A family friend taught Ahmad Bradshaw how to play chess in second grade. He loved the game’s strategic elements and the challenge of making split-second decisions in the times competitions. Bradshaw joined the chess team in middle school.
Almost a decade later, chess remains one of Bradshaw’s favorite hobbies. It especially comes in handy when he crouches under center as quarterback of the Army football team.
“When you play on a clock with chess, you need to have three moves ahead of your opponent,” said Bradshaw, a senior captain from Chicago.
Now he’s making those same split-second decisions operating Army’s potent triple-option rushing attack. In his third year as starter, Bradshaw has mastered reading defenses, deciding whether to tuck the football between the fullback’s arms, pull the ball out and pitch it to a slotback or keep the football and use his own legs to gain yardage.
“You have to know the next three things you are going to do,” Bradshaw said.
Flexbone Association 
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