The Elephant In The Room

Let us address the elephant in the room. The conference is over and was a complete success. The podcast is thriving and is a success. The blogs are up and are a success. There is no question that Beyond the Field - Player Development has impacted many.

BUT… questions still arise.

Who is this guy who is leading the efforts? Why does he care? Why should I listen to him?

AND THE BIGGEST QUESTION YOU MAY HAVE:

WHY IS HE NOT IN THE PLAYER DEVELOPMENT ROLE AT THE CURRENT MOMENT?

Now, to be fair nobody has straight up asked me this, but in conversation it is felt. Honestly, if I were reading this, I would ask the same questions as well. So, let me answer the number one reason I am not currently in a player development role.

The answer is….ME.

I am the reason I am not currently in a player development role. I have been blessed to get calls once or twice a month about my interest in the role and I have politely declined. I do appreciate those who have reached out and still desire the impact I can make. Inside my decision to stay out of the role for the current moment are a few factors. 

The first is my family.

In my seven-month transition from my last role in player development, I spent a lot of time at home and realized very quickly how much time I spent away from my family. How much time I spent away from my wife and how much time was taken away from continually building our relationship. How much time I spent away from my kids and all the developmental milestones I missed. With that said, any employment does require sacrifices and time away from family, but college football is a time-consuming beast. My children are young and at this moment in my life I want to be there for as many developmental milestones they share with me and my wife. I saw a post on Instagram one day which stated the deepest points of impact a parent can have on their children is during the first five years of their lives. With my life’s purpose being generational impact, who would I be to not start that impact in my own home. 

The next factor is the opportunity to educate, help and support others.

If you know me, you know I am passionate about player development. A little too enthusiastic at times. I have been fortunate to have experience in the player development field and have seen the impact the role can have on athletes. One of my core goals with Beyond the Field is bringing positive exposure to the player development position and those who do the work in the space. Educating through podcast episodes, blogs, and social media posts. Helping those interested in the role find out more about the role and connecting them to gigs. Supporting those in the role, by providing a listening ear, advice, or exposure. These actions make my day, and I do not know if a program will allow me to do this fully. Will I be able to let another player development professional come in and see what we do? Will I be able to podcast about what we were doing in the program? Would I be able to let people see a day in the life of player development? I could not fault a program for this as they may not want this type of access to their program. I really like the opportunities to help others and will not forfeit the ability to do so. In speaking about this I still struggle with employers not realizing their employees have many talents and desires outside of their role. You get a better employee when you support and encourage their other talents and interests. 

The final factor is creative freedom.

I am able to do WHATEVER I want to do. I have tried things, I have failed, and I have succeeded. But, at the end of the day I am able to put out whatever I feel will help the player development field. I am able to go back, make edits, add, and delete things. In the role, I struggled at times when I was creating programming and had many people who I had to get approvals from who may not fully understand player development. There were many approvals needed to make quick and necessary decisions to impact the athletes I served. Sometimes these decisions would get caught on someone’s desk or in someone’s email and the chance to help an athlete was not made. This was frustrating because I would feel those who hired me should and would know my urgency and passion for ensuring athletes' experiences were enhanced. This was not always the case. So, now having the ability to create avenues to help those helping athletes in the role has been refreshing to me. 

With all this said, when the time is right, I would like to get back in the role and impact the lives of athletes. Will I be able to get back in the role? Who knows, it is a question I ask myself from time to time. I do miss it. I miss the players walking into my office knowing they can be themselves. I miss the solutions I would provide coaches and administration. I miss the practices and seeing players skills grow. I miss the former players, the stories, and the appreciation they have for the role. I miss seeing the families at games and talking to them about the growth of their student-athlete. I miss it a lot sometimes.

At the current moment, I have enjoyed time with my family. The times I have been able to help someone get an interview or a role in player development. The creative freedom I have and the influence it has on others. Time will tell, but I am learning to live, cherish and thrive in the current moment I am in in life.

There it is the elephant is currently walking out of the room. Some of you reading this may continue to have questions about my credentials to use this platform to help those in the player development field. I appreciate your questioning and will leave you with these quick points which allow me to help yourself and others:

I have been in the player development role at three different universities (G5, P5 and private), I have worked for four head coaches. I have been promoted twice. I have been an Assistant Athletic Director. I wrote the first book dedicated to player development. I host the only podcast dedicated to player development. I wrote the second book dedicated to player development. I created a virtual player development conference. I have a course I am teaching dedicated to player development. I have written multiple blogs like this one dedicated to player development. 

Hopefully, this blog answered any and all questions you may have about me. If you have any more questions, please let me know. Seriously, let me know. 

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