Karl Mecklenburg

Biography

A Former Denver Broncos captain and All-Pro, Karl Mecklenburg rose from being a college walk-on and a 12th round draft pick to a pro career that included six Pro Bowl and three Super Bowl appearances. Considered the NFL`s most versatile player, Karl played all seven defensive front positions. Bronco coaches wanted him at the point of attack and would move him throughout the game. There were many games where Mecklenburg played all 7 positions in the course of a single game. In 2001, Karl was inducted into the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame and the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.

Since retiring from pro football in 1995, Karl divides his time between motivational speaking, his ongoing charity involvements, and family. Karl and his wife Kathi have three children. The Mecklenburgs still live in Littleton Colorado and attend West Bowles Community Church.

The Mecklenburgs have had a strong commitment to many Colorado charities through the years, which they continue to uphold. Karl and Kathi formed the Karl Mecklenburg REACH Foundation in 2006, in an effort to further impact the youth of Colorado. REACH stands for rewarding experiences for all children. The REACH for a Book program incentivizes Denver Public Schools elementary school students to read. National statistics show that 90% of high school dropouts can't read. DPS has a graduation rate of 49%. By challenging elementary school students and rewarding them for reading 100 minutes a week we will change these numbers.

Karl is a member of the National Speakers Association. He has enjoyed speaking to a variety of groups over the years, and his story is both humorous and inspirational. The lessons life in the NFL taught him about teamwork, courage, dedication, desire, honesty and forgiveness, and goal setting can be applied anywhere. Mecklenburg has used his special brand of motivation as an assistant football coach at Kent Denver High School. Karl works with Accent Windows as a spokesman. He has hosted a radio program, done television sideline reporting and studio work, and written columns for the Denver Post. In addition, Karl has had numerous magazine articles published. In 1987 he was the coauthor of Meck For The Defense, published by McGraw-Hill.

Karl`s latest book Heart of a Student Athlete: All Pro Advice for Competitors and Their Families has been awarded the Mom`s Choice Awards Gold Recipient and the 2010 Mensa Sharp Writ Book Awards: Best Book for Young Adults.

Publications

Heart of a Student Athlete: All Pro Advice for Competitors and Their Families, by Karl Mecklenburg, offers youth sports families, middle school, high school, and college athletes inspirational advice about how to dream, achieve, and succeed not only in sport, but also in life. More than a simple self-help book for competitors, author Mecklenburg gives real-world, tested counsel based on his own experience as an amateur athlete, and as an All-Pro captain of the Denver Broncos. This is guidance and direction that has been proven on the field of competition and in the living of a successful life. Heart of a Student Athlete begins with the basic keys to success: teamwork, desire, honesty and forgiveness, dedication, courage, and goal setting. Through personal narrative and anecdotal storytelling, Mecklenburg builds on these themes to arm student athletes and their families with the insights needed to discover and achieve their loftiest dreams.

Titles

Six Keys to Success:
Success is overcoming obstacles on the way to your dreams. It doesn`t happen by accident. There is a pattern, a template that these accomplishments have in common. Karl`s speeches give you the Six Keys to Success that he used to rise from a college walk-on to the most versatile player in the NFL.

His presentation will be tailored to the needs of your group, and is full of humor and the life lessons that the rigors of the NFL taught him. Teamwork - leadership is the ultimate form of teamwork, "think we not me"; Courage to try new things and the courage to be decisive; Dedication - hard work, constant learning, and refusing to quit; Desire - your dreams, your passion, your mission; Honesty and Forgiveness, with others and in self evaluation; and Goal Setting - the short term, reasonable, specific steps that take you to your desires. These are the keys that you can apply at work, in your relationships, in your personal life, and anywhere that is important to you.