Notre Dame Player Development Annual Report

TLDR: The Notre Dame football program's 2024 Annual Report on Player Development showcases the significant advancements made through the Close the Gap (CTG) program. Centered around the Peer-Oriented Development (POD) methodology, the program empowers student-athletes to find their purpose and reach their full potential. Key highlights include:

• 86% overall participation rate, with 797 total development hours

• PODs focused on Financial Wellness, Relationship Building, Career Exploration, and Service

• Notable player contributions and leadership in shaping the program

• Plans for growth, including expanding experiential learning, unlocking alumni network potential, and implementing a tiered membership system

Introduction

The Notre Dame football program is proud to present our 2024 Annual Report on Player Development. This year marked significant advancements in our commitment to holistically supporting and empowering our student-athletes through our Close the Gap (CTG) program.

Our Mission

Closing the Gap through Commitment to Purpose and Potential

Our mission is to empower student-athletes to find, refine, and pursue their purpose, helping them reach their full potential and achieve lifelong prosperity. We are dedicated to providing the skills, experiences, resources and network to maximize future career opportunities and life satisfaction for our athletes beyond football.

Participation and Impact

• 89 total players engaged in at least one POD or service event

• 86% overall participation rate

• 508 total POD hours completed

• 289 total community service hours (Excludes all NIL related Service)

• 797 total development hours (PODs + service)

• 4.6/5 average POD effectiveness rating

*note all POD engagements this semester were optional

The POD Approach 

At the core of the CTG program lies our Peer-Oriented Development (POD) methodology. PODs bring together players with shared goals and interests in key areas of growth:

1. Financial Wellness 

2. Relationship Building

3. Career Exploration

Our POD approach is centered around the Inspire, Decide, Learn, Do cycle, a framework inspired by our football team's feedback loop of Decide, Teach, Learn, Do. Just as coaches decide what to teach, players then learn and apply it on the field, the POD cycle starts by inspiring student-athletes to make the decision to invest in a specific area of personal or professional development. 

Once inspired to make that decision, we align their goals with desired outcomes. Peer accountability, a key aspect of PODs, then helps instill the discipline to follow through. For example, during the Habit Building POD, players created habits, then shared their habits with a group of 5 teammates using the HabitShare app, then they were tasked with holding each other accountable daily. This peer-driven approach resulted in significantly higher habit adherence.

Reflection is used consistently throughout the POD cycle to refine the process. Players then put their learnings into action, and the cycle continues, taking them from concept to real-world application.

PODs are both thematic and progressive. Each POD focuses on a specific theme, such as Relationship Building or Financial Wellness. But the learning doesn't stop after one POD. The structure is designed to be progressive, with players advancing to the next level of mastery each year. Having completed POD Level 1 this semester, these same students will progress to Level 2 next year, and so on, ultimately preparing them to successfully enter a job, the NFL, or graduate school.

This progression from fundamental skills to advanced, real-world application ensures our student-athletes are not just learning concepts, but are developing practical skills that will serve them long after they leave the field.

Research Backing of the POD Approach

The POD approach is deeply rooted in established academic research on learning and development. This approach leverages peer interaction, reflective practices, and cyclic learning processes to foster growth. Here’s a brief overview of the research supporting the key components of the POD approach:

1. Peer Learning and Accountability: Peer teaching has been demonstrated to enhance learning competencies significantly, creating a collaborative environment where participants can learn from each other and hold one another accountable. This method not only increases individual competence but also fosters a supportive learning network (Inayah et al., 2021).

2. Reflective Practices: Implementing reflective practices within peer groups promotes deeper understanding and critical thinking. Such practices are crucial in helping participants internalize and act upon feedback, leading to more effective personal and professional development (Taylor & Ryan, 2015).

3. Cyclic Learning Process: The cycle of inspiration, decision-making, learning, and doing mirrors proven methods in experiential learning cycles. These cycles involve observing, reflecting, and acting in a manner that continually enhances the effectiveness of the learning experience (Runnels & O’Dwyer, 2020).

4. Progressive Structure: The structure of PODs is designed to be progressive, allowing participants to advance to higher levels of mastery over time. This approach is supported by research that highlights the benefits of peer-based learning in developing skills progressively and adaptively (Eisen, 2001).

These elements combine to create a robust framework for the CTG program’s POD approach, ensuring that it is not only effective but also academically validated.

This year, our PODs featured a range of impactful activities:

1. Habit Building

   • Utilized the Tiny Habits methodology

   • 46 players enrolled in the 4-week Habit Building POD, with a 92% completion rate.

