Cooper McDonald x SITKA Gear: Different Fields, Same Mindset

What do 75,000 roaring fans, 22 athletes performing their best impersonation of battling rams crashing into each other, and a calm morning of solitary hunting have in common? Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Cooper McDonald believes it’s more than most realize. From his perspective, hunting has made him a better professional athlete.

No matter the field, Cooper takes the same approach: “Patience. You can't make a rash decision, or it could ruin the hunt, the fish, or the play.” That’s not the only parallel. As you read on, you’ll discover how Cooper’s lifelong obsession with hunting continues to propel his NFL career and why he chooses SITKA for all his pursuits. 

What Hunting Teaches an NFL Linebacker

The moment your target animal steps into view, minutes turn into hours, giving you enough time to overthink everything. As an NFL defender, you only have time to react. There’s no time to overanalyze the play. Whether it’s a trophy buck strolling into range or a critical play on the football field, Cooper doesn’t let the moment become too big. Instead, the undrafted linebacker blends the two experiences, applying the skills he’s learned while in the woods to his time in the stadium: “Hunting teaches me to slow things down, stay aware of my surroundings, and pick up on small details, which helps me process what I see on the field and react quickly.”

Stay Aware

It happens to every hunter: you’re sitting there daydreaming when your target animal appears out of nowhere. You let your guard down for a split second, and now you’re deciding whether to reach for your weapon or wait for a better opportunity. Cooper says that during a game, “you have to read the moment and react quickly. Awareness and staying locked in are essential. You can’t let your mind drift. Otherwise, you let your team down.”

Pick Up on the Details

Spotting game often comes down to catching a flickering tail or a quick head turn. Hunting taught Cooper that regularly identifying the small details leads to success. If he can’t spot the difference between a run play and a pass play, he’s quickly out of a job on game day. 

Process & React Quickly

Shot opportunities can last minutes, but more often than not, they last for a few seconds. Cooper learned this growing up in the woods and now applies it on the football field to read the offense, find the ball carrier, and make a play.

Cooper prepping gear with the same amount of focus he brings to studying game film.

Lessons Built on a Lifelong Love of Hunting

One evening, Cooper and one of his older brothers headed to the blind for a sit. After patiently waiting, they noticed the twitching tail of a shooter buck, but it was out of range and wouldn't come closer. The two teens decided not to pass up the opportunity to ease out of the blind and creep closer so Cooper could get a shot. Once they were within range, he shouldered the rifle, sighted in on the vitals, and squeezed the trigger. The buck dropped, and the boys hurried back to their buggy, eager to tell their family of the hunt. However, when they reached the vehicle, it wouldn’t start. Cooper’s brother had a great idea, as older brothers often do. He told Cooper to drape the deer over his back and lug it to camp. Cooper promptly shouldered the buck and started walking. 

Cooper's love of hunting began at age 7, when his family moved to Texas. Like many blessed hunters, Cooper had his dad as his first mentor, but his older brothers soon filled that role. “They go on all sorts of hunts, and of course they're all during season, so I can't go, which stinks, but listening to them talk, I gain a lot of wisdom on hunting from both of them.” Even though he can’t go on every hunt with them, he still uses his time talking, texting, and sharing hunting pictures with them to learn and develop his skills. Missing a hunt doesn’t mean he can’t learn from it and apply those lessons to his life, including while playing in the NFL. 

Cooper’s willing to encounter any ball carrier or game animal in the country because he knows he has the skills, preparation, and gear to do it. Because football season overlaps with prime hunting season and limits the days he gets to hunt, every hunt matters. Cooper can’t afford gear that fails him in a critical moment, so he counts on SITKA. “The elite level of product SITKA carries is incredible, from hunting gear all the way to just the simple everyday attire.”

Cooper McDonald’s Top 3 SITKA Gear Picks

Cooper enjoys predator and whitetail hunting in Missouri the most, so he needs a wide variety of gear. On one hunt Cooper might be sitting on the ground calling coyotes in his OPTIFADE Subalpine gear, and on the next he could be in a tree stand in his OPTIFADE Elevated II camo waiting for a big buck to walk by. For every hunt, he chooses SITKA. Here are his three favorite pieces of gear. 

Fanatic Jacket

in Optifade Elevated II

4.9 [1610]

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This all-time SITKA bestseller is incredibly quiet and warm for cold-weather whitetail hunting. “It’s crazy warm, and I’ve never had a problem with it while in the deer stand.” 

Guard Pro Pant

in Optifade Subalpine

4.6 [110]

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Breathable for warm weather, these pants repel ticks, mosquitoes, and other biting insects. “I wear them on my turkey hunts, and they crush it every time.”

Ascent GORE-TEX®

in Iron Grey

4.3 [171]

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For training, scouting, and early season hunts, these shoes excel on the trail or off. “They’re super versatile and keep my feet from getting torn up!”

Whether he’s gearing up for game day or stepping into nature, he wears only what he knows he can trust. “It's been tested by many, and I trust what I put on my body because I've seen it work for other people and for me.” 

For Cooper, fishing is an off-season pursuit that helps him relax and recharge. Here he is hooked up to a largemouth bass.

Beyond Football: Fishing, Faith & the Outdoors

Hunting’s not the only outdoor activity Cooper enjoys. “I love being outdoors and enjoying God's great creation. It's a way for me to get away from the noise.” He’s also an avid angler, casting after every freshwater and saltwater fish he can. “They were everywhere around the boat!” Cooper said of a mahi-mahi trip in San Diego. The anticipation of the unknown and unexpected keeps him casting. “You never know when that moment of hooking up to a fish is gonna happen.” 

Ready for the Moment

When Cooper sits quietly in a tree stand, waiting for his target buck to step out, he leans on lessons from past hunts to improve his chances, knowing success is never guaranteed.

“God taught me that hunting has a way of exposing how little control I actually have. You can scout the land, practice your shooting, study the weather, and plan every detail, and then sit in the woods for hours without seeing a thing. Sometimes the animal appears when you least expect it, and sometimes you go home empty-handed.”

Cooper credits much of his rise from undrafted free agent to starting linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs to time spent in the woods, where he unknowingly prepared to play football in front of millions of fans. He slows down, stays aware of his surroundings, and picks up on tiny details, which helps him process what he sees on the field and react quickly. Like the subtle shift of a quarterback’s shoulders that telegraphs his intention to tuck the ball and run, or the faint rustle of leaves right before a 10-point steps into a carefully planned shooting lane.