Florida native football player Max Paul has a special football campaign coming up. His last.
A tough decision motivated by family.
“With my daughter getting older and football not being a guaranteed thing all the time, I just miss a lot of time with my daughter,” Paul said. “I don’t want to be one of those guys that sacrifices their family ties for football.”
The 31-year-old Paul sees it also as a perfect way to end his career on a high note. Trying to follow the example of one of the National Football League’s greatest players.
“You (also) don’t want to go out when you’re past your prime,” Paul said. “Every athlete wants to kind of go out like Ray Lewis, you go out while you’re still on the top of your game and you’re not the guy that stayed too long.”
With retirement, comes the question football players always ask themselves. ‘Do I want to come back?’ Paul cannot deny that he just might have the temptation to strap on the pads again.
“You’re always nervous because you always ask yourself, ‘Am I really gonna be done?'” Paul said. “As the regular season gets closer, and I’m back in the (gym) training, I’ve come to terms with it. It’s very relaxing, as opposed to years prior where it has been really stressful where you’re training four to five days a week on the gym and field pulling double duty. This year, you run through your regimen and there’s less stress and this is it, whatever it’s going to be is going to be.”
Paul is ready to go after the one thing that has alluded him his entire football career. Winning the last game of the season.
“I really want to get that championship as a pro,” Paul said. “I’ve been to conference championships, division championships and won it but never got that league championship so the big goal this year is going out with a ring.”
For Paul, this last year is all about leaving a lasting legacy for his daughter. He hopes to accomplish this by not just winning a championship, but through his actions on and off the field.
“Just playing all out, doing these things for the last year that people said I wouldn’t be able to do,” Paul said. “From early on you hear a lot of (comments like), ‘You’re too short to play’ or, ‘You’re not a 4.2 (40-yard dash) guy’ but through all that I still went out and did what a lot of people said I’d never do and kind of always played with the chip on my shoulder. So I want that to be the legacy I leave no matter what anybody tells you myself included. If you have something that’s your love or passion, go do it.”
This year, Paul is taking his passion to a whole new level to ensure success. This includes changing what he uses to fuel his body.
“I changed my diet a lot,” Paul laughed. “A lot more so than previous years because this time, it’s all about being proficient on the field. [I just want to be lighter] so I have the speed to move from sideline to sideline faster.”
The strict diet has not made life fun for Paul at the dinner table.
“The vegan diet makes you cranky,” Paul laughed. “There are some days where I miss out on carbs and protein, but it has been a fun process so far.”
Along with his football career, Paul runs Alphapack Fitness as a trainer. Something he is looking forward to putting more time into.
“I am going to get back to training. I love it, that’s where my heart is still,” Paul said. “Hopefully we’re going to open up some more stuff and expand a little bit once it’s all said and done.”
Paul recently swapped his helmet for a headset as a coach. He hopes that will keep him occupied and leave thoughts of a comeback in the rearview mirror.
“This past year, I was Head Coach of my old high school,” Paul said. “I think that’s going to the next step to kind of prevent me from going back to playing and [thinking] at least I can go coach and pass on knowledge to the next generation. So that’s the next big step.”
If he would change anything about his football career, Paul gave a simple answer.
“Nah,” Paul said. “The ride has been amazing, I met great people along the way and I can’t [think of anything] to change about it.”
But now comes the big question: Will Paul let his daughter Ali put on a helmet and take the field to follow in her father’s footsteps?
“I’d let her play right now,” Paul said with a laugh. “I was joking with my mom about this the other day. My daughter loves just throwing things, man. She’s got an arm. My daughter is two years old and she’s throwing things literally across the room. I’m like, ‘Alright, alright, maybe she can try softball, or maybe be a quarterback someday.”
