Broken Brains with Bruce Parkman
Broken Brains with Bruce Parkman is presented by The Mac Parkman Foundation
The mission of this show and the foundation is To serve as a source of information, resources, and communications to the community of parents, coaches/Athletic trainers, medical staff, and athletes that are affected by sports-related concussions and to raise awareness of the long-term implications of concussive and sub-concussive trauma to our children.
Broken Brains will also explore how Concussive Trauma impacts our Service Members and Veterans.
Join us every week as Bruce interviews leaders and experts in various Medical fields, as well as survivors of Concussive trauma.
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Broken Brains with Bruce Parkman
NFL Veteran Matt Skura on Brain Trauma, Resilience & Life After Football
đ In this powerful episode of Broken Brains with Bruce Parkman, former NFL player Matt Skura opens up about his journey from youth sports to the biggest stage in footballâand the mental and physical battles that came with it. Matt shares raw insights into the toll that injuries, concussions, and the pressures of professional sports can take on an athleteâs brain health and emotional well-being.
From navigating life-changing injuries to redefining his identity after leaving the NFL, Matt offers an inspiring perspective on resilience, mental toughness, and the importance of mental health advocacy for athletes at every level. He and Bruce dive into the need for better safety protocols in contact sports, the role of psychology in performance, and the ongoing fight to protect the next generation of players.
đ§ Whether youâre an athlete, a parent, a coach, or simply someone passionate about mental health, this conversation delivers eye-opening truths and hope for a safer future in sports.
â If this episode resonates, please FOLLOW, SHARE, LIKE, and SUBSCRIBE on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts to support the mission of spreading awareness about brain health and recovery.
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Welcome to another edition of Broken Brains with your host, bruce Parkman, sponsored by the Mack Parkman Foundation. The show is all about the issue of repetitive brain trauma in the form of repetitive head impacts in contact sports and repetitive blast exposure for our military veterans and what these conditions are doing to the brains of our children, our athletes and our military veterans and what these conditions are doing to the brains of our children, our athletes and our military, and how this phenomenon is not trained in our doctors, nurses and psychological and suicide prevention courses. So nobody knows that when we have problems like mental health, there could be another cause to it. So we reach out to athletes and doctors and researchers and authors to bring you the best information so you can make informed decisions about the ones you love, because you are in the front line of this issue here in this country, because it is the largest preventable cause of mental illness that we have today.
Speaker 1:Another amazing guest on our show an nfl football player, matt scura, signing in from charlotte, north carolina. Matt is a former professional nfl offensive lineman. Talk about Football player Matt Skura, signing in from Charlotte, north Carolina. Matt is a former professional NFL offensive lineman. Talk about RHI there, known for his leadership and resilience. Born in 1993 in Columbus, ohio, matt played college football at Duke University, also located there in fine state of North Carolina, where he started over 40 games and earned first-team all-ACC honors no small feat there and he graduated a degree in psychology in 2015.
Speaker 1:Undrafted, in 2016, skura signed with the Baltimore Ravens, becoming a full-time starter at center by 2018. He played 54 games for the Ravens before moving on to stints with the Dolphins, giants and Rams, appearing in 77 games, with 73 starts over his career Off the field. Matt Skura is a mental health advocate and speaker, using his platform to promote resilience and well-being, with an intellectual approach to the game and life beyond football that has made him a highly respected figure both on and off the field. Matt, welcome to the show, sir. Really appreciate you being here, man.
Speaker 2:Thank you, I'm fired up.
Speaker 1:Hey dude, All good man. So how'd you get into football? Man, Tell me a little bit about your boyhood, your childhood. What got you into football? Did you play other sports too, or what?
Speaker 2:Yeah, football was really my third sport that I fell in love with. So hockey ice hockey in particular was my very first sport. So I loved it because I'm the middle of two brothers and just being physical and knocking people over was just second nature. I was like, yeah, and basketball were really my three sports. And then I tried to play football in fourth grade and so it's kind of funny. It's like in that Ben Stiller movie Fat Camp. It's like step on the scale, then get off the scale. It was like that kind of moment for me.
Speaker 2:I was very overweight for my age category but I still went ahead and played, except I had to play two years above me and I had a horrible experience with football. I was playing with fifth and sixth graders. I didn't understand the game of football, knew nothing about it. They just threw me on the offensive line, had no idea what was going on. So I actually quit, came back in seventh grade. I just had some buddies in middle school who said, hey, matt, would you want to come and play football with us? I was like, yeah, sure, might as well. And that's where things took off. And so that's really where my obsession and passion with football took off, loved it ever since, did some track and field in high school to kind of keep me balanced with other sports. But yeah and then. So that was all in Columbus, ohio, with high school football, and then Duke brought me down to North Carolina and been here since 2011. So that's the short run of it.
