So Casey Printers, quarterback for a professional football team - the BC Lions, has a 'life coach' and I say good for him. It is odd and unusual when a pro football player - pro athletes in general - show vulnerability or a perceived weakness, and I emphasis the word perceived.
Whether it's Henry Burris talking about how he is disrespected or Printers talking about the assistance he uses to gain clarity, it does allow fans an opportunity to see the players as human beings as much as football players.
What does a life coach do?
I'm not sure. I would imagine it is similar to a psychologist or psychiatrist, two words that automatically mean there must be something wrong with the participant. And maybe there is, or maybe there is nothing wrong at all.
In my five years at the University of Arizona, I, like the majority of the players, went to class. When I look back at it now, I wish I had put more energy in school and worry less about football. And as I went to class, I developed an interest in the human mind, why we do the things we do and the influence that surround our decisions.
And as I went to class day after day, week after week and month after month, what did I learn? Lots, but what sticks with me is that it's always mind first and body second. If you're not thinking straight, your perception and how you act and react will always be erratic and many times self-destructive. That way, drugs and alcohol are so dangerous; it creates excess confidence or excess depression and the influences on your thinking in a given moment and can create tragic consequences.
All Casey Printers has done is learned how to handle pressure and criticism. He handles the pressure by realizing this game of football is not life and death and in the big picture is not even important, and with criticism he refuses to associate personal emotion to it. So when someone says this or that, why react? Let it go and it will go away.
There is no significant rule for success in professional football. Some players are more gifted, some work harder and others are at the right place at the right time. But, one thing is a guarantee; there will be adversity and lots of it.
You will have to deal with injuries, pressure, physical pain and judgment. And through it all you must remain confident because without confidence, it is tough to perform at the highest level.
You do not receive much in the way of compliments in pro football. Once a game is over and you played well, maybe a pat on the back and then it's time to move on to the next game - the next goal. It is why football is good for life because it makes you tougher knowing that next weeks performance is all that matters.
People may laugh at Casey Printers and his life coach comments, but it seems to me he is getting the last laugh. He looks like the Casey Printers of 2004; spontaneous, athletic and making football entertaining.
Will Printers and the Lions beat Montreal in Olympic Stadium next Sunday afternoon? I doubt it, but Printers has already won. He is back in the league doing exciting things and will probably get a new contract in the new year.
For every great story in pro football there are 20 tough ones that are never told. They are not fun to listen to because unless you're a jerk of a human being, you want people to do well and succeed. But the career so far for Printers has been very interesting - early success, arrogance, failure, money, humility, rejuvenation - all powerful words that Printers has experienced.
But for Printers, there are two more word to describe him: New beginning.