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There is a misconception if a student-athlete does not reach the pinnacle of their chosen sport that they’ve failed. That’s simply not true.

I work as a certified life and performance coach who works with mostly student/professional athletes. Working closely with them, I see that many have the same dreams and aspirations. Shoot I had the same exact dream and I wasn’t nearly as talented as most of them. But the truth is there is supply and demand.

The supply being the number of available spots on an NFL roster and the demand being those players looking to fill those spots. Year in and year out, the demand for those spots far exceed the spots available on any given year.

We celebrate those who make this unprecedented leap while those who aren’t as fortunate begin to bring order to their life that was once constructed around their respective sport. It’s the name of the name and it occurs every year. Whether in football, baseball/softball, track and field or basketball, men and women alike experience this same feeling. The grief of losing their identity as an athlete.

I don’t care who you are, there is always soul searching involved in this process.

You’ve done something for an extended period of time and suddenly you go cold turkey following your final college game/practice.

No more wake up calls from coaches, staff, or teammates to begin your day.

No more class checks.

No more structured days racing from the facility to training table to class to study hall.

No more alarm clock buzzing at 6 am.

No more team meetings to begin the day before heading off to position meetings.

No more academic advisors checking your grades to make sure you’re eligible to play.

These may sound like some of the best sentences in the world, until you actually have to live them.

Don’t get me wrong it’s not the worst thing in the world, but now the responsibility of structure, organization, habits, and accountability fall on you.

Without needing to go to class for your sport, will you still show up?

Without needing the grade to stay eligible, will you still study for the upcoming test?

With no team workout in the morning, will you still decide to go to the student recreation center and stay active?

High School Student-Athletes

When speaking to my high school athletes, they all have aspirations of playing Division I ball. I have no quarrels with this. I would’ve given my good looks and my two firstborn kids to attend USC coming out of high school. I worked hard to make this happen.

I’ve also heard high school athletes say if they don’t get an offer to play a Division I sport, they won’t go. It’s the craziest thing I’ve heard. You mean to tell me, you love playing this sport but you will give it up if it isn’t at the level you desire? This is the BIGGEST mistake you can make. There may be a plethora of things preventing you from playing Division I, but that doesn’t mean you should pass on a chance to continue playing your sport.

I’m not telling high school athletes what their goals should be, but I harp on the fact that their goal should be continuing to play beyond high school. Whatever that may look like. I give the same advice to my college athletes as well (we will discuss this later). Playing beyond high school stretches your athletic career into your early 20’s while allowing you to continue your education.

Whether this is at a JUCO (junior college), Division II, Division III, or NAIA, there are still opportunities to move up if you perform well. There are so many opportunities now with the transfer portal that where you start does not have to be where you finish. In fact, if you look at the data being complied through the transfer portal, you most likely won’t attend the same school/university for your entire collegiate career.

But one thing I implore you to do is keep an open mind when it comes to colleges and coaches that are interested in recruiting you. You never know what will happen on either side that could prove beneficial for you.

A coach may go from a Division II to a Division I school and thinks you have the talent to play there. A coach may miss out on a recruit they thought they were a shoe in to land and now there is one more scholarship or spot available. You NEVER KNOW and that’s why you have to approach situations like a professional or a young person with some home training.

Collegiate Student-Athletes

If you’re playing football on the collegiate level, you’ve already won. There are so many athletes who don’t continue their career past high school and it isn’t discussed enough. It’s a privilege to play in college. But you’ve earned that privilege by your hard work and sacrifice.

Examining football, there are more avenues than before when thinking about playing after college. You have the USFL league that is up and running in the spring, CFL (Canadian Football League), and also international semi-pro ball.

I’ve seen many players in the USFL that were outstanding college/NFL players competing in the spring league. This goes to show you just how much talent simply doesn’t pan out at the highest level. The salary in the USFL is right around $53,000 as of 2023 with various benefits and allowances. Not too shabby for a 10 week season if you ask me. Pursuing a career in football past college should not be about all about the money.

Don’t get me wrong, you need to make a living and pay your bills. But whenever your sports career comes to an end, the next step is to begin your career career (yes, black people say things twice to put emphasis on it). Depending on your degree earned in college, this may dictate the profession you enter.

We are in a generation where many people work in industries that they didn’t earn a degree in. This is a good thing. That means you aren’t pigeon holed out of a profession you may have interest in. But once you start down this path, in order to climb the ladder you have to stick with it and pay your dues. Otherwise you may continue to enter entry level positions, ranking at the bottom of the totem pole.

Professional Athletes

In my opinion, this transition is the hardest of them all. You’ve played at the pinnacle of your sport with the best athletes to touch God’s green Earth. You’ve been payed handsomely and enjoyed the fruits of your labor. The thing no one stresses to you is how your career will most likely end unexpectedly.

Back in my day when I played football, the Atlanta Falcons decided not to renew my contract and I became a free agent. I had a few teams call leading up to the next season and into training camp but my body hadn’t fully recovered from an offseason surgery. Then, the calls simply stopped coming.

