INNOVATIVE OFFSEASON TRAINING PROGRAM TACKLES UFL’S UNIQUE CHALLENGES

By Andy Seeley

From solo sprints on neighborhood fields to makeshift weight setups in local gyms, United Football League players are training hard this offseason, despite being miles apart and away from their coaches and teammates.

Their secret weapon? A new offseason program devised by UFL Director of Player Performance Sean Hayes, who has created a regimen that adapts to each player’s resources, location, and goals. Hayes’ system pushes players to hit peak condition, ensuring they’ll be game-ready when the 2025 season arrives.

Off-season training for UFL players is different from in-season preparation, when teams all train together in Arlington, Texas. In the offseason, players are spread out nationwide with varying facilities available to them for training. Hayes recognizes the drive and determination it takes to stay consistent through these challenges.

“The one major challenge is the distance, not having the home base or the facility where everybody can train together,” Hayes said. “These guys are all scattered throughout the country. Some of them have great setups available to them. But some of them are somewhere at a local high school field that no one’s at. Or they might be at a high school gym or a local fitness center.”

The program he designed is all about building a solid foundation during these critical months so that players can start the season strong. Hayes said those who will be the best prepared are those who are willing to do the extra work when nobody is watching.

“Our players are gritty,” he said. “They’ll think ‘I gotta find this place. I gotta go over here to my local high school or my local college, and I’m just gonna grind and get it.’”

To ensure that every UFL player has access to his full range of workouts, the program is available to them through an app developed by Bridge Athletic, making the training plan accessible on each player’s personal device.

Hayes’ plan offers players various exercise options, accounting for differences in available equipment.

“We don’t just put a barbell back squat in the program,” Hayes said. “We put a barbell back squat in with options like a belt squat or a machine squat or a safety bar squat or a kettlebell. One of them might say, ‘I don’t have a rack today,’ so the app gives them options to work with what’s available.”

This flexibility has been beneficial for players such as St. Louis Battlehawks tight end Kemari Averett, who values the structure Hayes and the UFL provide through the app.

“It’s pretty much a guidance for me so I know what to do in the gym,” Averett said. “With this Bridge app, it’s great, because you can adjust to wherever you’re at. Like, say I’m on the field, and I don’t have a certain type of equipment, I can put it in, and it’ll give me another workout to do.”

Houston Roughnecks linebacker Ben Davis also appreciates the program’s adaptability, which keeps him balanced and on track with effective training.

“The app gives you like three or four different options of other ways that you can do the specific exercise and still get a good workout,” Davis said. “I think the way they set it up is great.”

In addition to the app, Hayes is constantly available to players during the offseason to answer questions or provide advice. That open line of communication ensures UFL players can reach him directly to discuss adjustments and get the most out of their training. Averett said that this connection has been essential for his offseason preparation.

“Anytime I got a question, I just hit him up and he’ll give me the answers I need,” Averett explained. “He’s one call away. That’s huge for me.”

According to Hayes, accessibility and support are core principles of the UFL’s player development approach.

“If we can make sure our guys are prepared to come to camp, then that’s gonna be our best defense for injury prevention,” Hayes said. “My main job in the offseason, when it comes to training, is to try to make the most comprehensive, best training plan I can and hope that these players take advantage of it.”

Those who are taking advantage of the league’s offseason training program are seeing the results.

Averett and Davis are confident that the program will help them be prepared by the time training camp begins in March.

“With this program, I’m 100 percent sure that I’ll be in the best shape and fit,” he said. “I’ll be happy with my progress when the season gets here.”.

“I feel great after being in the program,” he said. “The best thing to do is just to stay healthy, not go too hard and not burn out before the season, we’re still like a couple months away. I think the way they have it set up is perfect for us to hit peak right before we get into the camp.”

Hayes’ approach to training is influenced by his background with WWE, where athletes are conditioned to perform year-round without a true offseason. This mindset is beneficial for UFL players, who need to stay conditioned and agile year-round to be ready when camp begins, but also want to maintain a state of readiness for a potential call from the National Football League.

“This goes back to the way I programmed for WWE,” Hayes said. “It’s a 52-week-a-year sport. There is no offseason for them. You’re in this perpetual state of continuing training. So where’s the balance? You stimulate them enough that they get a good training effect, but you don’t crush the guys.”

For UFL athletes, this balanced approach ensures they’re physically ready and mentally prepared as soon as camp begins or if the call comes from the NFL.

“They’re going to try to get to the NFL,” Hayes said. So some of these guys, they haven’t stopped. An NFL athlete is going to play that season and it’s brutal and it’s hard on the body. Then, they get a nice little break. With our athletes, they’re on that cusp, right? So they’re hoping to get picked up in camp and then maybe they survive camp and maybe they survive into the season but they get cut and then they gotta continually train for it. And then they might get picked up, they might not. And then bam, here comes the UFL season again. So some of our guys are in this constant state of training.”

While some UFL players may also be working toward opportunities in the NFL, Hayes’ program is also focused on conditioning them for the demands of the UFL season. Injury prevention, strength, and resilience are priorities in Hayes’ approach, which provides players with the conditioning needed to thrive.

Davis said he’s found the program’s flexibility essential in his own development.

“(Hayes) told me in the beginning, if there’s stuff that I wanna add to it, let him know,” Davis said. “So I think he definitely has it set up where we can do things that are comfortable for us to be the best players we can be.”