What Are the Odds of This?

What do you think the odds are of having four students from the same small high school playing in the NFL? And, all being offensive linemen?

Those were the questions I asked Bruce Altorfer of Altorfer, Inc. from Cedar Rapids, IA when he told me the story last week of Casey Wiegmann (Kansas City Chiefs); Aaron Kampman (Green Bay Packers); Jerod DeVries (Detroit Lions) and Brad Meester (Jacksonville Jaguars). They all went to Aplington-Parkersburg High School within a six-year period. The school is a consolidated one of around 300 students in towns of 1,054 and 1,889 in a county of only 15,071 in central Iowa.

With 32 teams having rosters of around 75 players, there are 2,400 world-class players in the NFL, or about 1 for every 117,000 of population in the USA. Butler County, IA is doing 31 times better!

All are offensive linemen, a position that requires a player with more intelligence than normal because they have to memorize all of the plays and know what they are supposed to do in each situation. Evidently, a great linemen coach at that small school is doing something out of the ordinary with young athletes.

Who in your town is developing world-class talent? How can you develop and expand this talent pool?