Playing a professional sport is something that youngsters everywhere dream about, and this dream became a reality for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb and Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell. But long before they took to the field on Sundays, they were gearing up for high school games on Fridays.
Having come a long way from those days, McNabb and Campbell can still be certain that two of their high school coaches, who have also been named to USA Football's Junior National Team coaching staff, are always watching. Frank Lenti and Marcus Boyles will be especially interested when the Redskins travel to Lincoln Financial Field to go head-to-head with the Eagles on Sunday afternoon.
Chicago Mount Carmel High School head coach Lenti, who is serving as an offensive line coach for Team USA in the 2009 International Federation of American Football Junior World Championship, has no doubt that McNabb will be able to get the Eagles (2-2, 0-1 in the NFC East) back on track. But besides being a fierce competitor, Lenti also remembers how "Don" was able to motivate his teammates even as a teenager.
"He was always able to get the other kids to laugh - he had that leadership ability," Lenti said. "When I thought kids were too tight, I'd tell Don, ‘You need to loosen these kids up,' but he could also walk into the huddle and direct guys to get their act together as well."
How exactly did McNabb, who helped lead the Caravan to an Illinois state championship in his sophomore year, keep team morale high?
"He would mimic some of the coaches - some of their mannerism and patterns of speech," Lenti said. "He was smart enough to never mimic me in front of me, but I'm sure he could do a pretty good Frank if he wanted to."
A bit further south, Campbell got his high school football career started under the guidance of Boyles, head coach at Taylorsville (Miss.) High School at the time. Boyles left to pursue another coaching position after the quarterback's sophomore year, but Campbell had already proven that he had what it took to become something special.
"He was a real student of the game, even at an early age," said Boyles, now the head coach at Wayne County (Miss.) High School and the wide receivers coach for the Junior National Team. "Jason worked very hard. He had a lot of God-given ability, but he wanted to make sure he was doing things the right way."
Campbell is doing a lot of things right so far this season - his fourth in the NFL. He has six touchdowns and no interceptions in 2008, and Washington (3-1, 1-1) is on a three-game winning streak.
The Redskins didn't get off to the start they wanted, dropping their season-opener 17-6 to the New York Giants, and Campbell took a lot of heat for the loss. It's times like those when some kind words can really come in handy.
"I talked to him during that week by text just trying to encourage him a little bit," Boyles said. "That's the main thing. I don't care what level you're at, when you get criticism like that, it's tough. That's why I'm so happy for him that he's been able to come back these past few weeks."
Both Campbell and McNabb have experienced a plethora of highs and lows throughout their careers since being removed from the high school scene - Campbell for eight years and McNabb for 14. But both have remained focused, with Boyles and Lenti attributing their players' successes to their strong upbringing.
"Don's so well-grounded," Lenti said. "The things we always talk to those guys about is, ‘Don't lose your perspective. Don't think you're bigger than the game or the people around you.' A motto at our high school is ‘Building Character for a Lifetime,' and you can see that in him."
This week, whether the Eagles continue to slip in the NFC East or the Redskins see their winning streak come to an end, McNabb and Campbell can rest assured knowing they'll have Lenti and Boyles in their corners.