On Wednesday former Snohomish football star (and 1981 NFL first-round draft pick) Curt Marsh was inducted into the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Hall of Fame.
A few weeks ago I met Marsh for the first time. I interviewed the massive one-time gridiron lineman at his home in Snohomish and wrote a story about his WIAA honor. To read the article click here.
Marsh, who works as a motivational speaker, talked about all sorts of topics during our interview. Much of what he said didn’t make it into the story but is still stuck in my head. Here are a few nuggets:
Three-sport athletes
At Snohomish, Marsh competed in football, basketball (his first love) and track. The experiences all helped him in different ways (learning different skills, playing for different coaches, cooperating with different teammates, etc.). It prepared him for life after sports, he said.
That’s why Marsh said he’s so disappointed by the steady decline of three-sport athletes in high school. He completely disagrees with parents who encourage their kids to specialize in a single sport in hopes of earning a college scholarship. Very few of them will become pro athletes so they’d be better off getting as many different experiences as possible in high school.
The perfect hit
Football was extremely frustrating for Marsh at first, which he talked about for the story. But once he combined his impressive physical gifts with the correct lineman technique, everything changed.
He vividly remembers the first time he made a perfect hit. It came in practice against another large teammate.
What did it feel like? Marsh compared it to something from an entirely different sport: Laying a huge hit on a football foe felt pure and almost effortless, like connecting with a smooth, powerful swing in baseball.
The power of song
Marsh talked about many people who had a valuable impact on him, including legendary Snohomish football coach Dick Armstrong.
I was surprised when Marsh mentioned his high school choir teacher. But without encouragement from that music mentor, Marsh said he never would have had the confidence to become a public speaker.
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