Speaker 1:So you've been. So you're on the line the whole time. You're O-line or D-line, just playing the line, or did you specialize in a certain position?
Speaker 2:I was offensive and defensive line. I started out as a tackle just because I was pretty tall for my age and all of that. And then, as I was getting recruited for college football, they were all the coaches and schools were saying, hey, we think you'd be more a center, center or guard, but mostly center. And so by like my junior senior year, my high school coach actually said, hey, let's get you some reps at center just to get used to snapping the football and playing in a game. So didn't really specialize, probably like late into my senior year of high school, and really didn't focus on center until college, which is kind of crazy. But it allowed me to be very versatile and really could understand the problems of everyone on the offensive line.
Speaker 1:So did you end up playing both sides of the ball? I see that a lot like in high school and stuff like that. You're playing back in offense and defense.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, yeah. So I was starting on both offensive and defensive line. They did punt return a little bit, did kick return a little bit, so just wherever I could be on the field, especially like my junior and senior year, I felt like I was never leaving the field. I mean, I'll never forget I had to start the game on defensive line. The offense we were playing against was very up-tempo. They drived like all the way down the field and I think we stopped them on like the 10-yard line, on like a fourth down, and just not even thinking about it, I'm like great, I have to be right back on offense again. I'm dead tired in the first quarter of the game.
Speaker 1:So it was a double-edged sword for sure, yeah, I bet you, you know we start talking. Well, first I want to digress with my boy, because it was in middle school too where he got approached. He was a little bit overweight, right, and he was still finding his way. You know, great goalie in soccer, that's where he put the overweight kids man, put him in golf and the kid's like he came to me one day. He goes dad, can I play football? I'm like you want to play football. He goes, yeah, because he's playing hockey and I got him on the skis that was was about because I hated those 4 o'clock mornings, and then he played a little bit of rugby and I was like and he was always wrestling, loved wrestling, and I was like you want to play football.
Speaker 1:I was like I never play. I'm like, well, that's kind of like, yeah, let's go, but I don't know how it was for you. But he just loved the guys, right, and that was his first time being on a football team, with all the joking and stuff like that. But uh, yeah, he was a blindside guy. He never, never, he never had to play both sides of the ball though, and I can't imagine what that must be. So like I mean the uh, it's just the amount of well, well, the workout you get. I mean it's crazy. But also the amount of dings upside the head because you're going, you're getting hit on every play. It doesn't matter if you're on the line, you're getting hit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, exactly, it's physical, no matter which way you put it. And yeah, you're always going to get hit by someone, no matter if you've even tried to avoid anyone. Then you're going to make a tackle or whatever it is. So, yeah, it was fun and I got to play. So again, I said I'm in the middle of three brothers, so I got to play on varsity with my older brother. He played offensive and defensive line and then, when my younger brother made varsity, got to play with him on the offensive and defensive line.
Speaker 2:Three brothers all in the line? Yeah, yep, and so it was a lot of fun. Like being able to play friday nights with your brothers, like literally and, like you said, like the teammates in the locker room atmosphere.
Speaker 1:That's what makes it so special it does, man, and you know that's one of our, you know, pushes is why people say you know dude, you know you don't. You know. Let's say people think that we want to kill football. It's like no dude, are you kidding me? I mean't. You know. People think that we want to kill football. I was like no dude, are you kidding me? I mean, I can't imagine. I mean, outside of the military, my most fun was being in with my rugby guys. I've been playing rugby for 45 years. It's so fun and most of the fun is after you play or before you play, just that camaraderie. So yeah, I get it, man. So did you pick duke? Was that like your number?
Speaker 2:one choice when you, when you went to college no, so, growing up in ohio like my dream school was ohio state and I got recruited by them a little bit and then they ended up going with another guy over me, so that kind of spoiled it, but was really looking at big 10. And at the time it was Big East. So I think they're now the AAC and MAC schools and really the Duke thing came up just out of nowhere. We were having a 5am workout in the wintertime and the offensive line coach, matt Luke, shows up, watches me work out in our gymnasium and invites me to one of their summer camps and, funny enough, like I actually you know, it's kind of like everyone else you hate Duke just because of Duke basketball. And so it was funny.
Speaker 2:Because my wife grew up in Raleigh a little bit and her family were huge Duke fans and so she actually had to convince me to say like Matt, like Duke, like just take away football, think about the education. And so she like, so her and I started dating in high school and all through college. But yeah, she was the one that helped guide the ship in that way and I took a visit down to Duke and I was like, yeah, there's no way I'm not coming here. Just how beautiful it was, even though it was hot, like I just enjoyed it so much. And the head coach, david Cutcliffe, was amazing. Buying into his vision and getting to meet some of the players and seeing how they thought and their mindset was was incredible.
