First-round draftees are products of Don Yaeger’s media training program which emphasizes branding
Four of the first seven picks in Saturday’s National Football League draft — headlined by top pick Matt Stafford of Georgia and number two selection Jason Smith of Baylor — and 24 players chosen in the first three rounds headed to their new teams after completing intensive Media Training sessions led by former Sports Illustrated associate editor and established media coach Don Yaeger and his Tallahassee-based team.
Aaron Curry, selected fourth overall by the Seattle Seahawks, has become a media darling since the combine. “I love to practice,” he said of his dedication to training. “You practice like you play and you play like you practice.”
It was the third year in a row that Yaeger has served as media coach to the draft’s Number 1 pick — and the third year in a row that nearly one-third of the top picks had been through his program.
“Twenty years ago, players were drafted solely on their athletic ability,” Yaeger said. “Now the most desirable draftees also portray a positive image and are able to communicate effectively. Our work with those players is intended to teach each player that he is a unique brand and that everyone — including NFL teams — want to align themselves with the best brands on the market. Teams know their players’ brands reflect directly on their own, so they are choosing much more carefully.”
“Obviously if you have the Number 1 pick, you’ve got to do your homework,” Stafford said of the Lion’s interview process. “We talked about anything and everything.”
Yaeger’s 180 Communications team partners with Athletes’ Performance Institute to prepare the players. API is a combine-prep center with facilities in Tempe, AZ, Los Angeles and Gulf Breeze, FL that focuses on enhancing performance on the field and recognizes the value of Media Training off of it.
“I have witnessed first hand, our athletes immediately implement the techniques they learn from Don and his team,” said Peggy Iralson of API. “The principles the athletes learn are a great value for their draft process and throughout their entire NFL career.”
The list of players Yaeger trained in this year’s draft also includes top-20 selections Darrius Heyward-Bey of Maryland, Brian Orakpo of Texas and Josh Freeman of Kansas.
“This was just a great group of guys,” said Yeager. “Stafford was very articulate and confidant, Smith has more personality than any offensive lineman I’ve ever met and Curry, well he just had this sincerity and enthusiasm that infected everyone around him.”
Source: 180 Communications
