So football season is coming to an end and you’ve put in a ton of work this season, you’re exhausted, and you’re ready for a break…a looong one.

Hold up there buckaroo, not so fast!

While rest is certainly an important component of the offseason, too long of a rest will not serve you well. If you want to maintain your elite status as a high school athlete, then training during the offseason will make you better, faster and stronger for the next season.

Let’s look at a few things to keep in mind during this offseason so you can prepare to be even better next fall.

1. Think. That’s right, simply think and reflect on the season you’re finishing up. Examine where you excelled and where you fell short. Figuring out what went wrong and what went right will help you know what to focus on for the next season.
    
2. Show your resistance. Talk to your school’s athletic director or coach and find out which resistance training exercises are best for football athletes. You might not have access to a gym during the offseason, but you can still train with squats, lunges, pushups, ab work, arm raises, plank, and internal/external rotations. If you do have access to a gym, then hit the weights and weight rack, but don’t go for any records. You don’t want to spend your offseason recovering from a weight-training injury.
    
3. I feel the need for speed. What player does not benefit from being faster? Speed is one of the primary factors in almost every sport and it can improve with repetition and hard work. Flexibility training will help make you quicker. Get together with a coach or trainer to have them evaluate your form. Sometimes a slight tweak to your technique can increase your overall speed.
    
4. You are what you eat! It’s totally understandable to want a break from the stringent nutritional plan that you maintain during the season. Sure, take a short break, enjoy life. However, if you want to be in elite shape for the next season, then you shouldn’t go overboard with the fries, burgers and milkshakes for too long. Reward yourself once in awhile, but you’d better maintain a balanced and healthy diet, if you want to be a lean, mean football machine…except if you’re an offensive lineman…no lean allowed.
    
5. Rest. Take the time to rest your body and mind as well as find activities that bring you peace and tranquility. Find a way to re-charge your batteries, both physical and mentally. After all, your body definitively needs rest after a physically demanding season and your mind could benefit from by temporarily getting away from football. So definitely rest, but not for too long. The best way to ensure you don’t go overboard with your relaxation is to plan ahead. Determine how much time you will allow yourself for purposeful rest, then stick to this time period, get up and start preparing your body for next season.

As you can see, there are a lot of things you can do in the off-season to increase your skills for the next athletic season. Keep your body fit by employing resistance and weight training as well as maintaining a proper nutritional diet. Keep your mental attitude strong by taking a brief break from football.

When you are ready to get back at it, you will be more motivated with a fully charged mental and physical battery.  

Michelle Hill, the Strong Copy QB at Winning Proof, helps athletes tell their stories by ghostwriting books. She works exclusively with pro athletes, coaches, team owners, and other sports professionals by helping them move their book idea from the red zone to the end zone.