Dream Big. Work Harder
There’s no such thing as an off-season for SDSU’s Vincent Brown as he prepped for the NFL…
Photos by Deb Hellman
The road to the NFL is not glamorous. Just ask San Diego State University standout wide receiver Vincent Brown who decided at 6 that he was going to make the journey. Brown remembers telling his dad, Vincent Brown Sr., that he was planning a future in football. “You’re not the biggest guy and you’re not the fastest guy,” his dad pointed out. “So you’re going to have to be the hardest working guy.” Brown took that advice to heart.
Becoming a great football player was a process that started young. Brown’s first trainer was his dad. Together they lifted weights and built a work ethic that would serve him well over the next decade. And when Brown hit eighth grade he began spending his off-seasons at a speed training facility in his home town. He rarely took time off. “Right when the season was over I got back to work,” Brown explained. “I hit it right away. I wanted to be the best I could be and get to the next level. That meant I needed expert training.”
The extra hours of speed and strength work in high school paid off with a scholarship to SDSU where Vincent, who played in nearly every game in all four years, went on to be only the fourth receiver in school history to record four consecutive 100 yard games. He finished his college career with a Poinsettia Bowl record for receiving yards and talk of a bright NFL future. But for Brown, the end of the season just means it’s time to get back to work.
Brown chose to prepare for the draft at Charles Dimry’s training facility, Velocity, and the Pro Prep program he and Doug Hix run for NFL prospects, because he felt it was a unique opportunity to work with someone who had achieved success in the NFL. “A lot of guys I know trained there and they all got great results,” Brown noted. “Most trainers haven’t been through what Charles has. He knows what it takes to be successful at the next level because he’s been there. An NFL corner is the best person to tell you how to beat an NFL corner.” He made a call on Christmas Eve to tell Dimry he was ready to get to work.
After 12 years in the NFL and time in the college coaching ranks, Dimry has seen his share of players and he’s got a good eye for what it takes to make it. Physical attributes play a huge part but athleticism alone won’t get you a job in the NFL. “VJ is a great kid with a really great work ethic,” Dimry said. “He shows up every day ready to get down to business which will serve him well in the NFL.”
Brown is humble and soft spoken and quick to note that Dimry and Hix expect a lot from NFL prospects. He credits the confidence he has in the trainers that prepared him to be at his best for the NFL Combine. And now with the draft approaching, Brown is confident. After all, though his Combine preparation started in January, Vincent Brown has been training for the NFL for years.
The Heart of a Champion
Playing with Heart
As an athlete at the University of Tulsa, I learned so much about the game of football and even more about life. One particular day after walking off the practice field, Randy Lewis was waiting for me. “How was practice?” Randy asked. My first thought was,practice is practice, and I wish I could have spent the afternoon doing something else. However, out of respect for Randy, I told him what he wanted to hear.
“Practice was awesome,” I said, “and we are ready for this weekend’s game!” I knew Randy was interested in practice, because he was unofficially the biggest football fan on campus. Not only that, but he suffered from a severe case of cerebral palsy and would never play the game of football. He would never wear football pads, break the huddle or make a big play–I knew in that moment that football was his dream.
That evening as I reflected on Randy and his love for the game, I realized that being an athlete is an incredible gift. I had been given the gift of football and Randy had not. Randy had many other gifts and talents, such as playing the piano and painting, but he would never experience what athletes get to do every day.
Realizing I had been given a gift changed everything for me. I grew to be grateful for the talent and the opportunity to play. I wanted to work harder at practice and in the weight room to develop my gift. Playing for a bigger purpose allowed me to feel God’s pleasure. For me, it was no longer about playing football! It was much bigger than that and I was going to play with the right heart.
Do you realize the gift you have been given as an athlete? The Bible calls it a special gift in 1 Peter 4:10: “as each one has received a special gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of the manifold Grace of God.”
May you begin today to play for the right reason. You have a gift!
The Heart of a Champion is a regular column written by Donnie Dee, the Chief Operating Officer for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. If you are interested in FCA at your school then please contact Leslie Kemp at lkemp@fca.org or 760-720-0341
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