FROM ZERO-STAR RECRUIT TO SUPER BOWL MVP
This week another NFL season came to a close as the L.A. Rams executed a last-minute drive to beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI, 23-20. Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp was named Super Bowl MVP after making a number of clutch, late-game receptions including the game-winning score. It was the culmination of an unbelievable season for Kupp, who this year became only the fourth wide receiver in NFL history to lead the league in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdown catches all in the same season.
But today, I want to focus less attention on who Cooper Kupp is and more on where he came from. Of course it’s worth celebrating his place at the pinnacle of pro football, but there are some important lessons we can learn from the long, slow, sometimes painful climb required for him to get there. He is another great example - living proof - that champions aren’t born, they're built. And that more often than not, those at the top of the mountain didn’t fall there.
Each year, the top high school football prospects in the country are ranked using a five-star evaluation system. Typically, about 30 elite players are ranked as a five-star prospects, about 400 or so as four-star, about 1,300 or so as three-star, and about 2,000 as two-star. (There is no one-star label in this system.) Those rankings have become more publicized and more emphasized in recent years as scouting services and top college football programs work to predict the game’s next wave of superstars.
In 2012, there were about 4,000 high school seniors in the country - including 250 wide receivers - who received at least two stars. 18 year-old, Kooper Cupp, the undersized and to many scouts underwhelming wide receiver from Davis High School in Yakima, Washington, wasn’t among them. In fact, when Cupp’s senior football season ended, he didn’t have a single college scholarship offer. Eventually, a couple small college programs took a chance on the 6’0”, 170 lb. kid that experts agreed “wasn’t that fast and played in an area that wasn’t known for great competition.” He ended up at tiny Eastern Washington University.
After a redshirt year that helped him continue to develop, Kupp’s career began to take off. He set multiple small college receiving records and eventually caught the eye of NFL scouts - including the Rams - who, despite a general consensus that he was too small and too slow to play pro football, eventually gave him a chance. He continued to grow and improve, kept working and waiting for an opportunity, and eventually got his shot. Now in his fifth year in the league, he’s become the best wide receiver in football.
Kupp is quick to point out that the journey from unranked, unrecruited high school senior to Super Bowl MVP hasn’t been quick, easy, or painless. “It’s been tumultuous,” he says, “but I think I’ve learned a lot about perseverance.” He recognizes that looking back, his time on the side of the mountain fortified his work ethic and his toughness. It forced him to refine his skill and rely more on his brain, while most of those guys ahead of him relied on their body. Eventually, as his strength, speed, and athleticism developed, he found himself passing those who may have had a higher ranking, but didn’t have the mindset it took to endure that journey to the top.
If you’re an athlete reading along here today, there are some important lessons you can learn from Cooper Kupp’s story. First, his story proves that while stars and rankings matter, they aren’t all that matter, and who you are or who others say you are today doesn’t necessarily determine who you can become in the future. Second, his story proves that building and strengthening yourself physically is important, but so is building and strengthening yourself mentally, too. You’ll need size and strength and speed if you want to make it to the top of the mountain, but you’ll also need perseverance and work ethic and toughness as well. Finally, his story proves there’s power in embracing the struggle that becoming your best requires. Of course, I can’t promise that one day you’ll make it to the pros or become a world champion, but I can tell you that if you embrace that struggle, when it’s all said and done, at the very least you won’t have any regrets. And I think you’ll find that regardless of what you got for your commitment, you’ll be proud of what it helped you become.
If you’re a coach or a parent reading along here today, there are some lessons you can learn from Cooper Kupp’s story, too. In today’s youth sports culture, it’s easier than ever for us to bail on the big picture and devote all our time and attention to the here and now. And don't get me wrong, today’s rankings and results matter. Just make sure they don’t become all that matters. Stay committed to that long, slow, sometimes painful process that real development requires - both physically and mentally. While plenty of other parents and coaches are focused exclusively on building their young athlete's body, keeping working to build your kid’s brain, too. Their perseverance and work ethic and toughness can all be developed, so keep looking for examples (like Cooper Kupp’s) that help you keep teaching. And most importantly, examples that help your young athlete keep learning.