The PROformance Quick Guide to Off-Season Football Training (Why Right Now Decides Success for Next Season)

The lights are off, the stadium is quiet, the equipment is turned in, and Friday nights feel a long way away. For players and coaches, this is exactly when championships are built!

Most high school players treat the off-season like a vacation or they have moved on to a winter sport. The best ones, the ones that truly want to play at the highest level treat it like a focused job. A burning passion to elevate their game. They know, their competition around the USA is grinding and hungry to earn that roster spot and win that championship. I know this because we are training them!

Here’s the simply truth: the athlete who improves the most between February and August is usually the one holding the trophy in December or earning that coveted college offer.

For those looking for a place to start, here is a high level guide for your offseason training if you want to elevate your game and play at the next level.

1. Private Training

First, come work with PROformance. Seriously. Whether on the field or online, we specialize in helping football players exceed their goals and demonstrably improve. Boys HS contact, Girls HS flag, older youth (7th/8th grade) and college players.

Its important to work with a solid and experienced private trainer. There are lot of "coaches" out there who are less than serious and just take your money. Be careful. I am not trying to bad mouth any one. Just be careful. If they are just running drills, crazy YouTube plyometric exercises, etc. they don't know what they are doing and are just taking your or you parents money. Improving in football speed/agility (there is a difference), positional performance, execution, football IQ, etc. is critical to off season training and improving as a player. Understanding that and being able to effectively coach that in a positive and effective manner is critical to your success. You and/or your parents as investing financially in your success. Get the most out of it! Come work with us!

2. The First 4 Weeks: Recover & Reset

• Shut it down completely for 7–14 days post end of season. Let the body heal.

• Take care of any injuries. Rehab those injuries if you need to under the proper medical care - Ortho, PT, OT, School AT, etc.

• Light cardio, yoga, pool work, nutrition, and sleep. No lifting, no sprinting. Just heal. Always remember to stretch properly and rollout pre and post work outs and training. AVOID injury.

• Get your body fat tested and fix your nutrition. You can’t out-train a bad diet. Nutrition is probably the one area most HS athletes neglect. I always used to say after your work outs, finish in the fridge. Healthy nutrition. Protein, Carbs, HYDRATION! You MUST eat healthy. If you want more out of your body, you need to put healthy stuff in! Stay away from exotic nutrition. Keep it simple. In the Rams locker room, there are stations of hydration - water, Gatorade, chocolate and white milk, beat juice, etc. There are also small stations of food - PB&J, Turkey Sandwiches, etc. This is complete nutrition for the athlete. If its good enough for the NFL, its good enough for High School. Lastly, stay away from junk food. Good advice for all us in general. But especially for the athlete. Remember, long gone are the days of big fatties on the O Line or D Line. In todays football, these big boys are athletes! Fast, aggressive, great footwork, etc. Weight is fine, but you MUST be an athlete if you want to play at the next level. That starts with hydration and nutrition.

  
  

3. Weeks 5–12: Build the Engine (Speed & Power Phase) This is where you separate.

• Max velocity sprint work (flying 10s, 20s) 2× per week

• Position Specific Heavy lifts: squat, bench, power clean, deadlift variations - If you are QB, focus on lighter weights that effect the shoulders. Weight training should be tailored to your position. There is no one size fits all weight training for elite football players.

• Realistic Plyometrics and medicine ball throws. When I say realistic, stay away from anything that does not improve your positional physical performance. To many "coaches" are coming up with the most ridiculous drills. Insta, YouTube, etc. are full of them! Be careful.

• Position-specific technical work (footwork, releases, get-off)

• REMEMBER - SLOW IS SMOOTH AND SMOOTH IS FAST! NEVER run your drills at full speed. Start slow focused on technique, then progress to game speed UNDER CONTROL! It does not benefit you if you are rushing through drills. You are only reenforcing bad technique. If any coach pushes you to rush through drills, find a new coach!

• Warm up and cool down. Roll out pre and post work outs!

Goal: Run faster, hit harder, and move better than you did last November.3. Spring (March–May):

4. Compete & Sharpen (7-on-7 & Skill Development)

• 7-on-7 tournaments and college camps

• Private position training (QB mechanics, route stems, backpedal transitions)

• Keep lifting heavy 3× per week, but add speed maintenance

This is when college coaches actually watch. Look explosive or get forgotten. Don't take 7-on-7 to seriously. Its a demonstration of athleticism not football skill. Perspective.

5. Summer (June–August): Football Shape & Final Prep

• Two-a-days training start here for serious players

• High-volume conditioning: gassers, hill sprints, tempo runs

• Full-speed film study and walk-throughs

• Drop body fat under 12% (linemen 15–18%) while keeping strength

The Non-Negotiables Every Off-Season

• Sleep 9+ hours (this is legal PED)

• Protein every meal (1.6–2.2 g per kg bodyweight)

• Mobility work 10 minutes daily (shoulders, hips, ankles)

• Track every metric: 40 time, vertical, broad jump, squat max

• Work with you private coach on film break down, highlight film prep, college coach communication and outreach (marketing), etc. If your private coach does do this, reach out to us. We can help you!

Girls Flag Football Players

The off-season blueprint is the same, just smarter. Focus on top-end speed, hip mobility, and ball skills. States are adding sanctioned girls flag every year — the ones training like tackle players right now are getting full-ride offers first.

Most girl flag players lack positional fundamentals. Its not your fault. Its the coaching. Girls flag simply doesn't have enough qualified "football" coaches that can coach up the fundamentals and positional elements. I see it on film and on the field all the time. Work with us or another qualified private coach to improve your positional fundamentals. You would be best served by a coach who has successfully coached boys positional football.

Girls flag is exploding and is exciting for our lady football players. So many new opportunities - scholarships, NIL, Olympics, etc. Now is the time to start training!

Final Thoughts

The off-season isn’t a break. It’s the season before the season.Start today and thank yourself when the pads pop in August. I guarantee you that your competition is already training. I know because we are coaching them!

If your serious about playing at the next level whether thats higher up the depth chart or playing for that FBS school, you must train with a private coach to help you prepare, train, and be held athletically accountable. As I said, your competition is training for the limited roster opportunity.

Having coached with some of the top players and with some of the best programs in the country, I can tell you there are players who are legit, serious and will do everything and anything possible to earn an opportunity to play college ball. That starts with effective training - mental, athletic, football IQ, positional performance, leadership, etc.

If you want to see what your up against, attend an FBS college summer camp/clinic i.e. USC, Oregon, Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State, LSU, Boston College, etc. These are the kids your competing against and should be competing against even if you want to play D3 ball, etc. You play and train to the highest level. Never play or train down. Always up!

Last point on this. There is a BIG difference between being a roster player or a game player that plays. Lets assume you earn that scholarship opportunity. You need to keep and continually earn that scholarship. But that doesn't mean you will ever see the playing field. Ever. You may end up being a roster player as QB4 or 5. Thats awesome and congrats. But if you truly want to play and contribute to the program, TRAIN! You need every edge you can get and differentiate from every other player. Academic AND athletic. There are thousands of great athletes in the US. Very few great football players. Be great!

Ready to turn your off-season into on-season results? Spots are open now for high school boys tackle and girls flag private training on the field and online — DM me on Insta @coachdavidfrederick or X @thecoachfreddy or through our web contact form. We would love to work with you and help you exceed your goals and elevate your game!

Coach David Frederick