Speaker 1:That's great man. And so the uh. And then you. What did you major in when you went to duke? Psychology and human development what made you pick those areas? Man, that's not like underwater basket weaving man, that's some pretty, some high stuff yeah, yeah, I always had been around medicine.
Speaker 2:So my dad was an orthopedic surgeon and and growing up just was always in his office seeing all of his patients and then sometimes he would let us shadow his surgeries so get to see hip and knee replacements. So I was always kind of around medicine. That's cool man. Yeah, it was really awesome.
Speaker 2:So I thought I wanted to go that route and then I just couldn't balance, like myself. I just couldn't balance pre-med and Division I football. So I was like, well, what's something that I can also use. That's kind of, it's medically kind of on that path but also helped me in football and so I really took to psychology and understanding the behaviors and tendencies of my opponents and that really helped me as a player. Like I wasn't the most athletic or physically like imposing player ever, but I knew, if I used my mind, my preparation, those things would allow me to win almost nine times out of 10, just expecting when a blitz is going to happen. Well, this guy, I've been watching him all week. When he puts this hand down, I know he's going to move or he's going to want to try this move. So the psychology degree kind of played on itself and really allowed me to understand the game at a much deeper level, and it helped me transition to to the NFL.
Speaker 1:I can't. I mean that was been comforting you know, you and your three brothers being on the high school football team and your dad being an orthopedic surgeon. Yeah, I hope you weren't in his office too often.
Speaker 2:No, you know what? It's funny? He did not want really any of us to play football strictly, just because of the injuries and all of that. And I did everything in my power to convince him like no, this is, I love this, I love working out, I'm committed to it. My freshman year of high school. We're doing like a walkthrough and I get hit, like a linebacker hits me from the front and then I like stumble backwards and catch myself well that I end up breaking my thumb and needing surgery and having to be out for like a large portion of the season. But I I was like dad, just continue to, let me like I promise this won't be like my only injury. Luckily it like it really was and yeah, so thankfully I was not very injury prone and stayed out of his office that way. So that's kind of how I stayed in his good graces too.
Speaker 1:That's cool man. Was he ever worried about your head at all? Did he ever? You know because all the knowledge we have now is kind of new about you know all this impact and the toll it takes on athletes' brains and their cognitive and behavioral performance. Did he show any concern about that back then? Because you know he's an orthopod number one, but I didn't know if he ever mentioned that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he was. That was probably his number one concern, beyond just bones and all that stuff. So in middle school he had me doing neck exercises, neck strengthening exercises. So I actually struggled a little bit with stingers at the beginning when I began playing football, just because I didn't have the neck strength built up, and so I'm very thankful for my dad in that way. Like very early on I understood, having a strong neck prevents a lot of the head injuries, the concussions, because the muscles in your neck are able to absorb a lot of that impact and so when that happens it doesn't get transferred to your brain, your head's not moving as much. So yeah, I, I like hammered away at all the different neck strength exercises and that was just honestly became part of my routine in college, in the nfl too, making sure um, it was always staying strong.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, no, that makes sense. I mean, I mean we know that, you know you can have the biggest neck in the world, but every time you come off the line that brain moves. But from lowering some of the concussive thresholds, you know it does help, man. I mean, what do you just have you put like concrete blocks around your neck and lift them up?
Speaker 2:Yeah, or even just like manually, like just even putting your hand to different sides of your head to the front to the back. Isometrics yep, doing isometrics. And then, thankfully, with just technology too, there's a lot of now neck machines that are strictly just for that. So I would hammer those away too, just because I knew how important it was and, really, like, once I got a hang of that, my, my stingers really went away.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah.
Speaker 2:Cool man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so ACC comes through, and now it's time for the big old NFL man. How was draft day for you?
Speaker 2:I mean, it's a long thing, right, yeah so three days, yeah, and you know earlier it talks about I was a three-year starter, all-american. I was a captain, all-acc performer. And so your ego, you feel like you know, hey, I've done some good things, that I feel like I've proven enough where I can. Maybe I'm not a first round pick but, hey, maybe I can go in the fourth, fifth, sixth round. And so all those days pass by, you realize you're not going to get drafted and you don't know what to expect when you don't go undrafted. I mean, I, I really didn't know what to expect. So as soon as the draft end booms, I get a phone call and it's the Dallas Cowboys and they say, hey, matt, we would love to sign you and think you're a great player. I'm like, okay, that's awesome. Like, can you give me a second to think about it? And they're like, yeah, sure.
