The VirginiaN Pilot has one of the best stories I've read on former Dartmouth football player-turned-Olympic shot putter Adam Nelson, who is working on his MBA at Virginia. Nelson began his Dartmouth football career as a linebacker and finished it as a defensive tackle, making 18 stops as a senior on the undefeated 1996 Ivy League championship team.
From the story:
Nelson is arguably the most successful track and field athlete in the world over the past decade. Since 2000, he never has finished lower than second at any major championship – including the Olympics and the world championships.Nelson is just 6 feet tall, almost tiny by elite shot putter standards. In explaining what it feels like when he generates the force necessary to win two Olympic silver medals and be among the favorites to take the gold in eight weeks, he used an analogy to his first Dartmouth sport:
“As a former football player, it’s similar to delivering that perfect hit, where you just line it up perfectly. It’s almost like that person wasn’t even there. You just blast right through him. When you’re really on throwing the shot put, that’s what it feels like. It’s just effortless.”I still remember thinking Nelson might be a secret weapon in the offensive backfield. Apparently that thought has crossed his mind as well. From the story:
At 6 feet tall and 265 pounds, he was an odd size for professional football: too small to be a lineman, too slow to play linebacker. He thinks his best NFL shot might have been as a battering-ram fullback.
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