GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — On Sundays they're stars, playing in front of tens of thousands at Lambeau Field. But — like any athlete — they had to start somewhere.
In this week's edition of Youth Sports: Beyond the Score, NBC 26 spoke with Packers players to reflect on their youth sports careers and dish out their advice to today's young athletes.
- Pro Bowl linemen Kenny Clark and Elgton Jenkins both played multiple sports in high school and credit that experience with helping them get to the NFL.
- Clark wrestled during his final three years of high school and said he "fell in love" with the sport.
- Jenkins played basketball until his senior year of high school. He said the game helped with his footwork and ability to keep defenders in front of him.
- Kristian Welch, who graduated from nearby Iola-Scandinavia High School, encouraged young athletes to find a strong support system and chase their dreams.
In an era of high-priced training and sports specialization, Pro Bowlers Kenny Clark and Elgton Jenkins both said they learned football the old fashioned way.
“I was just playing in the neighborhood," Clark said of his childhood football experience. "I was catching the ball, running into cars. Doing the most.”
"Obviously where I’m from, we don’t have many outlets where we can do things like (specialized training)," Jenkins, who is from northern Mississippi, said. "Basically for me it was just going to practice and just trying to get better from there.”
Clark and Jenkins have a significant size advantage over most people, but both emphasized the importance of practice and honing their skills. Each player separately said playing multiple sports was an advantage.
"It’s definitely helped my game," said Clark, who wrestled his final three years of high school in southern California. "I was just so competitive with it and it was a thing I just fell in love with."
"Really just my mentality," Clark added. "Being in that hot room. You’ve got to be a different type of person to wrestle and wrestle at a high level.”
Jenkins, who is 6'5" and weighs in at 310 pounds, competed in track and field and played basketball until his senior year of high school.
“Just being able to stay in front of people on defense," Jenkins said of his basketball experience. "I feel like that helps you build your athleticism, just working on your craft. And then also just the grit and competitive edge that you want to have.”
Being from Wisconsin, Packers linebacker and special teams ace Kristian Welch provides a unique perspective.
Welch was a multi-sport star at Iola-Scandinavia High School. He was a WIAA state qualifier in track and field and said basketball — not football — was his primary sport early on.
“It wasn’t until really midway through high school when I really wanted to pursue football specifically,” Welch said.
A self-described "wild child" and "high-energy" kid, Welch played multiple sports from an early age and said he began strength and speed training before even starting middle school.
“Shoot, ever since I think fifth or sixth grade we started to do a speed training before school," Welch said. "We would be in there at like, 6:45 or 7:00 before school started getting a workout in.”
Only the best of the best make it to the NFL — and everyone's path is different -- but those three Packers players agree, it's only possible through hard work and commitment.
“It’s not something that you can be up and down with an not be consistent with," Clark said. "It’s something that you’ve got to attack every day and have the right mindset."
“Just believe in yourself and just be able to work hard," Welch added. "If you have those two things and a support system around you of coaches and teachers and family that really cares, you never know what can happen."
