Brandon and Shane Zylstra hold football camp to give hope to young players
NEW LONDON, Minn. -- Brandon and Shane Zylstra have gone from New London-Spicer to Concordia in Moorhead and Minnesota State in Mankato, to the NFL as undrafted free agents. Friday, they were back home, giving back to the community.
Shane Zylstra had to wait his turn in the NFL and came to life with the Detroit Lions.
Brandon Zylstra had already paved the way, making it out of Concordia in Moorhead as a wide receiver.
Back home in New London-Spicer, the two NFL brothers hold a camp to let them know there is NFL hope everywhere.
"That's what we're building out here today. And that's the premise of this camp is just to build that foundation," Shane Zylstra said. "You know, it's no secret that not every kid here is going to have a chance in the NFL, but that's not what it's about. It's having success in middle school and high school."
Part of their message was to be versatile. For the Zylstra brothers, that meant a spot on the area club water ski team of Crow River.
"I think waterskiing helps us with balance. Honestly, I always tell people like it's always helped us with balance," Brandon Zylstra said.
The incredible story keeps writing new chapters, including this past season, when for part of it, they were joined in Detroit as NFL teammates.
"He had a little bit more opportunity than I did coming out of high school, so he ended up going to Mankato," Brandon Zylstra said. "And we'd always just said we'll play together in the NFL. Like, that's got to be our goal. And so the fact that we actually crossed it off this year is honestly, it's been the highlight of my career so far."