Village Christian hires former Panther as football coach
Elizabethtown native Emerson Martin replaces Russell Stone
By Patrick Obley FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
Staff writer
Former NFL offensive lineman Emerson Martin has made it his mission to train high school football players in proper technique and raise their “football IQ” in hopes of improving their college prospects.
As a result, this past year has seen 28 of 50 pupils receive either full rides or partial scholarships to play college ball.
Martin will bring his “Players 2 Pro” program to Village Christian Academy as its latest football coach. He succeeds Russell Stone, who left after one season to pursue an opening in Hickory.
“I think he’s going to be a tremendous leader,” Village Christian athletic director Harold Morrison said. “I think he’s going to be a great Xs and Os coach, too. He’s very detailoriented and he knows how to teach the game.”
Martin, an Elizabethtown native, excelled at Hampton and eventually joined the expansion Carolina Panthers as an offensive guard in 1995, playing two games. After his playing days, Martin went into coaching at various stops on the college and high school level, including East Bladen High.
In the meantime, he and several other former pro and college players created Players 2 Pro (players2pro.com), an immersive program meant to teach high school football players how to play their natural position, excel in the classroom and understand the nuances of the sport.
“I want to change the culture of the sport in North Carolina,” Martin said. “It’s not a question whether kids in North Carolina can play football. It’s their football IQ that’s questioned.”
There are many facets to that discussion for Emerson, but one prime example is the tendency of coaches to play a talented athlete out of position due to a need.
“Say you have a kid, 215 pounds, truly an outside linebacker, but because he’s a good athlete and the coach has a need, he makes him a defensive lineman,” Martin said. “When Division I colleges come to see him play, what they see is an undersized defensive lineman. Because he’s playing out of position, he’s not going to go to college.”
Martin said he will strive to play Village Christian athletes at the positions they are best suited to play.
Beyond the desire to bring his program into a high school setting, Martin targeted Village Christian due to its commitment to athletics. In particular Kris Darden’s back-to-back basketball state champions.
“You have to look at Village Christian already winning state championships back-toback and playing IMG and Oak Hill,” he said. “You take football to the same level and you’re looking at an IMG in the middle of North Carolina.”
Martin said he is aware of the cost of private school education, but offered a simple equation to put it in perspective.
“It’s about $6,000 a year to come to Village Christian, but you’re coming to a school with high test scores and a rising athletic program,” he said. “Would you rather pay $24,000 for high school or $200,000 to go to college. Kids can get athletic and academic scholarships. They can get financial assistance to come to school (at Village). It can be done and it’s worth sacrificing those trips to Outback or Chili’s for four years.”
Morrison said Martin will step in this month to take over strength and conditioning classes and will be in place for spring football practice.
“We felt like we had to make this hire sooner than later,” Morrison said. “With football and offseason workouts, we wanted the kids to have continuity going into the season
Elizabethtown native Emerson Martin replaces Russell Stone
By Patrick Obley FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
Staff writer
Former NFL offensive lineman Emerson Martin has made it his mission to train high school football players in proper technique and raise their “football IQ” in hopes of improving their college prospects.
As a result, this past year has seen 28 of 50 pupils receive either full rides or partial scholarships to play college ball.
Martin will bring his “Players 2 Pro” program to Village Christian Academy as its latest football coach. He succeeds Russell Stone, who left after one season to pursue an opening in Hickory.
“I think he’s going to be a tremendous leader,” Village Christian athletic director Harold Morrison said. “I think he’s going to be a great Xs and Os coach, too. He’s very detailoriented and he knows how to teach the game.”
Martin, an Elizabethtown native, excelled at Hampton and eventually joined the expansion Carolina Panthers as an offensive guard in 1995, playing two games. After his playing days, Martin went into coaching at various stops on the college and high school level, including East Bladen High.
In the meantime, he and several other former pro and college players created Players 2 Pro (players2pro.com), an immersive program meant to teach high school football players how to play their natural position, excel in the classroom and understand the nuances of the sport.
“I want to change the culture of the sport in North Carolina,” Martin said. “It’s not a question whether kids in North Carolina can play football. It’s their football IQ that’s questioned.”
There are many facets to that discussion for Emerson, but one prime example is the tendency of coaches to play a talented athlete out of position due to a need.
“Say you have a kid, 215 pounds, truly an outside linebacker, but because he’s a good athlete and the coach has a need, he makes him a defensive lineman,” Martin said. “When Division I colleges come to see him play, what they see is an undersized defensive lineman. Because he’s playing out of position, he’s not going to go to college.”
Martin said he will strive to play Village Christian athletes at the positions they are best suited to play.
Beyond the desire to bring his program into a high school setting, Martin targeted Village Christian due to its commitment to athletics. In particular Kris Darden’s back-to-back basketball state champions.
“You have to look at Village Christian already winning state championships back-toback and playing IMG and Oak Hill,” he said. “You take football to the same level and you’re looking at an IMG in the middle of North Carolina.”
Martin said he is aware of the cost of private school education, but offered a simple equation to put it in perspective.
“It’s about $6,000 a year to come to Village Christian, but you’re coming to a school with high test scores and a rising athletic program,” he said. “Would you rather pay $24,000 for high school or $200,000 to go to college. Kids can get athletic and academic scholarships. They can get financial assistance to come to school (at Village). It can be done and it’s worth sacrificing those trips to Outback or Chili’s for four years.”
Morrison said Martin will step in this month to take over strength and conditioning classes and will be in place for spring football practice.
“We felt like we had to make this hire sooner than later,” Morrison said. “With football and offseason workouts, we wanted the kids to have continuity going into the season
