Posted May 02, 2022 | Jake
Blog by Jacob Dombrowski // Kohl’s Coach & Underdog Recruiting Consultant
Setting Goals – Athletics, Academics & Recruiting
Being a Kohl’s Coach for over ten years, the one thing I hear the most from athletes is talk of their star rating & ranking and what they want to achieve, especially during the Showcase season. But I wonder how many have thought about what it takes to achieve it and how to make it happen with their training? I am a big believer of setting high goals, laying out a detailed plan and doing everything in my power to try and achieve them. Life goes by too fast without definitive direction, this is especially true for your high school years. When it comes to high school and football, there is no better day than today to write down your goals (they become tangible when written down) for your next training session, next camp/showcase, next month, the summer, the next season and beyond – these should include classroom/academic goals as well. No one ever trains to come in second place and having set goals for training really helps student-athletes accomplish more instead of going out to “just” kick or snap a couple days a week.
When deciding on your personal goals, it is important to set some that are attainable and some that will challenge and force you to really commit and work hard to achieve them. Here are some examples I found while going back through an old training notebook of mine:
- Earn a 4.5 Star rating at the next Showcase
- Hit 80% on FG’s each week
- Do 1 more rep on each set in the weight room
- Increase my math grade by doing 5-10 extra problems each night
- Reach out to 5 new colleges each week with my highlights
- Earn All-Region & All-State as kicker next season
During your time as a student-athlete, no one will care more about your success (or lack thereof) than you. Your parents, your coaches and your teachers may be a close 2nd and do everything they can to help you succeed. But at the end of the day, you are the one doing the drill work (or not), the extra lifts or stretches (or not), the studying for that important test (or not), the emails/DMs to those coaches (or not). Whatever your goals are – academics, athletics, college, etc. – if they are important to you, you will put in the work and do the little things, the extra, the hard work to try and make them a reality. If it’s not important, you’ll learn quick because your peers will pass you by, which is okay too. Everyone has different priorities and goals in life.
Being a part of the Kohl’s family is a huge advantage in terms of training/competition opportunities (Divisions, Training camps, Ranking Showcases and the NSC) and exposure to college coaches (nearly all) that utilize and trust the rankings, results, and evaluations. That’s only a piece of the whole recruiting puzzle and Underdog can help with the rest!
Underdog Helps with the who, what, when and how of football recruiting:
- Target School Identification based on academic & athletic evaluation and college priorities
- Coach Communication Strategy (email/DM templates, contact information)
- Plan of Attack Calendar
- Highlight Video Guidance
- Twitter Marketing Strategy
- Admission Essays
- Virtual Training Lessons
- Strength & Conditioning for Specialists
Underdog has helped 300+ specialists in their recruiting and 79% have gone on to find their place to play.
Reach out today to learn more about how Underdog can be an advantage in your recruiting!
Jake Dombrowski
Founder of Underdog/Kohl’s Kicking Coach
jacobdombrowski@underdogconsultant.com
