You invest in your athletes as people—not just players.
On The Team helps you extend that investment beyond the game—building alumni-led mentor communities that guide athletes to turn their strengths into real career opportunities.
The Potential
Every day, your athletes are developing skills that will serve them far beyond sport. Those skills—leadership, teamwork, accountability, and resilience—are the foundation for success beyond the game.
The challenge? Too many don’t receive the personalized support needed to learn how to translate their skills into real-world opportunities.
On The Team prepares alumni mentors to guide athletes as they:
Navigate their career path with clarity and direction
Communicate their skills and experiences through clear, compelling stories
Build professional relationships
Turn introductions into opportunity
Through this process, athletes gain the confidence, clarity, and experience to take meaningful steps toward their careers.
How It Works
The program begins with alumni mentors being trained by On The Team and prepared to guide athletes through a clear, repeatable structure, the Goal Cycle.
The training is delivered virtually by On The Team through four 45-minute sessions, equipping mentors with the tools and approach to support each Goal Cycle.
The Goal Cycle is a focused 4-week, 1:1 mentoring experience where athletes work with a mentor to set and achieve a meaningful goal. The Lead Mentor manages the logistics of running the Goal Cycle.
The program is supported by four key roles, with ongoing support from On The Team. The four roles are:
COACH
Bring On The Team to your program and identify a Lead Mentor.
Celebrate progress and encourage participation. That’s it. This is designed to be easy for you.
ALUMNI MENTORS
Complete training and meet 1:1 with a mentee during a Goal Cycle.
Guide by asking questions, elevating strengths, and supporting action.
LEAD MENTOR
Build the alumni mentor community, coordinate mentors, and support each Goal Cycle.
Ensure athletes and mentors stay engaged throughout the process.
ATHLETE MENTEES
Join a Goal Cycle and be matched 1:1 with a mentor.
Set a goal, build a plan, take action, and reflect on progress.
This approach moves beyond one-off workshops to a personalized, relationship-driven experience—building athletes’ confidence and motivation to pursue shadows, internships, meaningful professional relationships, and jobs.
Why It Works
On The Team takes a different approach to mentorship—one that focuses on building athletes’ capacity.
FROM mentors fixing problems TO mentors elevating existing strengths.
FROM mentors giving answers TO mentors asking questions that build ownership.
FROM a one-size-fits-all curriculum TO personalized support for their career journey.
This shift matters.
Athletes don’t need more information—they need mentors who build their capacity to navigate their own career journey, supported by the right structure, guidance, and experience.
Personalized — Goals are aligned with each athlete’s interests, strengths, and stage
Practiced — Growth happens through real conversations and real-world action
Relationship-driven — Alumni mentors provide guidance, accountability, and access
Repeated — Goal Cycles build momentum and confidence over time
Getting Started
On The Team is designed to be easy to implement within your program and provide you with the resources you need.
Get started in five steps:
1. Coach connects with On The Team
Explore how this could support your athletes
2. Coach identifies a Lead Mentor
Choose an alumna to build the alumni mentor community and run the program
3. Lead Mentor builds your alumni mentor group
Invite a small group of alumni who are ready to give back
4. Lead Mentor invites athletes to participate
Introduce the program and help athletes opt into a Goal Cycle
5. Lead Mentor launches your first Goal Cycle
Support mentors and athletes as they begin the process
You don’t have to do this alone.
On The Team provides the structure, tools, resources, and mentor training needed to run a high-quality program.
Give your athletes the opportunity to turn the strengths they’ve built through sport into meaningful career opportunities.
FAQs
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Each Goal Cycle requires the athlete to commit 30 minutes a week for 4 weeks. Athletes can choose to participate in as many Goal Cycles as they choose. For most programs 2 Goal Cycles is recommended: one at the start of the fall semester and on at the start of the spring semester.
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As a coach, you need to:
Approve the program to move forward
Send one email to alumni to invite mentors
Share current athlete email addresses with the Lead Mentor so athletes can be invited to an information session
Celebrate your athletes success along the way and be a champion of the work
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The Lead Mentor runs the program with the support of On The Team’s resources, training, tools, and support. The Lead Mentor is nominated and/or approved by the coach. The Lead Mentor is trained by On The Team.
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Success looks like mentees setting goals and achieving them! For example, an athlete might set a goal to:
prepare for and run their first networking conversation
explore a career field they are curious about
refine their resume or LinkedIn profile
connect with a professional in their field of interest
It is not unreasonable to set an expectation that every athlete on your team sets and completes at least one goal each year. Reaching 100% adoption of the program does take the coach making these expectations clear. The Lead Mentor can work with On The Team to come up with strategies for getting all athletes involved.
Lead Mentors will communicate outcomes to the coach after each Goal Cycle. The report will include information about the experience for both mentors and mentees. To see a template report, please reach out the On The Team.
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With the support of their alumni mentor, athlete mentees:
1. Define a Goal — Choose one meaningful, manageable next step
2. Build the Plan — Identify the actions needed to move the goal forward
3. Take Action — Execute the plan in real-world settings
4. Reflect & Choose Next Step — Review progress, celebrate wins, decide next steps
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On The Team recommends 2 Goal Cycles: One at the start of the fall semester, and the second at the start of the spring semester. Use the On The Team AI tool, Goal Cycle Planner. Mentees and mentors can choose to continue their work after the end of the Goal Cycle.