When Jarrett Reigel watches a National Football League game, his mind spins into the “hows” and “whys” the players got to the top level of the sport.

Since he became interested in football many years ago, Reigel has been fascinated with the NFL draft from which the best college players in the country are selected by the 32 teams to vie for roster spots before each season begins.

Reigel, a member of the football coaching staff at Tamaqua for the past 12 years, aspires to become an NFL scout, and is networking to greatly improve his opportunities.

“I have been following every draft,” he said, “and I am learning the process of what directors of player personnel look for that help them decide what college athletes they want on their teams.”

Reigel has been taking the necessary steps toward attaining his dream job.

“I’ve taken courses online with Sports Management Worldwide that have led me to career conferences and personal connections in the scouting business,” he said.

“I have gotten a lot out of that,” added Reigel, who has been working in his family’s plumbing business for the past 13 years. “I have gone to the NFL Combine, the Senior Bowl, and the Hula Bowl, where college football players showcase their talents. I get a close-up view of how an NFL team uses its resources to evaluate prospective draft picks. I also have networked with Dave Vandernat, a former director of player personnel with the Oakland Raiders who now has the same title for the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the Canadian Football League.”

Reigel is learning the business from the inside out.

“Much of the evaluation process of players comes from online videos that isolate the player’s performances in every game he plays,” he said. “Scouts look for things like how he is performing near the end of the game and not just in the beginning, regardless of the score. An athlete’s physical attributes can be statistically measured, but there are other more subtle aspects that can help a pro team decide if it wants to stake a claim on someone whom they expect will contribute to winning football games.”

Body language is a key observation that can display a positive commitment to perform at a high level on every single play, or throw up a red flag that could subtract him from the potential draft pick list. Then there is the one feature that can only be determined during an in-person interview held between a head coach and a general manager with a player.

“That would be what he has between his ears, something that cannot be measured by numbers and statistics,” he said. “Many players spend hours speaking with a team’s administration, and some even get invited to dinners from coaches who show a high level of interest.”

Scouts examine a player’s profile beyond his athletic abilities.

“They look for the ‘team’ attitude like Riley Leonard has at Notre Dame,” said Reigel. “They also look for community involvement, such as helping social programs, and if the player is getting sponsorship pay, if he is donating to charities. These things say a lot about their character.”

Reigel is also networking with Ric Serritella, a consultant for All Access Football and the author of the NFL Draft Bible, a publication used by all 32 NFL teams since 2002 as a guide to making draft picks.

If his dream job surfaces, Reigel is fully aware that scouting is a success-oriented business that might have a short career timeline.

“There is no certainty about any player that is drafted,” he explained. “Scouting is really an educated guess about which players will help your team. Everyone makes mistakes with whom they pick, but you have to do your homework and do your research the best you can.”

The goal has been set. The learning process and the networking have begun and will continue for Jarret Reigel.

This year’s NFL draft is scheduled to be held April 24-26, and he and a friend intend to take the time to watch every pick that is made.

Reigel will have his own draft list ready to go. It’s what he hopes will become an actual opportunity he’ll have with an NFL team in the not too distant future.