Wright mentoring young QBs beyond X's and O's

Randy Wright freely admits he was too far removed from high school football to appreciate the joy of molding players with grander aspirations in the sport.

He had played quarterback for the Wisconsin Badgers and Green Bay Packers. He spent three years broadcasting Badgers football games on radio and 12 more years covering Big Ten football for ESPN following his playing career. In short, he had accomplished everything he wanted to in and around the game of football.

Or so he thought.

Then his son, Nate, unexpectedly expressed an interest in being a high school quarterback before the 2006 season. In the summer of 2007, before his senior year at Middleton High School, Nate attended one of Jeff Trickey's renowned quarterback camps in Wisconsin. And as Wright watched from afar, while Trickey imparted his football knowledge and character-building skills, Wright realized something in his life was missing.

"It was just a very well-run first-class operation," said Wright, who took a two-year leave from broadcasting to watch his son play football in 2006 and ‘07. "I saw all the kids improve, not just my son. And in meeting Trickey and getting to know him a little bit, the life messages impressed me throughout. It was things that I believed in."

Wright, 52, would become the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Sturgeon Bay High School for four years. And it wasn't long before Wright called Trickey out of the blue one winter with a proposition: What if I helped out at a camp or two?

They met in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 2011 and began working camps in the area. The two eventually agreed on a business deal to become partners. Wright gave up his vending machine business and joined forces with Trickey, who started his quarterback camp back in 1988. Trickey played football at Ripon College and has 42 years of high school coaching experience. He currently serves as a varsity assistant in charge of passing at Waukesha West.

Now, Wright and Trickey travel the country together and impart the same message.

"I think he's very excited about being there and sharing his gifts with young people," Trickey said of Wright. "He seems to connect with people, which is what we've always wanted and always stand for. We have a vision in our camp and that is to make kids better people. He understands that and helps get us there. He's a hard worker and he connects with kids and is sensitive to their needs."

Camps are broken down into one-, two- or three-day sessions. The most prestigious camp is an advanced session for the top high school sophomores, juniors and seniors who aspire to play college football. Trickey and Wright allow 24 quarterbacks and 48 receivers into camp and consistently sold out in their first full year together in 2012. Wright said they will travel to 21 or 22 states and hold 48 different camps this year.

Wright and his wife, Kelli, live in Madison for six months and in Phoenix the other six months, and Wright trains athletes year-round.

"I will tell them your dream may be to play in the NFL, and that's great, but you'll enjoy college more than you'll enjoy professional," Wright said. "And I found that to be true. My best friends are from my college team. My long-term relationships are from my college team.

"College is a great time because it's the only time you can be independent without being at all self-supportive. College, you know you're going to have these friends for four years. In the NFL, you get cut in a day."

In three seasons at the University of Wisconsin from 1981-83, Wright played 33 games and threw for 4,880 yards with 36 touchdowns and 32 interceptions. He was drafted in the sixth round by the Packers with the 152nd pick.

Wright played five seasons with the Packers from 1984-88. He completed 53.8 percent of his passes, threw for 7,106 yards with 31 touchdowns and 57 interceptions. He was the Packers' starting quarterback in 1986 and shared playing time with Don Majkowski in 1987 and '88. Wright was cut before the 1989 season, sat out the season and then retired in 1990 after being released by the Pittsburgh Steelers during training camp.

Though Wright's football background doesn't resonate with current high school players, he said many parents still recognize him for spending eight seasons as a member of the Badgers or Packers.

"That's been a surprise," he said. "I'll have several parents that say, ‘I remember watching you. You were my favorite Badger quarterback.' It's the parents that remember me. Not because they were 25 when I was 25, but they were 15 when I was 25.

Even if most of the players he works with will never reach the NFL, Wright said his objective is to help them find joy in playing a sport that was so good to him.

"I know what it takes to get there, but I also want them to know what it takes off the field to really get there," Wright said. "Our hope is when they leave that camp, they're fired up to go do that hard work and be that committed and that dedicated because it's worth it.

"As my wife and I often say and Jeff and I often say, it's a living. But really, it's a way of life."

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