Banner Player Development

If you don’t know your why, you’ll quit when it gets hard.

When your identity is bigger than the scoreboard, adversity doesn’t shake you as easily.

Purpose produces perseverance.

👉 Share this with a high school athlete that you know today. You never know the impact it could have on their athletic journey, but more importantly, their life beyond sports.

p.s. Circle Saturday, June 6th on your calendar. It will be an important day for all high school athletes, coaches, and parents in South Carolina.

Had a great day w this week as he is helping the next generation put these lessons to use on the football field.

A room packed with over 100 years of combined college and professional sports experience, fueled by passion for giving back, the kind of impact that can’t be measured in numbers.

We’re excited for what’s ahead and can’t wait to share an opportunity designed to empower the next generation of athletes for success in sports and beyond!

Stay tuned for the announcement in 7 days!

Writing this on the elliptical at the gym… excuse any typos.
Sometimes my mind won’t turn off. 😎

I keep thinking about how values turn into urgency.

If there’s a leak in a gym ceiling, an athletic director or coach doesn’t wait, they call a contractor immediately. Why? Because it’s visible. It’s urgent. It has to be fixed.

But there’s another leak happening, one we don’t see as easily.

Athletic directors and coaches keep telling me the same thing:

Their athletes are struggling to push through adversity. They face pressures today that many of us didn’t experience in high school.

When their playing career ends, many feel lost.
Some face depression. In severe cases, some turn to harmful ways of coping.

This isn’t a small issue. It’s a silent one.

So the question I keep coming back to is:

How do we prepare high school athletes so more of them become success stories, not statistics?

How do we make developing the person just as urgent as fixing the facility?

That’s what I’m committed to figuring out.

A thought for your Friday: Rejection isn’t the end. It’s part of the process.

Every missed shot.
Every tough loss.
Every time someone doubts you.

It’s just one step closer to who you’re becoming.

Great athletes don’t avoid rejection. They grow through it.

A big topic we focus on with our athletes at Banner is understanding transferable skills, how what you learn in sport carries into every area of life.

Sport is one of the best classrooms you’ll ever step into. Early mornings, tough losses, and reps under pressure build discipline, accountability, resilience, leadership, and the ability to show up when it’s hard.

One day there will no longer be a scoreboard in your life, but there will be these skills that you have learned from sports! These skills transfer into school, work, relationships, and life. If you learn to win the habits in sport, you’re setting yourself up to win long after the game ends.

If you or your high school athlete want to dive deeper into this, shoot me an email at 📧 [email protected] . I’d love to connect and talk more.

Preparation isn’t just about performance.
It shows up in how you carry yourself every day.

How you train when no one’s watching.
How you speak when it’s uncomfortable.
How you lead before you’re given the title.

Those moments are building something whether you notice it or not.

Don’t wait until it matters to take preparation seriously.
It already does.

Ending the week with a thought to carry forward: talent gets attention but it does not create opportunity.

The habits athletes build, how they show up, communicate, respond to feedback, and stay consistent, are what separate the good from the great.

These skills are learned, practiced, and reinforced long before the next level. Focusing on them now is how athletes become more than an athlete.

Are we teaching athletes what real balance looks like?

Real balance does not happen by accident. It is learned, taught, and practiced every day.

Developing the whole athlete means teaching discipline, responsibility, and consistency beyond the game.

Because being more than an athlete starts long before the season ends.

Nothing like Friday night lights with one of our partners, 💪 had the opportunity to be there supporting the coaches and players putting in the work on and off the field… because it’s always bigger than football.

You see it every year: athletes finish their careers and don’t know who they are without the game. That doesn’t sit right with you, and it doesn’t sit right with us either.

At Banner Player Development, we come alongside athletic programs to tackle the issues you’re facing off the field:

✅ Discipline Challenges
✅ Mental Health Strain
✅ Falling Behind Other Programs
✅ Parent Pressure & Politics
✅ Academic Imbalance
✅ Off-Field Risk & Legal Issues

You’re not just trying to win games, you’re trying to build people. We’re here to help you develop athletes with character, purpose, and a future beyond the scoreboard.

Your players are more than their sport. Let’s shape who they become next.

It can only take one voice to spark something that changes everything.

I have been blessed with many! Marcus Lattimore, Connor Shaw, Greg DeMare, Dustin Spencer, John James, Jonathan Brewster, Brad Cooper, Dan Lian, and Derek Banks are all names of people who have inspired and blessed me with their love and support at different points in my life. As a high school student-athlete, in college, and some to this day, their voices helped shape my journey.

That truth came alive again recently. After I finished speaking to the athletes at Chatfield High School in Colorado, one conversation stood out. Usually after sessions, I get questions about football, favorite stadiums, or details from my playing days. This time was different.

An athlete walked up and asked me what made me want to pour into high school athletes relating to player development.

I told him that while my own journey had its pain points, what truly drives me is the possibility I see in each athlete. Not just their ability to succeed in sports but their potential to grow into great fathers, husbands, and leaders who make a difference in the world.

As I am writing this in the airport as I head back home, I am filled with gratitude for so many things while expectant for all that is to come!

Grateful for the opportunity to speak with the athletes and staff at Chatfield High School in Denver CO! 🙌

When we step into programs, our goal is simple: to equip coaches and players with the tools to tackle the challenges that don’t always show up on the stat sheet, such as mental resilience, communication, and character development.

Conversations like this are the first step toward solving the bigger issue. Athletes need more than training. They need access to real access from people who’ve been where they are, stories that inspire them to believe in and pursue all that’s possible for them, along with a framework for growth beyond the game.

Thank you for investing in your athletes both on and off the field. 💪

For coaches and athletic directors who want to bring this kind of impact to their athletes, we’d love to partner with you and explore how Banner can serve your program.