Army West Point Athletics
One Move Ahead
October 21, 2017 | Football
A little boy sat on the front porch of his mother's apartment building on the south side of Chicago. Faint gun shots would sometimes be heard there at night. But on this day, a sense of calm spread through the air. He would learn something new today. He didn't realize it at the time, but this something new would forever alter his way of thinking and way of life.
That little boy was Army West Point football's Ahmad Bradshaw, and the something new was the game of chess.
Life wasn't always easy for Bradshaw growing up. He lived with his single mother, his grandmother, his aunt and his aunt's two children in a small apartment. His neighborhood was far from cookie cutter, but it was home.
"I honestly liked my neighborhood a lot," Bradshaw said. "It was sometimes violent around certain areas, specifically on the south side. You would hear shootings at night. My mother really didn't want me going outside because of that, but I still went outside."
Like most kids, Bradshaw took up sports. He played football for a public school team, the Mighty Men, as they were often referred to. He would attend practice from four to six at night and then get on a bus to head home.
But sometimes life wasn't always so simple. Bradshaw had to grow up quickly, dealing with situations not many kids have to at a young age.
"I think the most difficult thing about my childhood was just losing people to violence and losing family members to unnecessary violence," Bradshaw said. "School wasn't always the best either because of the distractions with violence, so it was tough to learn sometimes. There were a lot of people around me doing the wrong thing; having to convince them not to do those things was kind of difficult. What was scary was it was so easy to get tempted into doing something wrong."
But Bradshaw's path would not get altered. He was meant for something bigger. Insert the game of chess.
Chess was something that did not come naturally to him. He actually struggled, like most people do, when they are trying something for the first time. But being bad at something has never been acceptable to him.
In fact, it's hard to imagine that Army's captain, starting quarterback and 11th all-time leading rusher with 2,110 yards is bad at anything. However, his drive to improve and be a better person is what puts him above the rest.
Back in the second grade Bradshaw was introduced to chess by one of his mother's friends. He and his son would take turns defeating Bradshaw and it got to the point where he could no longer take it anymore. He had to do something about it.
"I hated to lose. I started playing every day and playing online just so I could beat him and his son," Bradshaw said with a laugh.
Fast forward five years and Bradshaw was captaining the chess team at the Beasley Academic Center, a middle school on the south side of Chicago.
To this day he still spends his free time playing, using it as a calming method the day before a game.
"I think it's the passion to mentally compete," Bradshaw commented. "I think chess is one of the things that makes me think more and makes me think about my moves ahead of time before I make them."
He credits some of the success he has experienced on the field to the lessons he learned from chess.
"Thinking ahead is the biggest thing. I don't think anyone who is good at chess thinks about one move at a time," Bradshaw said. "Just like in football, where you're reading the defense you've got to anticipate where someone is going to be after the ball is snapped. So, like in chess, you've got to anticipate where they're going to move their piece when you move your piece."
In his three seasons at West Point, Bradshaw has been featured as the centerpiece of the triple option offense that the Black Knights run. Forcing him to put those motor and mind skills to the test by making the decision whether to pitch the ball, hand it off or keep it himself.
A few less options than in chess, but Bradshaw has fared just fine in between the hash marks.
Around the same time that he picked up chess, he was introduced to another new hobby. Football. It was clear Bradshaw had talent the moment he stepped onto the field, and once he started to get a lot of reps, he took a serious liking to the sport. It was something that did come naturally to the Chicago native.
However, one day at practice he was struggling to grasp something that he was being taught and had legitimate thoughts of quitting. His mother, Kizzy Collins, talked him out of giving up though, and it was a good thing he listened.
A new opportunity arose for Bradshaw several years later when his team's starting quarterback went down with an injury. Previously serving as a running back, he assumed the quarterback duties due to his football IQ.
"I was able to understand offenses and defenses well so my coach put me there," Bradshaw added.
It's safe to say that he has continued to thrive in that role.
With nearly 3,000 combined yards from scrimmage and 30 total touchdowns, he has constructed an impressive resume that also includes leading the Black Knights' 80 yards down the field at M&T Bank Stadium last December. It was a game-winning drive against service-academy rival Navy that broke a 14-year unbeaten streak.
There have been plenty of highlights during Bradshaw's career behind center, but maybe not one more honorable than being named the captain of the Army West Point football team this past summer.
"When it first happened, I hid a lot of my emotion in the team room when they said my name," Bradshaw said. "But it means a lot to see that people look at me as their captain and leader of their team. I care about my teammates a lot, and I try to help them as much as possible."
Bradshaw's current coach on the Banks of the Hudson thinks the captain role is a perfect fit for him.
"He makes great decisions and is a very poised leader," Army head coach Jeff Monken said. "He is even keel and that is a great quality for a starting quarterback. He might pump his fist for something good, but then he's right back in the moment. He is laser focused and gets back in the moment after something may not go his way. He is a great competitor."
It all started from humble beginnings for Bradshaw, who worked tirelessly to get to where he is today. But, he credits a lot of people for his success.
"I don't think I would have predicted this for me if I were to look at where I came from to where I am now," Bradshaw commented. "It means a lot to know that all the work that I've put in myself and the help I've gotten from so many people has paid off.
"A lot of people will say that they did a bunch of stuff on their own and get here by themselves, but I know that's not me. I got a lot of help mentally and physically from a lot of mentors and coaches, and I think that it's good to see that it's paid off to be here today."
From the south side of Chicago, to chess team captain, to captain of the West Point brotherhood, Bradshaw seems to have found his path. One thing still eludes him though. Taking on fellow chess enthusiast and defensive coordinator Jay Bateman in a game of chess.