Speaker 2:So I hang up the phone, tell my wife or about to be my wife at the time, or about to be my wife at the time and I say, hey, I think we're going to Dallas. She's like, oh, my gosh, like you know, almost starts to get packed. I call back the number. I said, hey, coach, I'm ready to be a Dallas Cowboy. And he said, oh sorry, the spot's taken. I'm like okay. So then I hang up the phone. I'm like plans changed, we're not going to dallas. And so now I'm really starting to freak out because I just didn't understand, like that's how quickly your opportunity, your window of opportunity is.
Speaker 2:And so five minutes later baltimore ravens called and they said hey, matt, same thing, we think you're a great player, think you could really contribute to the team. And I'm like, hell, yeah, let's go, like yeah, I'm all in right. Then it's like boom. Then it's like, all right, I, I guess I'm going to baltimore. So my wife and I drive up to baltimore and kind of, the rest is history. But it was so that draft time was really crazy because it's a long wait. I fell asleep probably on the third day, started the fourth round, because it's, you know, mid-afternoon. You're just the emotions, the highs and lows of it, you're just exhausted and yeah. So it was kind of a crazy time and basically in like a span of 10 minutes I had to decide my own destiny and luckily it worked out with the ravens that's great man, I you know.
Speaker 1:And then, yeah, the um, I nfl is a businessman. I mean, I was talking to another NFL player and it's just like dude, you know, when I got let go, I got let go right, you know and you understand it. But it's like the commitment that you make to the sport, right, and then the hope that you can actually get up on that stage. So where did you start? I think it was on the practice squad with the ravens, and then what did it take to get you up on the, on the field where you started full time?
Speaker 2:so it took that whole year of practice squad, which was actually what I really needed. So, at duke, I had a red shirt year, which was great. I needed it to physically, mentally, develop, technique-wise, speed of game all that Same thing with the NFL. I really needed that year to understand what it means to be a pro, to get a routine, to build the right habits, the discipline, and so it was actually a great year for me to just like, observe and understand what this game is all about at the highest level.
Speaker 2:So I come back the next year in 2017, feeling really good, play um, a whole bunch of snaps in training camp, again like I'm feeling good, I'm feeling confident, started every single preseason game at three different positions at guard and center and I get cut and I get down on myself. I'm pissed, I'm like what did I just do all of this for? I, like you, said the commitment. I committed a whole off season to lifting, getting bigger, getting stronger, more technically sound, and I still fell short. Well, two weeks later, the starting starting right guard, marshall Yonda, goes down with a broken leg. That next day they're like Matt, we're gonna pull you up to the active roster, you're gonna be our starting right guard, and Thursday evening we head to London to play the Jacksonville Jaguars. So you're to get your first start in Europe. I'm like all right, sounds good, like I just didn't even have time to react.
Speaker 2:So that's just how quickly things change too. And so that was another teaching moment for myself in the NFL how week to week it is, things change so fast you have to be ready at a moment's notice. And it taught me, too, like to not feel sorry for myself, like you've got to stay resilient. You got to push through work even harder Because really, like I had mentally checked out for two weeks, I wasn't involved in the game plans, I was just doing my job on practice squad. Yeah, it just wasn't a good feeling them saying I'm the starter than me having to like in my own brain like I have to restart and catch up. So that was that was a huge learning moment for me yeah, I mean it's.
Speaker 1:It says a lot about you know people, that when I talk to nfl players or or anybody in life that stays in the game even through those moments, because when you do get smacked in the head like that, you have two options, man you can walk away and try something else or you can just keep at it, and obviously you kept at it and it paid off. Yeah, there's a lot of lessons there and talk about how that's helped you in life. Was that like your most down moment in the NFL right there when you took that cut, or were there other episodes that you recall where you know things just didn't work out the way you had and you had to rely back on that learning moment to push on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there were definitely multiple moments. Just that's just kind of the ebbs and flows of the NFL and just how competitive it is. And then so two years later, in 19, I'm having my best year as a player. I'm starting to get voted into Pro Bowl conversations, where we ended up setting a record as an offense for most rushing yards in the NFL and NFL history. And we're playing at Los Angeles on Monday night football and I get a defensive lineman thrown into my knee and I tear my ACL, my MCL, my PCL, and I dislocate my kneecap and that completely changed the trajectory of my career.
Speaker 2:I mean, in that moment, I was like no one's going to outwork me. I went through a grueling rehab process, came back nine, 10 months later, started that 2020 season and struggled a lot with self-confidence, doubt turned to anxiety, and I just did not play well and actually had to get benched midway through the season. And then again, in that moment too, it's like do I feel sorry for myself or do I find a way to get out of this rut? And so I just embraced my role. I became like an extra offensive lineman.
