Washington Redskins offensive lineman Chris Chester is now in his ninth season as a professional football player (his fourth in Washington). Chester, a California native, had a unique journey to the National Football League as a late bloomer in the sport.
“I grew up in California,” Chester told Pro Player Insiders. “Spent some time in Northern California and finished up in Southern California. Mom and dad were both around — working professionals. My mom was a nurse and my dad worked with electronic components. I grew up playing basketball — that was my main sport coming up as a kid. I kinda got into football when I got into high school.”
Having high character is a trait that was entrenched in Chris Chester at an early age. Chester credits not only his parents, but his high school football coach who helped mold his perspective on how to approach the sport of football. “Besides my parents who were great parents and taught me about doing the right thing and carrying yourself with dignity and respect — my high school coach Myron Miller was definitely a big influence,” said Chester. “He was probably my biggest influence when it came to how you approach the game and being a grinder when times are tough. Really that work ethic is what I got from him.”
Chester’s faith is really what carries him not only through the highs and lows of football, but life in general. “I didn’t necessarily grow up in the church,” he said. “As mentioned, my parents were great people and they taught me some moral things of how to live my life and treat people with respect — just to take care of one another. But I wouldn’t say I had a real heavy church influence growing up. I didn’t really give my life to God until I got to college. I kind of had that understanding, or that epiphany, of what that means and to try to live a Christ-like life. That’s definitely what I try to do and how I try to live my life.”
After high school, Chris Chester decided to take his talents to Oklahoma University. For him, it wasn’t too much of a tough decision as he viewed OU as the perfect fit. “California is such a diverse place socially and there’s just so much going on that football was just not that big a deal as compared to when I took my visits to Oklahoma,” said Chester. “The whole entire stadium embraces you, people are really excited to see what you’re going to do. Mind you, I was an 18 year old kid coming out of high school, so this was just a really big deal. It was really exciting when I took my visit there. Then on top of that, they’re a great program — they ended up winning the National Championship that year and it was something I wanted to be a part of.”
Chester went to OU originally as a tight end. However, he ended up moving to the Offensive Line which would later benefit him greatly. “It was tough,” Chris Chester said of his transition. “I was kind of undersized making the move. I came into college at about 230 lbs and over the next few years I ended up getting to about 270 lbs, but it wasn’t quite lineman size. I did a really good job going into the combine — I was really training and adjusting my nutrition plan to get up to 300 lbs. But that was probably the hardest transition — just putting on that weight and trying to do it the right way.”
In 2006, the Baltimore Ravens selected Chris Chester in the second round of the NFL Draft. Chester says it was a surreal moment for him and his family. “I started playing O-Line so late that there wasn’t much NFL prospects on my radar,” he said. “I didn’t think that would be a possibility. I was fortunate enough to experience success late in my college career. I had a good combine and did some things really well and people took some interest. It was just a 180 of what I anticipated to get out of football at that point.”
After five successful seasons in Baltimore, Chester signed a lucrative free agent deal with the Washington Redskins in 2011. Chester came to Washington as seemingly a perfect fit for former Head Coach Mike Shanahan’s zone blocking system. “It was the best that one can anticipate for that situation,” Chester said of the transition to Washington. “I didn’t have to totally learn a new area of the country, which was kind of nice. It’s a little bit different than Baltimore. But moving to Virginia, it wasn’t a huge change logistically for my family trying to get around and know the area. The only thing that was hard was learning a new system after being in the same system for five years — knew it very well. Coming to Washington, I had to learn some new verbiage and a new scheme. I picked it up decently, but that was probably the most difficult part of the transition. Also, considering it was the year of the lockout so I kind of had a late start.”
As a professional football player, Chester strives to maintain his faith through the ever changing emotions the sport can bring. “I think it’s all about balance,” Chester said of how to find that medium. “You need to address that whenever you get down, having trouble at work or with you faith or anything like that, you need to take a step back and take a look at yourself. Give an honest evaluation of where you are in your life and maybe how you’ve been. Just kind of be introspective, I guess is the term I’m trying to think of here, as to what you need to do to bring that balance to your life. I think that’s the key, it’s balance.”
Chris Chester credits his faith as the main thing that’s given him great perspective during the ups and downs. “It seems in professional football, that when you’re high — you’re super, super high,” said Chester. “But when you’re low, you’re at your lowest of the lows. That comes from the fans who absolutely love you and adore you when you’re winning but when things aren’t going as well, they kind of despise you. That’s their prerogative as fans and I understand that aspect of the game. That being said, things of that nature don’t get to me because I know what’s important. I try not to get too caught up in it. I’m only human and sometimes those things can kind of get in your head. But I try and resist that kind of up and down emotional thinking mindset.”
For more on our interview with Chris Chester, check our Washington Redskins Podcast on the Power Players Network.
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