Kansas high school football players who have dreams of continuing their gridiron careers at the next level can find a resource in a former Sunflower State star who has excelled at every level of the game — high school, college and the National Football League.
Mark Simoneau is a former prep star from Smith Center, who played in the 1995 Kansas Shrine Bowl. He starred at Kansas State, where he was a consensus All-America selection in 1999 as a linebacker. Simoneau enjoyed a 10-year career in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs. He won a Super Bowl ring as a member of the Saints in 2010 before retiring as a member of the Chiefs later that year.
Simoneau’s Company, Simoneau Sports Performance, based in Overland Park, will conduct an NFL-style combine at this year’s Kansas Shrine Bowl, sponsored by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He said the combine will give current high school players a chance to measure their athletic skills against other players in the state.
“We’ll put them through a battery of tests,” Simoneau said, “including a 40-yard dash, broad jump, and vertical jump. It gives us a baseline to compare different athletes and their abilities athletically. It doesn’t have so much to do with football, but just how someone compares as an athlete.”
The data collected will be like data that is collected at the NFL combine held each spring in Indianapolis, Ind.
“From a testing standpoint, it will be very similar to what they do there,” Simoneau said. “There are a lot of other things they do at the NFL combine, but in terms of physical testing, ours will be very similar.”
The data will go out to college coaches around the state.
“Everyone will have access to a kid’s performance numbers,” Simoneau said. “Progress over time can be measured, so if he’s a younger kid, a freshman, he’ll the get the opportunity to do it next year and see how he’s progressing from year to year. It’s a good measuring stick for them to see where they’re at and where they want to be.”
The combine will be held on the same day as the 40th annual Kansas Shrine Bowl, Saturday, July 27, at Yager Stadium on the campus of Washburn University in Topeka. Kickoff for the East vs. West charity game is set for 7 p.m.
Simoneau says the field and other facilities at WU are “top of the line,” including the field surface.
“It’s definitely a great facility,” he added.
Applications for this year’s combine are still being accepted. Detailed information and application forms can be found on the Kansas Shrine Bowl web site www.kansasshrinebowl.com.
As for his business, Simoneau says that the company plans to move into a new facility in July.
“We’ve been in business for almost 2 1/2 years,” he said. “We’ve had the opportunity to work with a lot of good kids, trying to help them develop and become the best players they can be.
“We do some skill training, mostly for football, but if you want to run faster or jump higher or be stronger, those are the kinds of things we’re really trying to improve on. If you’re a baseball player, we’re not going to work on your ability to pitch, but we’ll help you be stronger, and that will allow you to do what your coaches are talking about.”
All Shrine Bowl events are produced and presented to benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children (SHC). SHC is a health care system of 22 hospitals dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing pediatric specialty care, innovative research, and outstanding teaching programs for medical professionals. Children up to the age of 18 are eligible for care and receive all services in a family-centered environment, regardless of the patients’ ability to pay.
Tickets and additional information are available at www.kansasshrinebowl.com or by calling 800-530-5524.
Great Bend linebacker Hunter Harrison, Central Plains defensive back/quarterback Bryce Steiner and Kansas State-bound linebacker Kip Keeley, out of La Crosse, are among members of the West squad.
Steiner was diagnosed with B-cell Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma last November. He is now cancer-free.

— Mack McClure