Inspiring Next Generation’s Stars with Former NFLer Jabari Issa

Jabari Issa got a late start to his football career, not throwing on the pads until he attended San Mateo High School in the California Bay Area. Understandably, his mother had reservations about him starting at a young age, even more so once he detailed the structure of Pop Warner leagues at the time. At this point, the youth football league was not grouped based on age, but rather by weight, which would’ve pitted the future NFL defensive end against kids multiple years older than him.

Despite all of this he was still able to get a full ride scholarship to the University of Washington, becoming team captain in the process. After a very great career for the Huskies, Jabari got selected by the Cardinals in the 2000 draft, playing a few years in the NFL and then a few in the CFL.

Once he retired, Jabari moved to Seattle with his daughter where he would become a real estate agent. Soon after his daughter graduated from high school, he moved back to California where he would get into coding. Up to this point, Jabari was avoiding coaching so he could spend as much time as he could with his daughter, but soon this would change.

While practicing with a high school friend’s son one day Jabari got a call asking if he wanted to become a private coach and soon after Hammers Elite Athletics was officially founded. It’s been over a year since then and he has loved every second of it. With private coaching, he has found that he can still be involved in the game he loves, while still having time for his family.

As you can imagine, Jabari learned a lot over his years on the Gridiron, to which he hopes to pass down to his players.

One of those teachings, which he recognized as not a popular one, is encouraging players to be involved in multiple sports, adding that many superstar NFL players like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen took that route. A benefit of this is that his players gain new skills and “get a little bit of athleticism from each different sport.” He adds, “The science behind that is like it's not really good for your joints to be playing the same repetitive sport … in the long run.” 

In addition to this, he emphasized the importance of embracing the boring stuff. “The little mundane things you have to do over and over and over and over again,” he continues: “Like it sucks, it's boring, but you have to embrace that part because that's the foundation.” Jabari preaches that the more you do the little things, the quicker it will get locked in your brain and you can then move onto learning new things.

Jabari then goes on to discuss how he navigates NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) with athletes and their parents. At this point in time, high school athletes in most states can earn NIL money. Going into high school, these players are now professional athletes, Jabari adds, “You don't have to wait eight years, nine years like you used to.”

His biggest piece of advice for athletes now is to “make yourself marketable… create a story behind yourself.” Jabari also urges players to build up their social media engagement and track measurables so they can be brought to potential sponsors. While on this subject, he added, “One thing I just say is make sure their social media is clean.” Understanding the microscope that athletes are under, he emphasizes to his players that what they say online, even when they are younger, has consequences.

Jabari’s love for coaching and helping his players achieve their dreams is more than apparent. When asked what motivates him, Jabari states, ”seeing a player click … seeing their progress.” On top of that, Jabari takes great pride in being a good influence on his players and watching them blossom, becoming more confident people in the process. “One kid might be a little shy … but you know he gets good on the football field, confidence gets up a little bit … now he’s talking a lot more to the team.” He humbly adds, “I don't want to take full credit but just hoping I have some kind of influence in that.”