My agent told me that we should try to get a contract up in Canada but I refused (I refused because he was contradictory in what he told me when we first began free agency that we would not need to go play up North).

As the season began and the weeks passed, it sunk in more and more that I would most likely not play in the NFL again. I had to figure what else I was good at. I had to search for what I had a passion for doing outside the game of football. I had to get money to pay my rent, bills, and car note. I had to jump back into life and provide for myself. No one was going to do it for me.

I wasn’t railroaded by this experience, but it’s something that you don’t fully FEEL until you are living it. There is no rehearsal for what happened to me. But I did receive sound advice and support from mentors and coaches that helped me find my way.

I went on to work a job at a hotel as a reservation agent, then a high school coach, and very soon after was hired as a graduate assistant at The University of Central Florida (UCF) with my former college wide receivers coach Scott Frost.

I spent a season at UCF and then was hired as the Director of Player Development at UCLA under Chip Kelly. After spending four years there, I left UCLA to attend acting school at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Hollywood, Ca.

Within two years of being finished with football (or football being finished with me however you want to put it), I found myself back on solid ground being around something I loved (football) and doing something I was passionate about (coaching football and helping young men).

Between the conclusion of my NFL career and working at UCF, I played flag football and intramural football. Nothing serious and mostly for fun, but there were people who took it more serious than I did. I played for cardio and camaraderie while others played for statistics and championships.

One of my biggest goals when playing these sports was to avoid injury. Nothing worse than tearing your ACL and not having that great health insurance and doctors from the NFL.

Nothing will quite compare to putting on pads and a helmet for practice or a game. Nothing will compare to summer conditioning with the wide receiver group measuring who finishes first. Nothing will compare to getting off the bus to play USC and running a check up on them at the Coliseum and watching the fans head home early.

Enjoy it, because those workouts and games of flag are just that. Games that don’t carry much significance if you have yet to make peace with your circumstances.

Play Play Play

I stress this motto to athlete at any level.

Play as much as you can. Play as long as you can.

Coach Drewskii

You never know when you’ve played your last play. Whether it be the end to your season or your career. Do your best to approach it the same. You can do this by often asking “what if my career ended tomorrow?” I’m aware that this isn’t the type of mentality you should walk around with as an athlete on a daily basis, but really ASK YOURSELF THE QUESTION.

I took the time to ask myself this question after tearing my ACL at Oregon after my very first start against Stanford. My answer surprised me. At first I was unable to answer. The answer was simply “I don’t know.” By me saying I didn’t know, that was cause for me to really construct my life so that I had an answer.

Later, I responded that I wanted to be proud of the work that I put in. I wanted to say that I left no stone unturned and that I poured all my effort and time into my craft. That I had no regrets.

So as I rehabbed from a torn ACL in the offseason and got cleared to be on the field, I vowed that I would not take my health for granted ever again.

This really took off in my senior year at Oregon when I didn’t miss a summer condition session, workout, or practice during fall camp. The only practice I ended up missing through the season was right before Thanksgiving when I got strep throat and had to miss a Wednesday practice in order to rest and not contaminate any of my fellow teammates. I was back at practice again on a limited basis the next day and played two days later against the Arizona Wildcats.

My thought process (especially after tearing my ACL) was that my collegiate career would be my last playing organized football. I had hopes to play in the NFL, but the reality was my college stats didn’t measure up anywhere close to other receivers in the 2011 draft class. Being 100% honest, I wasn’t even the best senior receiver on my team!

This cold ass white dude named Jeff Maehl was dominating DB’s on the other side like it was nothing. He had over 1,000 yards receiving on the year and set/tied the school record for touchdown catches (can’t remember if he tied or set the record). He had some swag too, we taught him well.

Notable receivers in that same draft class were Julio Jones, A.J. Green, Randall Cobb, Leonard Hankerson, Titus Young, Torrey Smith, Austin Pettis, and Cecil Shorts to name a few.

But like I said before, exhaust everything you can on your journey in your sport. Even though playing at the next level wasn’t likely for me, I would’ve never forgiven myself if I didn’t train and participate in our Pro Day.

Pro Day is the select day a University welcomes professional teams, scouts, and coaches to evaluate eligible athletes for the upcoming draft. There are specific areas the athletes are tested in as well as drills on the field. During my time at Oregon, I saw former Oregon players continually show up for Pro Days long after they graduated in hopes to be picked up by a team. It never happened. I did not want that to be my story.

I participated on Pro Day, did well, and after the lockout ended in July/August of 2011, I was signed as a free agent by the Atlanta Falcons. I spent time on the practice squad my first year (which I equate to redshirting in college). Then, I was able to make the team my second year and contribute to helping our team on a weekly basis. I spent four years with the Falcons and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

I’m glad I exhausted every possibility for my athletic career. I am more at peace since doing so.

While no one knows what their future may hold, the best we can do is live and enjoy the present as much as possible. When you are living life in such a way, it becomes much for fruitful to enjoy because you are focused about living where your feet are.

STAY HEALTHY

DD

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