A voice for the players

When you’re the Vice President of the NFL Player Engagement Organization, you find yourself on the road more times a year than most players do. For Troy Vincent, a former defensive back in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins; Philadelphia Eagles; Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins, taking over this role is something he’s always dreamed of, as he’s always been a voice for the players.

“I love serving the players and assisting them and helping them and their families achieve some of their current and future goals,” said the 7th overall pick in the 1992 NFL Draft.

His current role with the league is to engage and enable players to be better citizens and lifelong learners while pursuing continuous improvement in family relations, social interactions, personal growth and career development.

“When I see a young man come in during his infant stages, not knowing much of anything, wide-eyed and basically blind to the real world, watching him and his family mature and grow is very rewarding,” said the Trenton, New Jersey native. “Watching a player go from a single man with no kids, to a married man with kids and now all of a sudden a leader in the locker room and proactive amongst the community, it’s very rewarding for us to watch them grow and that’s what it’s all about,” added Vincent.

Aside from his job in the NFL, Troy Vincent is still very active within the community with Love Thy Neighbor Community Development & Opportunity Corporation; formally known as the Troy Vincent Foundation which he started with his wife, as they focus on improving the community and strive to build thriving neighbourhoods by creating opportunities for a positive social and economic change.

Love Thy Neighbor offers many different programs relating to education, athletics, family and leadership, as well as offering youth scholarships. One of the many programs that Vincent feels has been the most influential program on the children involved in it is Seed, Feed and Grow; an elementary enrichment program that encourages children to imagine, dream and explore while learning and establishing a love for their education.

“Seed, Feed and Grow is our program that introduces first time students to school supplies and gives them the opportunity to work with volunteers who come and assist these young men and women with their science skills,” explained Vincent. “It’s so satisfying to see these young men and women get the right supplies to become an effective student,” added Vincent.

While he believes that the Seed, Feed and Grow program has had a positive impact on the youth and the community, Vincent’s personal favourite program they have to offer is the Love Thy Neighbor College Bound program. This program teaches students interested in attending college academic reinforcement, leadership development, civic responsibility, recruiting education and brings them to colleges during the summer months to see the campus first-hand, speak to academic advisors, visit the student affairs department and get a chance to get out of their normal comfort zone and see other parts of the country.

“I love it because it’s mainly young men who have never left their local communities but have aspirations of going to college, they just don’t know where, so we help expose them to the campus life,” expressed the five-time Pro Bowler. “We get a chance to eat and teach them proper table etiquette as well as how to travel and personal hygiene,” he added. “Once a young man gets off the bus, he all of a sudden just got better just from going from point A to point B.”

Even though giving back to the community was something that Troy Vincent always saw himself doing regardless of what he was doing for a living, he feels that playing for the Philadelphia Eagles for eight seasons helped play a major part in where he is today and everything that he is doing.

“Playing in Philly played a major part. The success of the team on the field helped off the field because with success comes a lot of responsibility and how we the athlete or individual use that success, a lot of the time determines where we go and where we end up,” said the three-time All-Pro selection.

“It allowed me to extend what me and my wife were doing in Mercer County and Lower Buck County where I spent a good portion of my life,” explained Vincent. “Philadelphia was home to me and the people there meant a lot to me. There were a lot of folks in Delaware Valley, New Jersey and Mercer County area that really played a critical part in my development as a young man, professional and post-playing career,” he added.

If you want to know what type of player Troy Vincent was, his list of awards and honours from the 2002 season says it all. This list includes the Byron ‘Whizzer’ White Award; Humanitarian of the Year Award; NFL Walter Payton ‘Man of the Year’; and he was named the Sporting News #1 Good Guy in All of Professional Sports.

“My family and I don’t do things for awards or accolades, we do things because we believe that they are the right thing to do. Those are all just byproducts to a life of service,” stated Vincent. “We take them with a humble heart and are very appreciative that someone recognizes our work, but we don’t do it for the popularity,” he concluded.

Troy Vincent was blessed enough to play 15 seasons in the National Football League. He never took any moment for granted and cherishes every moment he has because he understands that you need to live for today and not wait for tomorrow because tomorrow is never promised. He was a voice for the players while he was an active player in the league and although he doesn’t take the field every week anymore, Troy Vincent remains one of the most respected men in the league today as he works hard day after day to open the doors for the youth and help show them the ropes to having a successful playing and post-playing career.