Who are your athletes when the game ends?
Next Season is a six-session program that helps college athletes figure out who they are beyond the sport. It pays off now, in how they handle NIL and media. And it means they aren't starting from zero when their playing days end.
THE PROBLEMFor most of them, it ends in college. Nobody gives them a plan for that.
It ends fast
Graduation, an injury, a cut, burnout, a coaching change. When the sport goes, a lot of them lose their schedule, their team, their status and their sense of who they are, all at once.
NIL treats them like a product
They're asked to build a brand at 19. Most of the help they get is about growing a following and landing a deal. Very little of it starts with who they actually are.
Life skills only goes so far
Résumés, networking and financial literacy matter. Next Season goes one level underneath, so the résumé and the networking actually mean something. It plugs into what you already run.
WHAT IT DOESOne piece of work that pays off twice.
Athletes figure out who they are underneath the sport, then build from there.
Now
They show up in NIL, media and sponsor conversations sounding like themselves, and they know which opportunities to turn down.
Later
When the sport ends, they aren't starting over. The identity was never just "athlete."
HOW IT WORKSOne semester. Built around their schedules.
A small-group cohort of 8 to 12 juniors and seniors. Six 75-minute sessions, every two weeks, best in the off-season or the lighter part of the year.
Before: set it up right
A kickoff with your staff, a conversation with each head coach, a short intake and baseline survey for athletes, and a review with your compliance office.
During: six sessions
Three that look inward, two that put it into words and decisions, one that points it forward. One 15-minute exercise between sessions, no more.
After: show what changed
A readout for your department with before-and-after results and themes, optional one-on-ones for athletes who want more, and a check-in at 90 days.
THE SESSIONSSix questions. Six things they walk away with.
01 · If the sport ended tomorrow, who's left?
An honest starting point
02 · Values and what actually drives them
Their top values, in their own words
03 · Strengths that aren't about stats
What they bring to any room
04 · Telling their own story
A 60-second version they can use anywhere
05 · Yes and no: brand, NIL and choices that fit
A simple filter for decisions
06 · The bridge: what they're building now
A short plan past the last game
WHAT YOUR DEPARTMENT GETSSomething real to show for it.
Before-and-after survey results, reported as group data only
A readout meeting and a two-page summary with themes and anonymous quotes
Attendance for every session
A program your coaches have met and your compliance office has reviewed
Contracted with the department, one line in the budget
What I don't do
No deal negotiation, contracts or sponsor introductions. No legal or financial advice. No involvement in recruiting or transfers. No referral fees from agents, advisors or anyone else, ever.
When something is clinical, I refer to licensed professionals, including your own staff. What athletes say in the room stays in the room.
WHO LEADS ITI went from being "the athlete" to having no idea who I was, and there was no one to talk to about it.
I'm Carl. I ran track at Harvard and walked away my sophomore year. I went on to compete nationally in taekwondo, then built a career coaching senior leaders at major companies. I'm an ICF Associate Certified Coach and Hogan certified, and most recently I led executive 360s at Netflix for senior directors and up.
I coach the people your athletes will one day work for. I know what they look for, and it isn't stats.
IF YOU'RE AN ATHLETEYou already know the end is coming. You don't have to figure out what's next alone.
Next Season runs through your school. If you want it, tell your student-athlete development office, or send them this page. Questions first? Email me at carl@homecomingcoaching.com.
START HEREStart with one team this spring.
A founding pilot: one cohort, one semester. If your athletes don't get something real out of it, you'll know, and so will I.
A program of Homecoming Coaching · carldesir.com · Email Carl