Football Wife Life: Game Planning {PLUS Blogger's Huddle!}

8/7/2015

Football Wife Game Plan from Home Field Fitness

Our college football season officially kicks off next week. For the rest of the world, football doesn't start until kick off of the first game - but for coaching families, season starts the day everyone reports to training camp, the beginning of August typically. Really - the "season" never ends for coaches - but the official start of football is this week for us!

It's funny. This will be my 12th season with my coach (5 playing, 7 coaching) and I still pretty much don't have a clue about his team's "game plan". We don't talk football A LOT, but when we do, he'll start taking about "the Mike" and "11 personnel" etc, etc and I basically zone out. I've tried to learn. And yeah, I know some, but I still mostly just watch the ball and cheer if we move it in the right direction or tackle the guy on the other team who has it. Does that make me a horrible coach's wife?? Now, don't get me wrong - I LOVE FOOTBALL. I love everything about it. It's been a huge part of my life for the last 15 years and I wouldn't have it any other way! I just really don't care all that much about the X's and O's. What I DO KNOW is that a game plan is necessary. If the team doesn't have a plan, or veers away from the plan, the results usually aren't good. Of course, there are situations where decisions need to be made and the game plan is changed, but in general, it's important.

Ok - I know more than this. But still. FUNNY. I found this shirt on www.thehandmadehome.net

Needless to say, I think I'll leave the football game plan to my coach and his team, but as a football wife, it's just as important for ME to have a game plan too! This time of year throws me into a bit of a panic. Our summer (aka 4 weeks) is over and of course we didn't do half the things we thought we would do. I also start preparing for several months of being an independent woman. I've talked about it before in my 7 Things I Love About Being A Football Wife that I really like that I have some more of my own time during football season. I can stay up late watching my favorite shows or getting work done or working out without taking time away from my husband.

But along with the fun and freedom of football season comes being a single mama too. I won't have 6pm to count down to anymore. I won't have that extra help cleaning up or getting Little M ready for bed. My days of leaving a honey-do list are on hold until 2016.

If our house is going to stay upright and relatively clean, if my kid and dog are going to stay fed and relatively clean, and if I'm going to stay happy and relatively sane this football season...a game plan is necessary! So that's exactly what I've been working on this past week.

Look at the Big Picture

Towards the end of summer, Coach and I sit down and look at the next 6 months on a calendar. We get the football schedule down, start filling in when we have people coming in from out of town for games, and talking about anything else that we have coming up.

Get My Priorities Straight

Must Read for Coach's Wives - Gym Rats via Home Field Fitness

One of the things that I'm really excited about for my August game plan is getting back on track with my prayer time and devotionals. Bible study and quiet time can be intimidating if you haven't done much of it, but it doesn't have to be. There are tons of great resources and devotionals that can help you stay on track. I love the She Reads Truth app! For August though, I've decided to go through Hope Radebaugh's Gym Rats book again. I read it several years ago but I thought this year would be a good time to go through it again. I can not recommend this book enough for fellow sports wives. I love how the chapters correlate with our sports season - pre-season conditioning, playoffs, etc. I'm committing to starting my days with this book and quiet time with God. It's time to finally get that back as a top priority.

Meal Planning & Prep

Meal planning and prep is super important for our family during football season. Each school we've been at has had a bit of a different schedule, and some fed the coaches more than others, but in general, I need to send at least 2 meals a day with the coach. If I don't it usually means missed meals (he doesn't mind this - but I just about pass out thinking about it. Don't miss meals my friends!). or nasty meals out. We try to stick to a food budget so lunch out every day just isn't an option. I like to pre-make breakfast burritos, prep salads for several days at a time and make lots of crockpot meals during the season so that the fridge is always stocked with food for him to take. Plus, I would probably live on cereal and wine for 4 months if I didn't have a game plan. I just started a new Pinterest board that I named "Meals this Week" where I can store the recipes I want to try in the coming week. It's really been helping me try new things and stay creative in the kitchen.

Make a Cleaning Schedule

Weekly Cleaning Schedule from Home Field Fitness

Schedule Workouts

Since we've moved into our new house, I have yet to get into a good rhythm with cleaning. I mean, I got all of the boxes unpacked - now I have to clean the bathrooms?! What? I hate taking up a whole day with housecleaning during the week, so I took the weekly jobs and divided them out by the day. I like seeing the 1 or 2 things I have to get done that day, it helps keep me focusing during naptime! I'm sure there will be other household chores I'll have to add in here or there, but this should be a good guide!

Gosh this one is extra important for me this year. Yes, I'm a personal trainer and yes, I'm fairly self-motivated. But I have been STRUGGLING with sticking to a good workout program lately. I do random things here and there, complain about running in the TX heat and all-in-all I have really been satisfied with the intensity of my workouts. I decided to take it month by month and have a program laid out to stick with by the month. I'm planning to do another half marathon before the end of the year so my focus will switch to running later in the season, but for August I'm focusing on strength training. I've just started teaching my Moms in Motion class which will be a great consistent place to workout, and It's looking like my sister and I are going to do the 21 Day Fix together starting Monday! It always helps to have a workout buddy, even if they are thousands of miles away!

Make Muscles Not Excuses via Home Field Fitness - Game Plan

As someone who loves lists and calendars and schedules, having this game plan laid out makes me feel a whole lot calmer. One of my goals for this month (and every month!) is to be more present with Little M and to be a joyful supporter for the Coach. By getting all of the rest of my ducks in a row, I think I have a much better chance at being the wife and mama I want to be!

On top of planning my meals, workouts, bible studies and chore - I've also been doing a little bit of blog planning! Since August = football for us, the entire month is going to be devoted to football here on Home Field Fitness. I've got some fun posts (and maybe even a giveaway) coming up soon so be sure to stay tuned!

BRING ON THE FOOTBALL SEASON - THIS GIRL IS READY!

Being a football wife comes with the HUGE blessing of having thousands of "sister wives" across the country. I've gotten to know several awesome football wife bloggers lately - Here are some of their recent posts - do you see a common theme?

Life As a Football Wife - August in a Coaching Family
Talk Southern To Me - Love Letters to Coach
Faith.Family.Football - A Multitude of Emotions!
Big Mama Taylor -
Inch by Inch -It's Just Around the Bend My Friends
Coach G's Wife ; It's Here...
4x4 - Are You Ready For Some Football?
Seriously I Didn't Know -Friday Night Sister Wife