Israel Byrd worked his way up the ladder gradually to become a National Football League player during the 1990s with the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans.
A former standout at Parkway Central High, Byrd made it to the NFL the hard way. He was a two-year standout at Allan Hancock Community College in California before moving over to Utah State University, where he was a two-year star in football and track.
Byrd played with the Saints from 1993 to 1995 and spent the 1999 season with the Tennessee Titans, where he was a teammate with younger brother Isaac Byrd, a former three-sport star at Parkway Central. In between NFL stints, Byrd also spent time in NFL Europe and other minor leagues.
The hard work and dedication that made Byrd a NFL player has now been channeled into the next phase of his football career, which is coaching. Byrd is now dedicated to coaching and mentoring young football players to achieve their potential and he has done it in many capacities.
Byrd is currently the defensive backs coach at Washington University, where he has been for the past four years. He has also had the opportunity to return to the NFL in a coaching capacity as a participant in the NFL’s Minority Coaching Fellowship Program. Byrd spent the 2008 season as an intern defensive backs coach with the St. Louis Rams. He spent the entire training camp and preseason with the Rams. Byrd will resume his minority coaching internship with the Washington Redskins this summer.
Everything that Byrd has learned as a player and coach over the years is now being put into his own organization, Dare 2 Soar Sports and Entertainment. One of his organization’s first events will be the Israel Byrd DB Academy Summer 2009 Mini-Camp, which will be held from July 22-25 at Parkway Central.
Byrd’s DB Academy is a non-contact, specialized football camp devoted to defensive backs and wide receivers entering grades 9-12 this year. If you are an aspiring high school defensive back, this is the place to learn the finer points of the position from a man who has played at the highest level.
Byrd has designed his academy to run in an NFL style mini-camp atmosphere. The focus of the three days is simply instruction, technique and skill development through repetition and teaching. The instructors will include high school and college coaches and some former NFL players, including Israel’s brother Isaac. Byrd has seen the proliferation of elite football camps around the country on college campuses, so he is quite excited about the prospect of having his own academy which deals strictly with the fundamentals of playing a certain position.
“I wanted to do something totally different,” Byrd said. “Everyone is doing these camps around the country, but nobody was focusing on techniques and fundamentals. That’s why I wanted to have something like this here in St. Louis. If you are not fundamentally sound, you are not going to progress as a player. We can have a lot of fun and learn about the game.”
As a product of North St. Louis, Byrd is also serious about giving something back to the community and helping other young players strive to succeed by passing on his lessons learned is a big factor is starting his academy.
“I’m an inner-city North Side guy, and I am proud to do something in St. Louis,” Byrd said. “This academy is something that I want to do on a year-round basis, after the season is over.”
There are spots available for the academy, but athletes must pre-register. The cost of the academy is $325. You can register on-line at www.israelbyrdacademy.com. For further information, call (314) 484-2664.
