Over the past few years, I’ve spoken with hundreds of families navigating today’s recruiting landscape. And here’s what I’ve learned: The families who struggle later usually didn’t lack talent. They lacked structure early, and honestly knowledge of this recrutiing landscape. If your athlete is in middle school, freshman, or sophomore year, this is the stage where things feel simple. How hard can this whole college recruiting be? You’re hearing about camps.You’re seeing rankings.You’re watching social media.You may even see another athlete on the team getting attention. And it’s easy to think:“We’ll figure it out when it gets serious.” But recruiting today is louder than ever. More camps.More showcases.More exposure.More noise. And the best way to handle noise later…Is to build structure now. Underclassman years are about: • Academic habits• Physical development• Honest evaluation• Communication maturity• Parent + athlete alignment Not hype.Not offers.Not “phone blowing up" from fake offers and "What's Up My Dawg" posts When a family gets serious with me, I tell them: “Welcome to the journey. Buckle up.” Because this road is longer than most people expect — and building it correctly early makes the ride smoother later. If you’re in the Underclassman stage and want to approach this journey with maturity and structure, stay tuned. And if you’re an Upperclassman family reading this… I’ll be sharing something specific for you next. — Coach Nolan

Parents… The other day while getting ready for my training this weekend and making sure all my footballs were pumped up, I noticed something on my PSI pump with all the different settings but never occurred to me before in my 52 years of coaching. Every football has a recommended PSI. Every basketball.Every soccer ball. Too little pressure? It won’t perform.Too much? It breaks down, and then sometimes we gotta send the balls back to get re-done with a new bladder inside and yes laces. And while the ball on the OUTSIDE might be all nice and "prepped up" and ready to go it may be the inside that is causing the issues. So why do we know the PSI of a football… But not the PSI of our own kids? PSI = Pressure Squeezing Inside. Is your athlete:🔵 Underinflated – coasting, comfortable, unfocused?🔴 Overinflated – anxious, stressed, playing scared?🟢 Just right – structured, challenged, supported? Before you sign up for another camp… Before you chase another star ranking… Ask this: “What PSI is my athlete operating at right now?” Let’s talk.

If you won't plow in the cold, you won't eat at the harvest.

🚪 The Hand-On-The-Door Question Every Sports Parent Should Ask There’s an old sales move you see in movies. The guy is walking out… Hand on the door.Turns around.“One more question before I go…” Parents — here’s yours. Before your athlete leaves for training, ask: 👉 “What exactly are you working on today?” I asked one of my kickers about his gym routine this week. I said,“Do you have a gym partner on your team pushing you?” He said,“Well… no one I can think of… but I’m thinking about taking my girlfriend.” So let me ask you this: Which parent here truly believes his girlfriend is going to be spotting his bench routine…Adding plates when he’s fatigued…Calling him out on lazy reps…Tracking his progress…Holding him accountable to a football goal? Exactly. There’s nothing wrong with relationships. But there’s a massive difference between: Training for developmentandWorking out for social time. The athletes separating themselves right now have: • A written plan• A measurable goal• Someone pushing them — or self-discipline if they’re alone• Accountability beyond “I showed up” Training is not a date. Training is preparation. So before they grab the keys today… Put your hand on the door and ask: 👉 “What are you working on?” Then listen carefully to the answer. Drop YES if you’ve asked this before.Drop NO if today is the first time. No judgment.Just structure. — Coach Nolan

Good Morning everyone. As we stay on Day 6 and head to tomorrows last Day of this 7 day challenge I want to offer up a quick story about why all this matters! Let me introduce you to Nathaniel. I've worked with Nathaniel for the past 2 years as a kicker/punter for his HS team. Last year I offered out a "challenge" to ALL the kickers and punters I worked with from Freshman to Seniors. And the "reward? I would buy them a brand new Wilson GST ball; personally prep it (which takes about 90 minutes to do) and give it to the winner, who EACH day signed in with their current weight by texting me. The challenge was a very simple one. Over the next 90 day period they had ONE THING to do each Morning when they FIRST woke up. And that one simple thing? To weigh themselves. And then the rest of the day to follow whatever "plan" they (and yes the parents did on weight training). That was it! Then after this quick weigh in they could get on SnapChat, IG, FB, and spend the day doing whatever HS kickers and Punters do! There were 40 kickers in this challenge. Some said- I'm all in Coach!!! Trust me! I'm going to win that new ball! Others said, But, Coach I don't have a scale! We all, know as "parents" at some point in time said the following."OK thats it! I'm going on a New Year Resolution to lose/gain weight) and we all know what happens right? The ONLY one who made it through the 90 day challenge and between his workouts and part-time job was Nathaniel and his weight gain success story? He gained 17.5 lbs and this year he and his team won the State Championship and Nathaniel was named FIRST TEAM All-State Punter. Congrats Nathaniel and to your parents and I hope you enjoy the New Football! Coach