NFL player and agent who graduated from Mission Prep to host kids football camp in SLO
An NFL Skills Day will take place April 9 at Mission Prep High, with the youth football camp featuring a pair of alums with strong National Football League connections.
The camp is open to those of eighth-grade age or younger and will run from 10 a.m. to noon at a cost of $50 per participant.
Mission Prep alumnus Patrick Laird — a running back for the NFL’s Miami Dolphins over the past three years who this spring entered free agency — and NFL agent Brian Hannula, also a former Royal, will be at the camp to speak to and meet with kids.
The event will include multiple combine events, spotlighting football skills at all positions, and a seven-on-seven tournament.
Participants are asked to bring “cleats, water and a competitive spirit.”
“The camp is a great opportunity to meet some MCP grads having great success in the NFL and learn basic fundamentals,” coach David Schuster said. “(Participants will) have a blast with some fun NFL Combine style drills and play football in beautiful downtown SLO.”
To register, email football@missionprep.org. A link to the registration also is available on the school’s athletics website at missionprep.org/apps/pages/athletics.
Patrick Laird says football teaches ‘life skills’
Primarily, Laird says he wants kids to have fun at the camp and enjoy their two hours.
Entering his fourth NFL season this year, Laird said professional practices last about two hours and “we’ll get a lot done during the two hours of the camp.”
“First and foremost, we’re going to have fun with the kids,” Laird said. “We’re going to try to teach them good football techniques and fundamentals. And I’ll share some of my story and the stuff I went through.”
Laird said his path to becoming a pro football player doesn’t compare to the regular hurdles of life that many experience.
“The adversity and struggle that I went through in football really isn’t that big in the grand scheme of things,” Laird said. “People are going through a lot worse. So at the end of the day, the lessons that you learn in football will help you when you do approach those challenges in life.”
Laird said that he believes football, and sports in general, provide great tools for developing life skills.
“I never expected the career I have, but if I had never played professional football, I still believe that the life lessons and the character-building aspect of football would have helped me out and it will help me out when I’m done playing,” Laird said.
He added: “I think football and really any any sport, any team sport, is a great avenue to teach kids life skills. I’m super lucky and fortunate. But I just I don’t think that you know, everyone’s obviously not going to be able to play professional football.”
Laird said every year he helps coordinate his Summer Reading Challenge for kids (a concept he helped launch as a player at UC Berkeley) and he’s on the Dolphin Social Impact Committee, which has initiatives around civic engagement, education and economic empowerment.
Laird said that he has good memories of attending football and basketball camps as a kid, and he wanted to give back to the Central Coast community.
“(Schuster) and I stayed in contact throughout the years since he took over as head coach at Mission, and I brought up the idea about hosting camp,” Laird said. “I might host another one in the summer but he set up this one for April 9.”
Laird said he hopes to remain a Dolphin and had a productive meeting with new coach Mike McDaniel this spring, but the free agency process will have to play out before he knows where he’ll be playing next.
“There’s a lot of decision-makers who have to sign off on things like this,” Laird said. “I’d love to go back to Florida and play for the Dolphins again, but we’ll just have to see what happens in free agency.”
NFL agent to share story
Brian Hannula, a 2004 Mission Prep graduate, will speak to kids not only about life as a sports agent representing NFL players, but also following passions and focusing on school.
Hannula, in his 14th year with Alliance Sports Management Group, represented Dallas Cowboys player Ezekiel Elliot during a negotiation that landed the star running back a $90 million contract extension over six years.
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His other clients include Jamar Chase (Cincinnati Bengals) and players from the New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots among other franchises.
“Kind of my whole attitude and approach is just like showcasing some of the skills and traits that are required to make it to college and then potentially have a pro career,” Hannula said. “Some of those things are the unwavering belief in yourself and confidence. I think that every player who makes it to college and to the pros believes in themselves when no one else will.”
Hannula said he’s also a big believer in “what we call the unseen hours, which is essentially hard work, right.”
“Especially in this day and age of social media, everyone wants to show off like what they’re doing and this and that, and it portrays an image that others will latch on to but may not necessarily bear the whole truth,” Hannula said. “When I speak to kids, I just want to reiterate the kinds of lessons that have been passed down to us through the years — that you have to work hard and you have to try and you have to care.”
Hannula emphasizes the importance of school and the educational foundation that helped launch his career.
“The Mission Prep community gave us a strong foundation.” Hannula said. “Mission was harder for me then both college and law school.”
Hannula said that while everyone can’t become a pro athlete, being a good student will lead to other opportunities.
“My classmates have become doctors and lawyers and work for SpaceX and they went to MIT,” Hannula said. “All my peers are wildly successful. And there’s something to be said for that.”
Hannula added: “It’s something I didn’t appreciate when I was younger, but networking also becomes more important, and having peers and colleagues in different fields that have had success. It creates a lot of value as an adult.”
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