Speaker 2:I again talking about that moment, you know two, three years prior, getting cut for the second time I realized I had to stay ready because I didn't know when. You know, the guy who ended up starting at center got hurt. You know, a few series into a game when we played the Giants and then boom, I'm right back in as the starting center, and so all those moments kind of build off of one another and you have to go through those hard, difficult moments in order to figure out, okay, what am I made of, how am I going to get through this and what is this actually teaching me? So those were all things that I was able to use throughout my career and it really helped me navigate just great seasons, losing seasons when I'm not playing my best when I am playing my best. So it all kind of plays off one another.
Speaker 1:So I mean during this time. So let me see when did you retire you 21 or?
Speaker 2:24. The last season.
Speaker 1:So not too long ago, yeah, not too long ago. And so you've been playing football for about I don't know what Since fourth grade was. I mean, for middle school, was that 20 years? Like 20 years? Yeah, yeah, so 20 years. And during this time, have you ever noticed the the impact of all those years of football when it comes to your mental health? You know, we know that. You know that on the football team, the linemen absolutely are the receive the most subconcussive hits of any position on the field, by far right, followed by, you know, your linebackers, maybe your tight ends, but nobody takes. You know and my son was a blindside guy Nobody takes more hits than the linemen. And then you talk about playing back-to-back in high school, right? So was there any point during this time when you started to feel the impacts of all that wear and tear on your brain?
Speaker 2:You know, there wasn't too many moments. I had probably a couple like bell-rung moments where I knew when I got hit a certain way, when I got hit twice under my chin, like I'm climbing up to a linebacker and a linebacker like drops his center of weight and like launches like into you, essentially. And those two moments it was weird because it was like new, so I was seeing different colors, but I had no other symptoms of a concussion Cause I, you know, I just known what they were, like I wasn't dizzy, I really wasn't confused, I had no headaches, no, like I could go back to film, I could be in my room watching my phone, ipad, whatever it was. So that was like like okay, that was kind of weird and those were like the only two instances ever I had in my career. But you do reflect and you're like, even though I never really had like a true concussion, like you said, it's so small impacts over and over again and so I don't know, I tried to like do brain games after, after away games, like on the flight home, I'm doing word searches for an entire two-hour flight.
Speaker 2:I'm doing like all those and, who knows, maybe that's a placebo effect to make myself feel better, but seriously like I would, just because those things you were aware of, and you're just like I don't know, like maybe I can do these things that will keep me sharp and, honestly, like, luckily I don't have any lingering symptoms now. Now that I'm out of football, you know, I feel like I can concentrate, I don't have headaches, I don't have light sensitivity, I can be in crowds like and just hearing from other guys, you just pick up on symptoms that they've heard about or how they're feeling and you're like, okay, I didn't even know those things were symptoms, but you get aware to them. And, yeah, I think I'm definitely fortunate in that way where I didn't deal with the big concussions, because I knew guys that were dealing with like three, four, five concussions in college and in their NFL careers.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you are fortunate. I mean I'll tell you, man, five concussions in college and in their NFL careers. Yeah, and you are fortunate. I mean, I'll tell you, man, for that statement. I just thank the Lord that you know, when I talk to linemen, all my other buddies, they're struggling, man, you know, and it is you know, something that you know we try to highlight about you know, about being cognizant of this. And if you have gone through all that football and you're not feeling, you're feeling pretty good, it doesn't mean it might not impact you later, but at least right now, man, I mean that's a lot of wear and tear and I'm just thankful that you are where you're at Um because I mean you've played with a lot of you know you play you. You play with Ray Lewis, right?
Speaker 2:I missed him by a few years, um, but yeah I'm I'm kind of glad I did.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, he's an animal, but you know there's a. You played a lot around the greats and we've you know it's. I'm just thankful that you know you haven't had the impact that we usually do see, like you're the first lineman I've ever met that has played as long as you have and is not suffering. So I mean, that's good. And how? What do you feel about? You know when, like all these rule changes right now, shortening the, the kickoff, you know distances and these, you know these pads to be put on the hat. There is some, you know. Obviously we, we know that we have a problem with these contact sports and the issue is is how do we make them safer? Right, and the way, the only way we make them safer is to reduce the total amounts of those hits.
Speaker 2:Uh, but it sounds like the nfl is trying what would at least make the game safer for the professional guys, you know, and um, so you think those are good moves I think they are especially on the kickoff and kickoff return, because all of those guys are sprinting as fast as they can and when I first started in the league, like offensive linemen were on kick return. You were part of the way like a two man wedge forming right behind the kick or right in front of the kick returner and leading the charge and like those hits are extremely violent. Forming right in front of the kick returner and leading the charge and those hits are extremely violent. I mean I'm moving maybe 10, 12 miles an hour. The guys who are covering those kicks are moving 15 to 19 miles an hour and so you can only imagine the level of impact those have. So I think it's great, especially for special teams, for the kickoff, kickoff return. That's great and it also makes the game more creative. Now it kind of turns into an offensive play. So I think that's cool.