   • Players learned to break down goals into manageable daily actions

   • Fostered consistency and discipline

   • HabitShare app facilitated player accountability

   • Results: 88% average habit adherence rate, 2% week-on-week improvement

2. Financial Wellness

   • Focused on personal finance, budgeting, and taxes; creating sound financial habits

   • 44 players enrolled in the 3-week Financial Wellness POD, with a 95% completion rate.

   • Hands-on training in tax preparation for NIL income

   • Increased player confidence in managing finances from 2.76/5 pre-POD to 3.95/5 post-POD

   • Resulted in the creation of 25 high-yield savings and Roth IRA accounts

3. Career Exploration

   • 27 players enrolled in the 3-week Career Exploration POD, with a 96% completion rate.

   • The POD facilitated 8 job shadows and connected players with 21 alumni for informational interviews.

   • Provided insights into career paths, challenges, and success strategies

4. Community Service Projects

   • Integral part of the Notre Dame ethos

   • Allowed players to make a positive impact

   • Developed leadership and teamwork skills

   • Initiatives included Reading Fridays and Triumph Together Meet and Greet

   • Players contributed a total of 289 community service hours

5. Relationship Building

   • 37 players enrolled in the Relationship Building POD, with a 100% completion rate.

   • The POD facilitated 90 alumni connections for current players.

   • The Annual Legacy Social, a key event in the POD, brought 200 former players to network with current student-athletes. (The entire team attended the Legacy Social)

   • Epitomized the power of the Notre Dame network and lifelong bonds

By combining knowledge acquisition, skill development, and real-world application, PODs prepare our players not just for success on the field, but for lifelong excellence in their careers and communities.

Player Spotlights

Notre Dame's player development program is driven by the invaluable contributions and leadership of our student-athletes. This year, we are proud to highlight the following players who have taken on key roles within the player development team:

• Aamil Wagner, Player President

• Luke Talich, Program Coordinator

• Tre Reader, Director of Fundraising

• Jason Onye, Director of Community Service

These players have been instrumental in shaping and advancing our program, providing crucial feedback, input, and time to build a robust support system for their teammates. By having players at the center of player development, we ensure that our initiatives are always relevant, responsive, and impactful.

Moreover, these leadership roles provide our student-athletes with hands-on experience in building and managing a program from the ground up. This unique opportunity serves as a valuable internship, equipping them with practical skills that will serve them well in their future careers.

Areas for Growth

As we reflect on the successes of this year, we also recognize areas where we can continue to grow and improve our player development program:

1. Investing in Our Team

   • Invest in technology to streamline program management and track player development more effectively

2. Expanding Experiential Learning Opportunities

   • Provide more real-world professional experiences aligned with players' diverse career interests

   • Organize career treks, site visits, and job shadowing opportunities to expose players to different industries and work environments

3. Strengthening Collaboration

   • Improve collaboration across Notre Dame departments to holistically serve our student-athletes

   • Leverage the expertise and resources of campus partners to enrich our programming

4. Unlocking the Power of Our Network (Project UnlockND)

   • Launch Project UnlockND to map and engage our vast alumni network

   • Identify alumni willing to contribute through mentorship, informational interviews, job shadowing, micro-internships, workshops, etc

   • Infuse the POD framework with the people and opportunities drawn from our vast alumni network

Looking Ahead

Building on the positive momentum of this year, we are excited to embark on several cool initiatives:

1. Tiered Incentive System - The P-Club

   • Develop a tiered engagement model to recognize and reward player participation

   • Implement a membership and points system where players can unlock opportunities and experiences based on their level of engagement

2. Project UnlockND

   • Complete the mapping of our alumni network, creating a searchable database

   • Engage alumni to understand how they want to contribute (e.g., mentorship, job shadowing, internships)

   • Integrate alumni offerings into the POD framework, supercharging player development with real-world insights and valuable connections

3. Elevated Experiential Learning

   • Host more career development events, workshops, and networking opportunities

   • Organize career treks to major cities, exposing players to a variety of industries and professional paths

   • Facilitate micro-internships and job shadowing experiences tailored to player interests

As we embark on this next chapter, we are committed to providing our student-athletes with unparalleled opportunities for personal and professional growth. By leveraging the power of our network, investing in experiential learning, and continually refining our approach, we are confident that the best is yet to come for Notre Dame player development. Together, we will continue to empower our student-athletes to find their purpose, reach their potential, and make a lasting impact in the world.