Karl Mecklenburg
- Former Broncos Captain & All-Pro Linebacker
- Six Pro Bowls & Three Super Bowl Appearances
- Bronco's Ring Of Fame & Co Sports HOF Member
Travels From
Colorado
Karl Mecklenburg Speaker Biography
Karl Mecklenburg rose from 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 games where Mecklenburg played all 7 positions in the course of a single game.
Since retiring from pro football in 1995, Karl divides his time between motivational speaking, family, and his ongoing charity involvements. Karl and his wife Kathi have three children and still live in Colorado. In 2001, Karl was inducted into the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame and the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. Mecklenburg was a Pro Football Hall of Fame Semifinalist for eight consecutive years.
Karl is a Certified Speaking Professional and a longtime 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 can be applied anywhere. He approaches his speaking career with the same intelligence, passion, and intensity that punctuated his great football career.
Karl has hosted radio programs, done television sideline reporting and studio work, written columns for the Denver Post and had magazine articles published. He is the coauthor of Meck For The Defense and the author of Heart of a Student Athlete: All Pro Advice for Competitors and Their Families. This book awarded the Mom's Choice Awards® Gold Recipient and the 2010 Mensa Sharp Writ Book Awards: Best Book for Young Adults, offers advice to young athletes and their loved ones about what it really takes to be successful in sports and life.
Motivation: Six Keys to Success
These six keys were learned in the crucible of NFL competition and apply to any team looking to accomplish their mission. Teamwork - with leadership being the ultimate expression of teamwork; Courage - the courage to try new things and the courage to be decisive; Dedication - hard work, constant learning, and refusing to quit; Desire the dream, the passion, the mission; Honesty & Forgiveness - with yourself in self-evaluation and with others; and Goalsetting - the reasonable short term specific steps to success. Universal and unchanging, these six keys will inspire and motivate your team to accomplish their goals.
Teamwork and Leadership: Make Every day Game Day; The C's of Leadership
We can all recognize teamwork or the lack of teamwork in a sports competition. How do less talented teams beat a roster full of superstars? Teams with leaders throughout the organization win. Karl teaches leaders to utilize the C's of leadership. Clarity and Consistency of the following three team focuses Cornerstones - the team's purpose, Commitment - to the team's mission, and Connection - with the individuals on the team. Great teams use the strengths of the individual to help the team win, and the strengths of the team to cover for the weaknesses of the individual. Story based and full of humor, Karl's presentation brings a team together in times of change and fights complacency in times of success.
Peak Performance: Success is Overcoming Obstacles on the Way to Your Dreams
Mecklenburg's life is a testimony to this truth. Karl's journey through junior varsity football, losing a partial scholarship at his first college, walking on at the University of Minnesota, and coming to the Broncos as the 310th pick of the draft were all obstacles. He achieved his dream by becoming the most versatile player in the NFL and a team captain. Karl's twelve-year NFL career included six Pro Bowl and three Super Bowl appearances. Story-based and full of humor this motivational presentation will inspire and motivate your team to peak performance.
Safety: Igniting Your Passion for Safety
Playing linebacker in the NFL is not a safe job, but it is a job that requires passion and commitment to preparation. Karl’s presentation drives home the value of daily preparation that breeds decisiveness in the split second safety decisions that your people need to make. Safety is a team mindset, a team passion, in much the same way that winning is. NFL players are constantly coached and corrected. When mistakes are made, they need to be amended quickly or the team will lose. If sloppy safety behavior is left uncorrected on your field, injury, death and/or litigation can be the result. Appropriate leadership and oversight are required for teams to make and maintain changes in safety procedures. Karl’s presentation covers the value of coaching and oversight in becoming the best and safest your team can be. Story-based and humorous, Karl’s speech will help your team take a big step forward and reinforce your commitment to safety.
TED-style talk: Honesty; The Clear Path to Success
A culture of honesty allows your team to adjust to change, to retain customers and employees, and to deal with failures and successes. Karl’s 10-minute story based TED talk is entertaining and thought-provoking.
