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The regular season grind has come to an end. The playoffs are complete, a champion is crowned, and the awards are handed out. After the smoke clears and the dust settles, you may find yourself asking this one question. What’s next? Here I reveal tips to make your off-season as efficient as possible. For most teams, the dates remain the same. I like to separate the seasons by phases. During the winter season, December-February, I call this red phase. In the spring, March-May, I call this blue phase. Then in the summer, June-August, I call this white phase. Each phase is used to focus on a specific attribute and skill. The off-season is the time where a quarterback can get the edge on his opponents going into next season. Without further or due, here are tips to making your off-season as efficient as possible.

Set a plan / meet with offensive coordinator

Towards the end of the season i recommend that quarterbacks meet with their offensive coordinator to set a plan in place for the following season. Your offensive coordinator will tell you their thought process and what their expectations are for you from the quarterback position. This also builds a bond between an offensive coordinator and their quarterback, which is the most important piece to the puzzle.

Recovery

This part of all sports is often overlooked by even the most elite athletes. Recovery is vital to being at your optimum best. After the season is over, i recommend that quarterbacks take 2-3 months off to recover from the grind of the season. What this can entail is doing something constructive. Things like going to the bowling alley, the arcade, or even the museums. This will allow the mind to relax and refocus. If you would like to work out during recovery i recommend doing dynamic stretching and a form of yoga. This would be a replacement for the high-volume workouts. The most important part of recovery is sleep. I recommend getting at least 8 hours of sleep each night to aid the recovery of the body.

Always have your football handy

The worst thing that a quarterback can be is unprepared. You wouldn’t go to class without a writing utensil or get dressed without forgetting to put on shoes. The football should be handled the same way. I’ve witnessed many quarterbacks at camps without a football, it starts there and early. A master chef would never enter the kitchen without his tools and the football is your tool. This also introduces the concept of responsibility to the younger quarterbacks. If you can remember to bring your football, then you can handle the tough things in life.

Footwork

This is the necessary building block to having a successful foundation. Having solid footwork should be a quarterback’s bread and butter, and first priority. I recommend finding a quarterback’s coach that knows the position well then work with them. The goal should be to master the 3, the 5, and quick game drop backs. This will have you well prepared going into install. You can also do lower body strength work outs. My personal favorites are the squat and calf raise. I also recommend getting some ladder and cone work in alongside these. This will put you ahead of the curve and even better, it’ll become second nature.

Leadership/ build chemistry

This is one of the most opportune times to work on your leadership qualities. It starts long before your summer work out or the weight room sessions. The key piece is building that team chemistry. There’s nothing that a teammate won’t do when they know that you have their back, and they have your back. Get to know your guys on a personal level. This is where trust is built, and you get to see how they handle stress, pressure, and adversity. I also recommend hitting the field with your running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends. Get an understanding and feeling for how they run routes and where they would like the ball to be placed on a specific throw. Team chemistry is what wins championships and championships is what defines a dynasty.

Speed training

The evolution of the quarterback position has taken a dramatic turn. Nowadays, coaches want a quarterback that can pass, run, and take care of the football. The dual threat quarterback is quickly becoming the number one commodity. I recommend getting with a speed trainer or a track coach to unlock and maximize your mobility. You don’t need to be Lamar Jackson fast but being mobile will only add to your repertoire as a signal caller. All it may take is 3 times per week to start seeing results. Don’t forget to stretch and hydrate.

Final thoughts

The off-season is where the road to the championship begins. Champions are created long before the season starts. As a quarterback, it’s imperative that you take the off-season serious. The off-season can either make your season or break your season. With these tips, you can now maximize your skillset and be the best quarterback that you can be. I leave you with this quote from the late Kobe Bryant, “Leadership is lonely… I’m not going to be afraid of confrontation to get us to where we need to go. There’s a big misconception where people thinking winning or success comes from everybody putting their arms around each other and singing kumbaya and patting them on the back when they mess up, and that’s just not reality. If you are going to be a leader, you are not going to please everybody. You have to hold people accountable. Even if you have that moment of being uncomfortable” (Mizoguchi, 2022). If it were easy, everyone would do it but being a quarterback is a position that you’re selected for. If you’ve read this far then you’ve been specifically assigned this great purpose of being a quarterback. Someone has to be the leader, why not you? The quarterback life chose you.