Speaker 2:And yeah, the helmets, making them as safe as possible that was one thing too throughout my career was always making sure I had the best helmet and so, like my last few years in the nfl, my helmet and this is kind of what they do now for all the nfl players and even maybe college too, but it's a custom ed printed insert of the helmet so that it's custom to your head and it can be fit and into any shell of any helmet that's made, and so I really felt safer in that way too. And so I think as technology progresses and as the rule changes, kind of follow it and evolve with it. I think it will make the game safer. And yeah, I think it's tough, though with offensive and defensive line play, to figure out a way to do that.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean and here's where the NFL, I think, does something correct I mean they're a little bit late with all this. You know changes. I mean these should have been put in place years ago, if you had just asked me. And I do know about those violent kickoffs, because in rugby we do the same thing. We take all like I'm a prop, we put all the big guys on one side and we run at the other big guys and that's where you kick the ball and we all collide in the middle. It's kind of fun, but you know, you know it's just the way it is. And, uh, but issue with, and tell me, most of the players we talk to during the season you don't contact in practice, you have very little contact in practice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for the most part, the contact is minimal, which is good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and what about college? When you were at Duke Now Duke, I know a lot of the Ivy League schools have have gone to that same rule, but it's been a while ago did you? Did you do a lot of contact and practice in duke during the or just in college in general? Not just I'm not looking at duke, but, like you know, did they still? Did they practice, did they same way, or did they do a lot of practice, a lot of contact?
Speaker 2:yeah, no, I mean like our tuesday, wednesday practices were full-fledged, like we're not tackling to the ground but like offensive, defensive line, like it is full go game, speed reps. And then I felt too like you'll probably have one day like that or it's, or even still like it's even just like, uh, maybe you'll have two practice periods during the day, that's like really heavy hitting, and then, other than that, it's um, the contact is laid off, just because the season two is so long, and just the battle of attrition as well. You want to save your best players. But yeah, college definitely, I think they're probably still like that.
Speaker 2:When I was getting done with duke is when two days were getting rid of two. So early in my duke days we saw two-a-days, so we would practice twice a day and those would be tough practices, and high school we would do two-a-days as well. So, yeah, I'm appreciative that the game has evolved that way. You don't have to be this is where I'm a huge proponent as well, especially with youth football. You don't need to be smashing into each other every single day to get great results on the field, because at the highest level, we're not doing that, and so I think that's a good way where the game has evolved to.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's what we're trying to. You know, we're trying to get people to understand that. You know, especially when you're a child and you've got a developing brain, you know like, and you're in the medical field your dad was a surgeon, you're in psychology, you've been around medicine most of your life. You know the big reason that we have all these problems, the reason why that boy behind me ran off a cliff and and, is that we're. You know, you can't. It's like a computer chip, right, you can't drop this thing, you can't mess around. You can't. It's like a computer chip, right, you can't drop this thing, you can't mess around. Expect the computer to work.
Speaker 1:So you know, you know, and, and so to your point, you know, getting people to understand that and that by taking the contact out of practice. That's where 80 of the damage. Just think, all right, just in your mind alone, if you did not contact in practice, like the nfl. Just say you had one practice a day, how many less hits would you have taken in those 20 years of football? Right, thousands, tens of thousands, right, thousands, right, tens of thousands of hits saved. And you're one of the new guys that have survived 20 years and are going on with a healthy perspective, healthy attitude, healthy brain, right. This is just not common, right? So what we're trying to get folks to understand is like all right. So what is your position on children, you know, playing contact sports when they're young, like this Pop Warner stuff? I mean, what do you position on Pop Warner?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean I don't prevent anyone from playing those sports.
Speaker 2:It's just making sure you have a really good coach who understands how to practice, how to play, how to teach proper form, both that's blocking, tackling, hitting, tackling, hitting because there's so many bad coaches out there at that level that are just wanting to see kids run into each other as fast as they can and see the big hits from kids who are like five, six, seven years old.
Speaker 2:So that's where I pull back and push back a little bit is, if you're going to do it, you've got to do it right. You've got to do it in a safe way because, like you said, like your brains are still very much growing and your bodies are developing and you want to make it as safe as possible. So, yeah, like I know my son, who is almost five, like I think he wants to play football, like he loves football and he loves washing it, and like that's something where it's like, well, maybe he can start in middle school or he can start with flag football or he can even start in high school, like I want to have the guardrails set up and also like, get his body ready too for that kind of physicality Amen because that's I always.
