49ers Nate Clements Wants Active Kids

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Nate Clements may seem like a tough guy on the football field, but the San Francisco 49ers’ cornerback is anything but as father to daughter Brooklynn, 7, and son Ace Camden, 4 months. When talking about life with his children and wife Melissa, the 28-year-old easily softens up! Nate loves to spend time with his family and makes a point of trying to get his "girly-girl" daughter outdoors. "Nowadays with video games and television, kids stay inside all the time," explains Nate, whose goal is to get Brooklynn to "finish her homework and get her outside" so she can enjoy "riding her bike and jumping rope."

Nate also makes sure that he spends time with his daughter on his day off from work and "always take[s] Brooklynn to school," sometimes stopping at Burger King to get the French toast if shes doing well in school. However, occasionally his little girl gets spoken to for speaking out, so Nate "checks up to see if she was talking too much in class" while he drops her off. Speaking of school, Nate’s presence in his daughter’s classroom may "get [her] some popularity points."

"I don’t want to brag, but I think I might be a popular parent. I’ve gone on field trips with her. We went to the zoo, and on a walkathon to raise money. I think the kids recognize me."

The defensive player, who shares that Ace’s name "just came to my head" as he was trying to think of a one-syllable name, is strict with his kids, as is wife Melissa. "Right now during the season, she’s the lockdown parent, I would have to say. With me working and practicing and coming home studying — there’sa lot of studying — she’s holding down the fort," Nate reveals.

An unintended positive of his career is that Nate is around plenty of other fathers who offer parenting advice to him, including his position coach Johnnie Lynn. "When we’re in meetings, we don’t always talk about Xs and Os. We’ll talk about family," Nate explains. "And he’s been there and done that.  Most of his kids are grown now, so he can tell me about all the different phases. He knows what’s coming next."

Source: The Poop