Penn State QB Sean Clifford uses chess to keep mind sharp
The stay-at-home directives of the coronavirus pandemic have caused everyone to adjust, including starting quarterbacks of top-10 college football teams.
For Penn State’s Sean Clifford, that’s meant keeping his throwing arm in shape by tossing to his younger brother, a high school senior who verbally committed as a receiver to the PSU Class of 2021. It’s meant plenty of video conferencing meetings with coaches and teammates. It’s meant doing push-ups in the basement and finding any gym time he can.
And it’s also meant … playing chess?
It’s the hope of Clifford and the rest of the Nittany Lions that if opposing defenses are playing checkers, an offseason of dabbling in chess will be to Clifford’s advantage.
“I’ve been trying to grow as a player through a lot of different vehicles,” Clifford said during a video conference call with media Wednesday. “I’ve been working really hard, grinding, through chess. That’s one thing I’ve found a lot of fun with doing.”
#PSU quarterback Sean Clifford is coming off a season in which he took over for three-year starter Trace McSorley and had 2,849 passing yards, 23 touchdown passes and a 59.2% completion percentage. https://t.co/lgeMpgK5KX
— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) June 4, 2020
Clifford said he has been working with Seth Makowsky, a U.S. Chess Coach who has worked with professional sports teams and athletes — including NFL quarterbacks such as the Houston Texans’ Deshaun Watson.
On Makowsky’s website, his training via chess for athletes is explained thusly: “Every crucial, high-stakes decision an athlete makes comes at the vertex of time and pressure. When you’ve only got seconds to choose, and it’s all riding on you, you need laser-sharp focus and the ability to see five moves ahead.”
During the pandemic, the mental aspect of sports has been the easiest to fine-tune. Clifford is in regular communication with new Penn State offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca, who last week set up a “Jeopardy!”-style game to ensure the offensive players’ minds were on the playbook.
The work with chess through Makowsky is more abstract, but Clifford said he has been seeing the benefits already.
“(Makowsky) is not just a chess trainer. He’s like an elite-mindset trainer,” Clifford said. “He really teaches you how to go through your reads, have a good formula to attack each play, attack each day and grow as a person.”
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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