When Skach’s mother approached Holcomb, he feared she would come to confront him. Instead, she asked if he could return each Sunday to work with him. The sessions grew as Skach thrived that fall, and as Holcomb fielded interest from more families, he realized he could leave his corporate job and make a living training quarterbacks.
“It was a huge blessing in disguise,” Holcomb said. “And then, it wasn’t long after that J.J. walked in the door.”
Skach and McCarthy started working with Holcomb in middle school, which is when interest in private instruction seems to spike. Belle Plaine quarterback Reed Creighton started with Frisell before seventh grade, to get an edge on two other QBs he’d be competing with in high school. When Vikings QB Max Brosmer sought a coach in sixth grade, Atlanta-based coach Quincy Avery, a former Minneapolis Washburn quarterback, gave him a free trial. Brosmer’s family hired Avery shortly after, and the two still work together. Cam Ward, the No. 1 pick in the draft by the Titans, said he started with Houston-based coach Darrell Colbert Jr. after eighth grade.
Vikings quarterback Max Brosmer (12) calls out from the line of scrimmage in the third quarter of a preseason game against the New England Patriots on Aug. 16, 2025. (Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
As more young athletes seek extra training, Brosmer worries about the ones who are left behind because of cost. He’s proud to work with Avery, he said, because he is willing to support kids who don’t have the means to pay for training.
“It’s so expensive nowadays,” Brosmer, 24, said. “There are third-graders having private coaches. I’m not sure how people do it, and it shows the business of football at such an early age. But that’s the world we live in. You’re getting income now as a high schooler, which is insane.”
Indeed, the potential for a payoff is hard to ignore: Of the six first-round QBs in McCarthy’s 2024 class, five were picked in high school for the Elite 11 camp, which selects the country’s best prospects from a series of regional tournaments. People told Holcomb he should start pursuing NIL deals for his 14-year-old son after he received scholarship offers.
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