Christian McCaffrey’s brutal childhood regime under NFL dad shows how MVPs are made
Christian McCaffrey is having an impressive season even by his lofty standards.
Heading into Week 17, the San Francisco 49ers star has accrued a league-leading 1,932 scrimmage yards and 21 total touchdowns.
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As ever, the running back has been an absolute beast on the ground, leading the league in rushing yards (1,395) while scoring 14 rushing touchdowns.
McCaffrey is in the mix for both the MVP and Offensive Player of the Year awards while his 11-4 Niners are among the favourites to reach the Super Bowl.
His incredible success is not that surprising given his dad, Ed McCaffrey, is a three-time Super Bowl winning wide receiver who played for the Giants, 49ers and Broncos over a 13-year NFL career.
And it seems Christian was always destined for greatness given the brutal training regime his dad used to put him through.
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'CMC' recently appeared on Sport Pod Digest where he discussed the extreme lengths his father used to go to to ensure he made it to the pros.
"The old man was tough on you?," McCaffrey was asked.
"It's like hard when you're a kid, now it's not hard," he replied.
The two-time Pro Bowler revealed his dad would ground him if he was 'jersey tackled' during games when he was seven or eight years old.
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The 27-year-old went on to explain that he would go to Home Depot to get double-sided tape for his shoulder pads because he didn't have Velcro.
"I was running through everybody, no jersey tackles ever," he said.
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Christian added that his father would even cut slits in his pants to give him more knee flexibility when running.
"He had us doing dynamic warm ups, no sodas, bedtime 7:30. They would take our phone till I left for high school," CMC revealed.
"Diet was always important, sleep was always important."
He added that he was still allowed over to friend's houses but when it came to football and school his father made sure he knew the levels required to really excel.
"Friday in my off periods [in high school] he would come pick me up, middle of the day, and get an IV [drip].
"Just sailing IVs game day," he joked.
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McCaffrey also added, "he's going to hate me for saying this but it worked."
It most certainly has, as Run CMC is one of the best - and highest paid - athletes in the NFL.
"And that's how MVPs are made", one fan replied to the clip of McCaffrey's tough childhood routine.
"The IV on game day is clutch," joked another.
"This explains everything!", said a third.
"And that's why he's the best player in the NFL," wrote a fourth.
McCaffrey currently finds himself chasing Jerry Rice's 49ers single-season touchdown record with two regular season games to go.
CMC has 21 touchdowns through 15 games, leaving him just two shy of tying Rice's record (23) and three shy of breaking it entirely.
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The 49ers, who are vying for the NFC's No.1 seed, finish the regular season against the Commanders and Rams.
It'd take a brave person to bet against McCaffrey breaking Rice's record in either of those contents.
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