Speaker 2:I had really good coaches at Duke who said you know, the muscles are kind of like your armor when you play football. Where? So wherever you have strengths, that's great. Where you have weaknesses, we need to work on those. So I really took that to heart as well, Like I need to work on making sure my legs are strong and my core, my shoulders because that's just in my neck, like my back, all those things because it all plays into each other. So I try to stress that too with younger athletes like you have to get your body ready because it is such a physically demanding sport and it protects you from injury as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I would. You know. We always tell you know, we're big proponents of flag till 14. Only because this part of the brain here, the prefrontal cortex, the CEO of the brain, this doesn't even start developing till 14. It's the last part of the brain to develop that's responsible for all executive functionings. So we're like, look, can we just not hurt this, unlike my son, right, or your son if he plays right, which I wouldn't suggest, but you know, you're the father, you know, because that's all he has, that's the rest of his life is right here, right, and you know. And then, if we could just take the contact out of high school a little bit, right, you sink all those hits we save, take the contact out of high school a little bit, right, you just think, all those hits we save. And now we have children that, all right, I'm going to be a doctor, or guess what? This guy's a really good guard, goes to college. They have little contact there, but he goes through college.
Speaker 1:And then people coming out of the NFL, like you, right, ready to go on with their life, where all my NFL buddies, they're challenged, right, and so that's one of our big issues here is just making the sport safer and keeping it going Hold on one second because I'm an idiot and I forgot to plug in my computer. So, but yeah, and so where does so? Where has your psychology background helped you the most in this whole transition through life? Man, nfl player, and what are you doing right now? So you got out of the NFL and then you had to do a transition, which I understand is one is one really tough thing to go through. So where's your where? How did you go through the transition? Where did you end up?
Speaker 2:so the transition is really tough for everyone and I you know everyone says that when they're out of the game, but you're still in it and so it's really hard to identify with like I don't. Like my transition is going to be easy. Like you know, I've got duke, I've got nfl on my resume. I've I'm a good person, like I've. I'm a husband, I'm a father, like I'm a you know, pretty simple guy. But until you actually go through it then you're like, okay, I understand why it's such a struggle. You deal with identity, kind of like your identity crisis. Like, okay, who am I without football? Football was such a big part of my life and I needed it as my identity because that's what it required to be good at the sport and at my job. It opened a lot of doors for me, gave me a lot of opportunities. But now I can't go to practice and get my anger out or my frustration out on a defensive lineman. I can't just say, if I just fix my technique, then that will just play on Sunday because we don't. There's no more games now. So how do you translate all those different skills and attributes and strengths to really regular civilian life? And that's what's tough, because and that's where I see some parallels with, like, military and professional athletes is not. A lot of people went through what you went through, and relating to people can be pretty difficult. When you're trying to interview for a job, they're questioning why you're there. They're questioning, well, you've made a lot of money, you can just hang out for the rest of your life and you're like, well, but that's not me, that's not my mentality. I'm always like my mentality is like I want to keep growing and learning and getting better and doing bigger things, like using an NFL as a springboard. So that was difficult for me. Like I think the no's that I got outside of football were 10 times harder to accept than the no's that I got in football, because when someone told me I couldn't in football, that just fueled me even more. I'm like, oh okay, watch me get bigger, faster, stronger, more technically sound. I'm going to study my playbook so I don't make a mistake. Those things were very much in my control and I was very confident in doing that.
Speaker 2:After football, when you're not really sure what you want to do, when you're trying to figure out, where do my skills transfer? So you start trying to network and connect with people and your confidence gets shaken because it's like, yeah, like is this me and is there something wrong with the way I show up and how I'm connecting with people. So that was really hard for me and trying to find ways like, how do I kind of take control of this situation? What am I passionate about? What are things that you know are my gifts, what's easy for me and harder for other people? And so, speaking about mental health, speaking about my experiences in the NFL and college and how I overcame adversity, how I dealt with success and failure, and then taking a lot of those leadership qualities that I learned from sports organizations and now I can go and talk to corporations about this is how leadership works, this is how we communicate, this is how resilience is built, this is how trust is built within a company. So those are things that I've been really passionate about.
Speaker 2:And also, too, staying within the game of football. I love being around the sport and so getting back to the game in ways of coaching and scouting, front office work. So those are where things are headed now, too, and that I think that realization of like you know what, I don't have to be like anyone else and kind of compare their transitions. Let me lean into the things that I actually love. I actually love being around football. Some guys, once they're done, they never want to be around football again, they never want to be coaching anything. I'm like you know what I actually really love being in this environment, and so I think that's what took a while for me to like a lot of self-reflection and figuring out who I am and where do my passions align with my values.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, I definitely can relate. When I got out yeah, I was told, for I literally could not find a job for almost nine months and ended up being a getting ready to become a Walmart security guard. This is before 9-11, right, Green Beret Sard Major, I was Paul Blart man, that's where I was going. So, yeah, no fun man, and it's healthy that you're finding your way, finding your purpose and continuing to drive on. So you know, as we get ready to close down a little bit here, what was your most memorable experience as an NFL player? What's your most memorable memory? Did you ever score a touchdown as a lineman?