"I think one day he'll play me," Bradshaw said. "I don't think he's afraid, I just think he's kind of nervous and doesn't want to lose to an offensive player."
Well, with a razor-sharp mind like Bradshaw's, can you blame him?
That little boy was Army West Point football's Ahmad Bradshaw, and the something new was the game of chess.
Life wasn't always easy for Bradshaw growing up. He lived with his single mother, his grandmother, his aunt and his aunt's two children in a small apartment. His neighborhood was far from cookie cutter, but it was home.
"I honestly liked my neighborhood a lot," Bradshaw said. "It was sometimes violent around certain areas, specifically on the south side. You would hear shootings at night. My mother really didn't want me going outside because of that, but I still went outside."
Like most kids, Bradshaw took up sports. He played football for a public school team, the Mighty Men, as they were often referred to. He would attend practice from four to six at night and then get on a bus to head home.
But sometimes life wasn't always so simple. Bradshaw had to grow up quickly, dealing with situations not many kids have to at a young age.
"I think the most difficult thing about my childhood was just losing people to violence and losing family members to unnecessary violence," Bradshaw said. "School wasn't always the best either because of the distractions with violence, so it was tough to learn sometimes. There were a lot of people around me doing the wrong thing; having to convince them not to do those things was kind of difficult. What was scary was it was so easy to get tempted into doing something wrong."
But Bradshaw's path would not get altered. He was meant for something bigger. Insert the game of chess.
Chess was something that did not come naturally to him. He actually struggled, like most people do, when they are trying something for the first time. But being bad at something has never been acceptable to him.
In fact, it's hard to imagine that Army's captain, starting quarterback and 11th all-time leading rusher with 2,110 yards is bad at anything. However, his drive to improve and be a better person is what puts him above the rest.
Back in the second grade Bradshaw was introduced to chess by one of his mother's friends. He and his son would take turns defeating Bradshaw and it got to the point where he could no longer take it anymore. He had to do something about it.
"I hated to lose. I started playing every day and playing online just so I could beat him and his son," Bradshaw said with a laugh.
Fast forward five years and Bradshaw was captaining the chess team at the Beasley Academic Center, a middle school on the south side of Chicago.
To this day he still spends his free time playing, using it as a calming method the day before a game.
"I think it's the passion to mentally compete," Bradshaw commented. "I think chess is one of the things that makes me think more and makes me think about my moves ahead of time before I make them."
He credits some of the success he has experienced on the field to the lessons he learned from chess.
"Thinking ahead is the biggest thing. I don't think anyone who is good at chess thinks about one move at a time," Bradshaw said. "Just like in football, where you're reading the defense you've got to anticipate where someone is going to be after the ball is snapped. So, like in chess, you've got to anticipate where they're going to move their piece when you move your piece."
In his three seasons at West Point, Bradshaw has been featured as the centerpiece of the triple option offense that the Black Knights run. Forcing him to put those motor and mind skills to the test by making the decision whether to pitch the ball, hand it off or keep it himself.
A few less options than in chess, but Bradshaw has fared just fine in between the hash marks.
Around the same time that he picked up chess, he was introduced to another new hobby. Football. It was clear Bradshaw had talent the moment he stepped onto the field, and once he started to get a lot of reps, he took a serious liking to the sport. It was something that did come naturally to the Chicago native.
However, one day at practice he was struggling to grasp something that he was being taught and had legitimate thoughts of quitting. His mother, Kizzy Collins, talked him out of giving up though, and it was a good thing he listened.
A new opportunity arose for Bradshaw several years later when his team's starting quarterback went down with an injury. Previously serving as a running back, he assumed the quarterback duties due to his football IQ.
"I was able to understand offenses and defenses well so my coach put me there," Bradshaw added.
It's safe to say that he has continued to thrive in that role.
With nearly 3,000 combined yards from scrimmage and 30 total touchdowns, he has constructed an impressive resume that also includes leading the Black Knights' 80 yards down the field at M&T Bank Stadium last December. It was a game-winning drive against service-academy rival Navy that broke a 14-year unbeaten streak.
There have been plenty of highlights during Bradshaw's career behind center, but maybe not one more honorable than being named the captain of the Army West Point football team this past summer.
"When it first happened, I hid a lot of my emotion in the team room when they said my name," Bradshaw said. "But it means a lot to see that people look at me as their captain and leader of their team. I care about my teammates a lot, and I try to help them as much as possible."
Bradshaw's current coach on the Banks of the Hudson thinks the captain role is a perfect fit for him.
"He makes great decisions and is a very poised leader," Army head coach Jeff Monken said. "He is even keel and that is a great quality for a starting quarterback. He might pump his fist for something good, but then he's right back in the moment. He is laser focused and gets back in the moment after something may not go his way. He is a great competitor."
It all started from humble beginnings for Bradshaw, who worked tirelessly to get to where he is today. But, he credits a lot of people for his success.
"I don't think I would have predicted this for me if I were to look at where I came from to where I am now," Bradshaw commented. "It means a lot to know that all the work that I've put in myself and the help I've gotten from so many people has paid off.
"A lot of people will say that they did a bunch of stuff on their own and get here by themselves, but I know that's not me. I got a lot of help mentally and physically from a lot of mentors and coaches, and I think that it's good to see that it's paid off to be here today."
From the south side of Chicago, to chess team captain, to captain of the West Point brotherhood, Bradshaw seems to have found his path. One thing still eludes him though. Taking on fellow chess enthusiast and defensive coordinator Jay Bateman in a game of chess.
"I think one day he'll play me," Bradshaw said. "I don't think he's afraid, I just think he's kind of nervous and doesn't want to lose to an offensive player."
Well, with a razor-sharp mind like Bradshaw's, can you blame him?
Players Mentioned
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