By John Ingoldsby | Engagement Insider
WASHINGTON, DC July 31, 2014 – Football and physicality go hand in hand, but at the highest level in the National Football League, the game is as much mental as it is physical.
For players who make it to this top tier, the cerebral training they walk away with can be the key component as they transition from the game to their NEXT career.
For former NFL receiver Kevin Youngblood, that was his takeaway and he turned that training into an even higher calling -- working in the White House to help protect the President.
“The National Football League mentally prepared me for what I do today by making me mentally strong,” stated the five-year Secret Service Agent. “The NFL helped me a lot with going through two-a-day minicamps, and protection work is a lot like the offensive line, where we make sure our job does not get interrupted.”
Indeed, there is no margin for error in either line of work, which the Clemson alumnus who obtained his degree in Technology & Human Resources Development in 3½ years relishes.
“Every day is different, whether I am dealing with the President and the First Family or working in the Foreign Missions branch as a liaison between the embassies and the District of Columbia, which I am doing a lot of these days” said the former Falcon, Buccaneer and Panther who played from 2004 to 2007.
As a liaison, Youngblood described his duties as dealing daily with diplomats and their families from all over the world regarding any issues that come up with them, from auto accidents and parking to lost and stolen items.
But before this, he was at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
“My first two years from 2009 to 2011, I was assigned to the White House team working in access control, to make sure nothing got into the White House area that shouldn’t be there,” he described. “But I also have done different venues and all types of events during President’s Obama’s terms in office.”
Teamwork of the highest order to be sure, and a career path he enjoys sharing with his former NFL teammates.
“I still have a lot of friends playing, and they are amazed and actually in awe sometimes at what I am doing, the places I travel and the people I protect,” said the Jacksonville native. ”Football players are the greatest guys and I have plenty of memorable experiences, particularly since I was not drafted and, like every kid dreams of, found myself in the huddle with players like Michael Vick and Steve Smith.”
But when the dream ended, he was ready for the next phase of his life.
“I am truly blessed to have made the transition out of football so smoothly, and like to reach out to the NFL to help others with their transitions,” he said. “I ask them to think about what they want to be when they grow up, and tell them how I grew up interested in law enforcement and always thought to myself ‘I can do that.’”
He can talk this talk since he walked the walk with the same speed he showed in the NFL and at Clemson, working in the field of law enforcement a mere one year after he finished playing on the football field.
Other players can do the same, he said.
“I tell them to them do the research and have the background so they can be ready for their next job,” he exclaimed. “I emphasize that life after football is not the end of their lives and they need to stay motivated and stick with it to keep going on.”