When the Arena Football season comes to an end, Chris Greisen will remain on the field, but in a position different than the one he has been accustomed to with the Georgia Force. The star quarterback spends his time away from the Force not calling plays in the huddle, but on the sidelines coaching youth football players.
Greisen had a record setting season last year with the Force. His 117 touchdown passes and 74 percent completion rate were the highest ever in an AFL single season. The stellar play led the Force to a 14-win regular season. This year Greisen has thrown for 2,769 yards and 54 touchdowns, completing 63.6 percent of his passes.
Prior to setting records, Greisen was schooled on many different levels on what it takes to become a successful quarterback. From high school to college, Greisen participated in football camps, where he learned the fundamentals of playing quarterback. He now relays that information to high school football players during the offseason, coaching at Green Bay Southwest High School in Wisconsin.
"The Arena Football league allows me to do the two things I love doing," Greisen said. "One is playing football and the other is coaching."
Greisen joined the team as the quarterbacks coach five years ago. He is now the offensive coordinator. In addition to his high school coaching duties, he founded the Chris Greisen Quarterback Academy the very year he started coaching.
"There are so many camps a young quarterback can participate in," Greisen said. "But I found that the ratio at the camps were usually around ten to one. I wanted to make a camp that would be more intimate and give more individual attention to young players."
The academy trains players once a week for eight weeks, focusing on everything from footwork to ball handling to throwing techniques. He also goes over the mental aspect of the game with "chalk talk" sessions and film study. But, the thing Greisen enjoys most is the chance to give back and impart the knowledge he learned to a younger generation of players.
"Much like a teacher, the best part is when you see the light bulb go off," Greisen said. "You see them and they say, ‘Wow, I got it.' That's what keeps driving me."
For Chris Greisen, coaching youth football is not only about five-step drops and reading defenses - it is also about teaching what it takes to be a leader, a good teammate, but more so, about becoming a better person.
"The philosophy that I go by is this," Greisen said. "You can use football to build a man. Most of these kids are probably not going to become professional athletes. So they need those types of intangibles. I try to teach kids about life, then also take the physical part of the game, the mental part and the emotional part. Quarterbacks are going to throw interceptions and turn the ball over. If you make a mistake, how do you come back from that? I try to cover the three phases of the game, and teach kids about more than just football."
Chris Greisen can be seen on Russell Athletic ESPN Arena Football Monday, May 12th on ESPN2 at 8:00 P.M. ET when Greisen's Georgia Force (4-5) host the Philadelphia Soul (9-1).