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Empire State of Mind
Monday, March 1, 2010

This month Sports International takes a look at one of its camp headliners, Jerricho Cotchery.  This will be Jerricho's 4th year headlining the Wayne, NJ football camp. Jerricho was a 4th round draft pick in 2004 by the New York Jets. As a wide receiver during the 2009 season, with rookie Quarterback Mark Sanchez at the helm, Cotchery caught 57 passes for 821 yards and 3 touchdowns. These efforts helped the Jets make it all the way to the AFC Championship game. Recently Sports International got a chance to interview Jerricho as he readies himself for the off-season.

 

For Jerricho making it to the pros was always a goal. But even before making it to the NFL he was making a name for himself. During his collegiate football career at North Carolina State University he earned 2 All-Atlantic Coast Conference selections and broke the school record in career receptions with 200.

 

But of course there is a difference between the collegiate and pro levels of football. When asked about the "culture shock" of going from North Carolina State to playing for the Jets he stated that he "wouldn't describe the difference between the two as a culture shock. It is a blessing to center my focus only on football. When in college you have to find time for both football and your studies."

 

In 89 career games Cotchery has made 317 receptions for 4,081 yards and 16 touchdowns, so it looks as though his focus has been put to good use.

 

When what is sure to be a spectacular football career comes to an end, Jerricho says that he can see himself becoming a coach. The players that attend the Jerricho Cotchery Football Camp can take advantage of this now. Jerricho says that he can, "offer knowledge of the game and help players improve their technique at the wide receiver position."

 

And as a helpful hint to all the aspiring wide receivers, Jerricho says that your stance is the most common issue that needs to be worked on. And who better to learn from than Jerricho Cotchery.

 

He feels every coach he has worked with has added value to his life and ability to play football. At Sports International that is the feeling we want all of our football players to walk away from camp with. Jerricho had this to say about his time spent working with our campers. "I really enjoyed getting the chance to work with the young football players at camp. It's both fun and rewarding to help them become better players."

 

And at the Jerricho Cotchery Football Camp we have kids that come back year after year as well. Jerricho says that he "loves seeing some of the same kids each summer and how much they have improved upon what they learned the previous year."

 

With the 2009 NFL season behind him Jerricho is gearing up for the upcoming 2010 season and his 2010 camp. To him there are two sides to football player's off-season preparation. "One is to work to heal from the previous season and two you have to work to improve as a player." With the Jets going deep in the playoffs and Jerricho having a good year we can only expect great things to come.

 
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