By Kristy Belden
Director of Player Development
University of Central Florida Football
You’ve traded tackling drills for gassers and scoring routes for squats. Your helmet and pads have been neatly put away, only to be replaced by sneakers and shorts. Your weekends are now suddenly, but temporarily, free of high-intensity, energy-filled rivalry games. Welcome to the offseason! While the official “season” may be over until next year, it is extremely important to realize that the focus must now shift. The offseason is the perfect time to increase the academic intensity!
It’s no secret that many student-athletes try to “take it easy” in school while in-season, mainly due to the demands of travel. That game plan is perfectly acceptable provided you use your Spring and Summer wisely. The offseason is the time to not only take your math/science classes and labs (because you won’t be missing them due to games), but also to consider picking up an extra class. If the average student-athlete only takes the NCAA-minimum number of credits (12 hours) every semester and does not go to summer school, they are mathematically guaranteed to graduate in FIVE years. Yet, by simply taking 15 hours every Spring, you’ve already shaved a semester off of your projected graduation date. With that being said, summer school is a bonus to be absolutely taken advantage of… the classes are usually a lot smaller, not to mention shorter (typically six weeks compared to 15). Utilizing summer school every year can catapult you to graduating in LESS than FOUR years, which potentially leaves time to get started on a Master’s degree. Sounds like an offseason win to me!
In terms of which classes to take at a specific time, a lot of that depends on personal strengths and weaknesses. If Joe Knight is particularly strong in composition and/or humanities, then he can take those in season, while saving areas of concern (i.e., computer science, math, etc.) for the offseason. Then, when in the offseason, Joe Knight can work closely with his academic advisors, tutors, and professors to work to turn any deficiencies into strengths. Ironically and unfortunately, many student-athletes’ GPA’s tend to drop in the offseason. As such, it’s important to keep consistent structure in your day-to-day activities, while also working diligently to perform as well as possible in your classes. You want to give yourself some “wiggle room” in terms of continuing eligibility requirements (GPA, progress towards degree, etc.), while also continuing to make positive strides toward your degree. The extra time available when you would normally be in practice or meetings can be spent working one-on-one with a tutor to prepare for the next exam, make note-cards, and make sure that you have a solid understanding of the material. Furthermore, while being careful not to spread yourself too thin, the offseason is also a great time to pursue internships, job shadow experiences, and so forth. To understand how to best utilize this newly-found “free time,” it helps to schedule your time like a work week: Monday-Friday get up early for weights/conditioning, which is followed by an afternoon of classes, study hall, and/or tutoring sessions. Without much additional planning, you’ve taken care of your offseason workout responsibilities AND completed an increased academic load, while still feasibly leaving your nights and weekends free for some much-needed relaxation. The bottom line is to use your time and your resources wisely so that you can be a champion on and off the field.