Holiday Advice

The final whistle has blown. The pads are in the shed. For the first time in months, the building is quiet.

Most of us don't know what to do with the silence.

We spent the last twenty weeks living by a stopwatch and a practice script. Now, the only schedule is when the kids wake up and when the big meal hits the table.

It is a weird transition. You go from screaming over a speaker system in the weight room to trying to figure out how to put together a plastic Ikea play kitchen on Christmas Eve.

Both require patience. Only one involves a scouting report.

Here is my only piece of advice for the week:

Be where your feet are.

Don't spend the holiday scrolling through Twitter looking at what other programs are doing for their winter split. Don't sit on the couch thinking about the linebacker who needs to gain ten pounds by January.

The weight room will be there when you get back. The plates aren't going anywhere.

Right now, your family needs the same version of you that your players get. They deserve the energy, the focus, and the presence.

Put the phone in the drawer. Drink the extra coffee. Enjoy the chaos of a house that doesn't care about your power clean numbers.

We talk about "filling the cup" all year. This is the well.

Take a breath. Hug your people. Enjoy the downtime.

You’ve earned it.

Keep the Fire Burning,

Leech