The first month of this offseason has been really exciting for me. Every year I think I get more of an idea of how I can improve and what I actually need out of the time away from my team. I have been able to take what I have learned throughout this season and my other years as a professional and apply it to my training now. Being more attuned to how I can improve throughout each season also gives me the ability to train it while I am in the offseason because I have learned exercises and ideas on how to improve while working with the team.
I think my crossing is a strength of mine especially since I have the ability to do it with both feet, but I still think that I need to be more consistent with that, so I am continuing to work on varied services (early balls, inswingers, dinks, cutbacks, etc.) throughout this offseason. Last season, the MBFC coaching staff and I identified that my first touch needed to set me up to play forward with multiple options, not just one. Before, I was taking my touch forward but I was really only able to play one pass, and that would be to the middle of the field. What I needed to do was take my first touch so that the ball was outside of my hip, which would allow me to play my winger, a ball into the channel, a firm pass to my strikers feet, or play inside to the middle. Basically whatever I wanted and whatever the defense couldn’t cover. You see? This little adjustment makes so many different options and opens up the whole game for me. With the quality that I have on the ball and my attacking mindset, being more adept in this area would make me more dangerous.
Offseason training at Rillito Park
What excites me about all of this, is that because I worked on this throughout the whole season and my performances improved, I now have a very good idea of how I can take this aspect of my game to an even higher level this offseason. Along with these technical aspects, I am aiming to push my conditioning up a notch so that I can be even more of a menace for the full 90 minutes. To be honest, doing straight conditioning and hitting the gym is painful and really difficult but sometimes you just have to do the hard part early and reap the benefits later.
One of my favorite things about the offseason is that there is always so much that I can do to improve. All I have to do is figure out ways how I can actually get better and follow through with the plan. Not only is this exciting, it is addicting. There aren't any games on the weekend so I don’t have to save my energy for anything. Of course, I need to be smart with what I am doing but I can also push myself in ways that I couldn’t if I was in the middle of the season. I can just grind, enjoy getting better, and repeat. There are few better things than improving day by day. I want to look back in a few months time and be ten times the player that I was. That’s always the goal for me.
From a business standpoint, I am really trying to use this time to grow the whole thing. I want to impact as many people as possible, and that means expanding my reach. That means getting more clients, more views, more interactions, more everything. Having done a decent amount of mentoring sessions so far, I know how they can be improved, so now it is just about implementing those changes for upcoming lessons. I have been looking at running some Meta advertisements which will definitely help with outreach, but man, sometimes people make things so complicated for no reason (or reasons that I don’t understand lol) and Meta Ads are one of those things. It is going to take some time for me to figure out how to use that system to my advantage, but once I do, we are going to see some motion.
I have also started to do 1-on-1 field sessions with players now that I am out of the season. Typically, I like to stick with more of the mental support side of things, but I got an opportunity to start on-field sessions, and it just didn’t make sense to turn it down because it is another chance for me to light that fire in someone else. In general, I am just super excited to see how We Move grows as time moves on. Similar to what I said about improving my game earlier, this business stuff is addicting and I love it.
Of course, improving my game and my business are two of my favorite things to do in my life. There is one thing that beats that though, and that is spending time with my loved ones. I have been living away from home for years, so being able to hang out with my family and friends every day is just a dream. It doesn’t matter what we are doing but just being around them and in their space is what makes me the happiest person.
Cheffing up a salad for Ellie’s Friendsgiving
Watching MNF with Ryan
Watching TV shows with my parents, taking care of their new puppy, and lounging around at home is exactly the reset that I needed. Smashing movie theater popcorn, watching NFL, and beating the boys in NCAA 26 while talking trash makes a random Tuesday night one to remember. Going on hikes with Ellie, cooking delicious meals, and going on dates add so much color and romance into my life. All of my people are all in one place, which is what makes every offseason the most special time of the year. I mean come on, what’s better than that?
Also, happy early birthday mom!