Speaker 2:That's usually it. Yeah, maybe some fumble recoveries and some not good situations, but I would say that 2019 season was really special because it was Lamar Jackson's first year as a full-time starter. He went on to win the MVP. We broke the record for rushing yards in NFL history. That was just a really special year.
Speaker 2:Just not even like the on-field stuff, but the off the field, the people who were in the locker room, the staff that was just like you don't realize how special and quick those moments are. What else I mean? Just like seeing my kids be in an NFL stadium. My daughter took like some of her first steps in the Ravens football facility and like those are memories I'll always cherish. And it was like two years ago where I think it finally clicked for my son, who's about to turn five.
Speaker 2:I was with the Dolphins and we were playing the Dallas Cowboys on like Sunday night and I think that's when it was like the light bulb of like remembering an NFL game and the stands and the cheering, and so those are really like those moments, too that you get to share with your wife and kids. Like that's what I remember too. Like those are really cool special moments because I still bring them up to you. They're like dad remember when you were playing with the rams and it was christmas day and the grinch was dressed up in the stands and I was like like I remember I think I saw the grinch and they were like it was awesome. So and you just don't even realize like how much they remember. You know, that was when my son was two, my daughter was like four or five, but they remember those things and that's really cool too. So that's what I definitely take with those memories.
Speaker 1:You know, what's really cool, matt, is that you've just survived 20 years of football and you're here for your family, man, and that and those memories you can remember, and that you guys are going to be happy together, going forward, when other people that have played as long are unfortunately not there, and I think that's a blessing. And when I talk about memories, I'm thinking about whatever, championships, whatever and for you to say, my family. You're a good man, man, and I think you're going to go far in life, and I think that I'm very you know, just very thankful for you and what you're going to bring back to football as you look at. You know coaching and we talk about you know saving tens of thousands of kids by coaching them better and as we move forward. So, last thing, what are you doing now? How do people find you? Do you have a website? How can people get a hold of you? You know we brag about Matt Skura man. What do you got?
Speaker 2:I have a website. It's super easy. It's mattskuracom, and so that'll take you to a website. It's super easy it's mattscuracom, and so that'll take you to my website. I do public speaking and that's been an awesome way for me to connect with tons of people. I do speaking engagements virtually in person with corporations, small businesses, sports teams, so that's been great. I also write a weekly newsletter. It comes out every Thursday. You can find it either on LinkedIn or Substack and, again, my newsletter is just Matt Skura's newsletter.
Speaker 2:I like to keep things really simple and streamlined. On Twitter, you can follow me at mskura62. Instagram, mskura62. So it's really easy. Once you find me on one social media site, you can find me just about on all of them. And yeah, so I love writing my newsletter. It's taking all the experiences that I've had from football and applying them to life now, sharing what life is like. Now I've got four kids we had twins a year ago, congratulations All of those things like the transition from to life now. How do we build better teams, better systems, all those different things. So that's been a great exercise for me. I've always been someone who likes to journal, so journal is a great mental health practice that I like to do, and so I was basically able to take my thoughts from my journal and share them with the world, and so that's what I like to do and where, where we're going.
Speaker 1:Cool buddy, all right. Well, as your family grows, stay in touch.
Speaker 1:If your son wants to play football before 14, give me a call, man, I'll go ahead and give you all the science, research and say not right now, cause I love you too much and I'll send you a copy of my book so at least you're informed. But thank you so much for coming on the show and sharing your story, matt. May God bless you and your family on your journey and, like I said, please stay in touch for anything you need. We're here for you, sir.
Speaker 2:Thank you, this was awesome. I really appreciate it. It was great meeting you and, yeah, we'll talk soon.
Speaker 1:All right, another great show. Folks really remember. I don't have my book, but remember, go to the website wwwmpmackparkmanfactorg. Download your free copy of the book. Remember, we have the head smart concussion app on Google and the Apple store for you all.
Speaker 1:The summit, the second annual summit on repetitive brain trauma, is here. The United States United States special operations commander is going to be speaking. Frank Larkin from 60 Minutes is going to be there. We have NFL players, nhl players, all talking about repetitive brain trauma. Matt, you're more than welcome to come on down. Let's talk about how do we make sports safer and the only way is to go ahead and reduce those little things that we take over years of playing these sports. We're going to work together to make that happen. Till next time, please like us, please subscribe to us, please pass us around, follow me on twitter at bruce mac parkman and we'll hope to see you again on the next show of broken brains with bruce parkman. Remember you only got one melon and your kids only got one melon. Take care of that puppy, because it's all you guys have. God bless you all. We'll see you next time on the show. Take care.