Zach Ertz Launches New Coaching Platform: Team Protege

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By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

While many Eagles in recent years have found themselves in the news for positive reasons attempting to enact positive change in their communities, that has, unfortunately, not been the case over the past week.

The press has rightfully been poor in the wake of DeSean Jackson deciding to quote Hitler.

In a change of pace, Zach Ertz added another charitable contribution to his growing list on Thursday.

Ertz, who was honored with the Steinberg-DeNicola Humanitarian Award last offseason, announced a training program where he will work with college and high school players on perfecting their skills.

Through @TeamProtege, I will be coaching high school and college athletes looking to take their game to the next level. All coaching will be free for athletes chosen. All you have to do is fill out an application and complete an act of service challenge. ⁣

— Zach Ertz (@ZERTZ_86) July 9, 2020

The tagline of the organization is “Helping The Next Generation Achieve Their Goals”.

Ertz explains that Brent Jones, an 11-year veteran who was named to four Pro Bowls, a first-team All-Pro nomination by the NEA, two AP All-Pro second-team nomination and three-time Super Bowl Champion, was a major figure in his life who assisted in Ertz’s development when he was just 16 years old. That contribution inspired him to do the same for the next generation of football players.

Ertz will be choosing participants in the program through an application process that is set to open Friday.

Importantly, those applying will also need to complete an act of service, something that will help individuals to connect with their communities at a young age and, ideally, keep that connection throughout their careers and lives.

Follow @teamprotege on Twitter to get more information on the program as it is released.