Finding the Balance in Football's Off-Season

Published: 2022-01-14

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My sports performance coaching calendar officially begins in January. The past season is over and the off-season begins.

The challenge for any student is the balance of being a student and athlete. I not only coach but I offer guidance by observing what my kids deal with daily.

Working with high school athletes you realize based on their ages from 14-18 they are only ten years removed from being 4-8 years old. They are still children in athletic bodies.

The off-season is the time to heal, reflect and reassess.

Goal setting is priority number 1 for athletes to make the jump in their development on and off the field. The collegiate recruiting process demands excellence in your character and the classroom.

Improving your football resume by increasing strength, speed, and athletic acumen. This now becomes an unpaid job that many athletes don't fully grasp yet. The pathway for a scholarship athlete is the knowledge and acceptance that this is work!

Playing your sport is the joy, off-season development is the work. Weight training, speed development, 7 on 7 tournaments, positional skill training. If you’re committed to your craft this is your job.

The payoff is the paid scholarship to be a collegiate athlete. To travel and expand your life experiences. Developing relationships that can open doors of opportunity for you. To leverage your skill to create opportunities for financial wealth for yourself and your family. To play the game you love to win!

Work/life balance has become a major cultural shift for everyone in the workforce. For youth athletes, I always remind them they're human beings before an athletes.

Find the balance and trust the people that have earned your trust to keep you on the path.