Why Creating a Work Stop Time is Essential for College Coaches

I just ran 3 different workshops at various schools around the country this last week about recruiting strategies and how to be organized and efficient as a recruiter. 

At the end of each workshop, I ask for key takeaways and what they are going to try first.   

The one strategy that was probably the big winner . . . establishing a work stop time.  

As a college coach, there is always more to do than time to do it.  

From planning practices to scouting opponents to communicating with recruits, the to-do list can seem never-ending.  

It’s easy to fall into the trap of working around the clock, neglecting personal relationships, and burning out.  

However, creating a work stop time can help coaches maintain a healthy work-life balance, improve productivity and ultimately, enhance their ability to lead your team.  

In this blog post, we will explore how to set a work stop time and the benefits of creating one as a college coach. 

1^st, decide before the day begins when you are going to stop working. 

Each day of the week will be different depending on what you have going on.  

Some days it just might not happen, and that is ok.  

For me, my stop time was 3pm because I had practice at 3:30.   

At 5:30, practice was over, and I had to go get my kids from day care.  

From 5:30-7:30ish most nights, I hung up my whistle, shut down my phone and didn’t look at email.   

Without guilt, I let myself be a mom, a wife, exercise, play with my kids, or whatever it was.   

This was my time to rest and recharge my batteries.  

I NEEDED to start doing this at a point when I noticed I was getting sick a lot, I felt exhausted more often than not, and coaching was starting to not feel fun for me.  

I feel most coaches are burning out or not able to consistently bring the best day after day because they stay on 24/7. 

We would never train our athletes this way because we know it would lead to overuse injuries and burnout.   

Coach, you are human and are not an exception to the rule.   

You need to sprint, recover.  Sprint, recover.   

It is a HUGE key to consistently performing at higher levels as a coach and recruiter.  

I am going to follow-up with part 2 of this topic tomorrow.  In that post I am going to share more of the benefits of setting up work-stop times.   

It’s a game changer coach.  Keep an eye out.   

Have a great rest of your weekend.  

To your success.  

Mandy Green