"Gotta make sure you're not overtraining": Kalen DeBoer rings caution alarm for Alabama players in summers before 2025 season kicks off

Kalen DeBoer is coming off a poor season at Alabama, where they finished 9-4. According to Bama standards, it is essential to win at least 10 games, a benchmark set by legendary coach Nick Saban during his time in Tuscaloosa. DeBoer is on the path to reach this milestone and wants his players to be in the best condition.

While speaking to Ben Flanagan and Nick Kelly during a sit-down interview this week, DeBoer shared why he has restricted players from summer training while reflecting on his past comments.

Last offseason, DeBoer mentioned that he saw the level at which players practice. This leads to exhaustion, and players often fail to perform at the highest levels by the end of the regular season.

“I think what I saw a year ago, is that our guys will just go and go and go and go," DeBoer said on Tuesday (12:00). "And it's been a long year. It's a long season, and we've been pushing the guys from winter to the spring, and even when we got done with spring ball, we were still hitting it hard for a few weeks right up to finals. “And what I want to make sure of is that our guys, they're going to go, I know that they're going to work in the month of May, and we have a program for them, but what they like to do, and I've seen, is they want to go to their trainer, and they're excited about the direction that we're going."

The goal, according to him, moving forward, is to remain completely healthy so that they can hit the ground running in June.

"Come the end of the spring, and they go work with specific people, and you just gotta make sure you're not overtraining, because when they come here, they got to be where we need them to be to hit the ground running in June,” he added.

Kalen DeBoer reflects on his competitive spirit

The 50-year-old head coach mentions that he has always been competitive, starting from home to being on the field. He shared how his wife Nicole, was competitive and his daughters were passionate about the sport every time they played together.

The Alabama coach claimed that it is essential to have the winning mindset along with a pinch of consistency. This trait helped him bag huge milestones during his D2 stint and progress at Washington before finally taking the Alabama job.

Expect nothing less than a 10+ game-winning season in 2025.

Edited by Krutik Jain