Every week, we see spectacular plays where a player breaks tackles and ultimately gets taken down by multiple defensive players, all of whom are trying to strip the ball! How do our receivers and running backs develop the skills they need to hang onto the ol’ pigskin?

Remember the home economics class where you have to take care of a flour baby? If you didn’t take home ec, 20% of your grade depended on keeping a bag of flour with a face drawn on it alive. Sure, you think it sounds easy! But you have to be an actual parent and take your flour baby with you everywhere you go! Are you going to school? Gotta take that flour baby! After all, you’re going to see your home ec teacher, you’re in school, duh. Are you going to the mall? Well, you obviously can’t leave a real baby in the car or at home so your lil brother can rip it open, so get that stroller ready, you’ll be pushing your flour baby! Are you going to fencing practice? Better grab an extra face mask for that sack of flour!

Well, football players go through similar training–except they have to carry a football instead of a sack of flour, and they don’t have the luxury of using a stroller or car seat. They have to carry the football in their hands all the time for two whole weeks! At the grocery store, in the shower, at work, at the gym, in the hospital, on a roller coaster, wherever they happen to be! And everywhere they go, people are trying to take the football away from them! And if someone “kidnaps” their football baby, they can’t get graduate from high school and go on to play NCAA College NFL Jr!

That, ladies and gentlemen, is some darn good practice! No wonder it’s first instinct for College NFL Junior and NFL players to guard that football with their lives.

If you’d like to get a sneak peak of what the NFL will look like in 10 years, there’s nothing like a classic Friday night high school football game. Check out the local Lil’ NFL High teams in your area!