varsity and junior varsity football players there.
Thompson was injured in November of 2013 — his rookie year with the Redskins — and so was unable to show RedskinsNation what he could do on the field. But he is jumping at the opportunity to show what he can do in his community… namely, pass along what he’s learned over the years to some local kids. Things like the amount of hard work that is required to get the NFL and how he managed it. Sports Journey Media was glad to be able to help facilitate the meetings with the young men that will no doubt benefit from some of what the running back told them.
At both schools it was exciting to see how interested the students were in what Thompson had to say. After short presentations at both places, the former Seminole star asked if anyone had questions. What was anticipated to last roughly 15 minutes in the form of Q&A sessions lasted an hour or more and could have gone on longer had the end-of-the-school-day bells not rung.
There were questions from the kids ranging from the degree with which Thompson graduated to what he wanted to do after football to how he felt about the party scene. Making decisions about partying is an issue that most — if not all — of these kids will be faced with as they go through their high school years. Ballou is in an area of south east Washington that, while currently going through some renovations and doing very well, has had its problems. The young men on the Knights’ football team are witnessing the multi-million dollar renovation of their athletic facility (including two new turf fields outside) and it’s well deserved and overdue. But because something looks nice and new on the outside doesn’t mean any and all problems will go away. The age-old question of whether or not to “party” will surround teenagers no matter where they live. Hopefully, these players heard Thompson loud and clear.
“I don’t go out to clubs and stuff,” Thompson answered when asked about drinking and/or smoking, “but I know my boys that did go. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. Never did. I’m just not into that and sometimes girls tell me I’m boring, honestly [laughter here], but I don’t care. That’s just not me. A lot of people could come at you: ‘Oh come on. Just take a drink with me, just one.’ No. I was never about it and I would advise ya’ll not to start doing it just because it can become a habit and it can become a bad habit too.
“When you go through college — even high school — you start to realize who really your boys are and who is not. If they’re trying to make you drink every time… make you smoke every time… [and] somebody’s throwing something at you every time? That isn’t good.”
It is no surprise that the young men appeared to hang on every word Chris said because he is an engaging and enthusiastic speaker. Being only two years out of FSU, he is not that much older than many of the kids he was addressing. It is easy to see how they might relate to him.
Of particular interest to the group at Wilson was Thompson’s discussion about the hard work required to return from some really tough injuries and how important it is to continue to work even when you don’t feel like it. During his college years, the 2012 ACC first-place rusher (7.5 yards per attempt) suffered a broken back and a torn ACL. He then suffered a torn labrum his rookie season with Washington which resulted with him being placed on IR.
“You can’t get to the NFL without work,” he explained to the group. “I surely didn’t want to do it after I broke my back. For two months I was like, “Man… I’m done with this.’ But I started thinking about people who believed in me. You know, ya’ll all got a lot of people believing in ya’ll too and you’ve got to believe in yourself that you can do it. Just go every single day, man. I mean, what else are you going to do? Be home? Playing a game? Maybe walking the streets? Like, give it an hour or two. Go work out.”
Thompson also reiterated how important it is to let the body recover when working so hard and many, many other things. He told the kids about the uncertainty of players’ jobs in the NFL. They discussed specific plays and games that he was asked about (there was a long discussion about his kick/punt returns in that first MNF Eagles game), being drafted by Washington, the huge difference between NFL and college football and even the fines imposed on players — both in college and in the pros — for being late and/or missing practices and meetings.
The offseason is the time of year when professional athletes have the most time to give to the community. And actually, Redskins players as a group do a lot of this in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Chris Thompson is one member of the Burgundy and Gold that is happy to be out there passing along some of the lessons he has learned over time. Having been through a lot, whatever kids are fortunate enough to have an opportunity to talk with him will — hopefully — truly listen to what this bright young man has to say and use what they learn to follow in his footsteps.
Hail.