Hey Brandon,
This is awesome, thanks for sharing! I'm in the collegiate setting and this is super relatable with longer days, weird breaks, and struggling to find a balance that works.
Something that has worked for me is creating an "AT expectations" sheet for the teams that I work with that I review during team meetings at the start of each year. It includes communication expectations such as primary hours that athletes can text/call me in which they can expect a quicker answer, otherwise, it can be addressed the next day. This gave me more peace to relax outside of work rather than being tied to my cell phone. But I think creating expectations and putting it in a physical form to review can also be helpful to share with coaches as well, especially when dealing with a lot of moving pieces at a secondary setting - but that's great you had a nice support staff to help you!
Ways I try to decompress are reading at night or mornings off, I'll also try to get out for a walk during longer breaks in the middle of the day, I also will call friends or listen to audiobooks on walks as well! My favorite thing to do is hiking on a day off and being completely off my cell phone to disconnect!
Always open to try other fun activities though!
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Mollie Przybocki MAT, LAT, ATC
MAT, LAT, ATC
Dartmouth College
Hartford VT
(703) 402-0080
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-19-2026 10:39 AM
From: Brandon Gallimore
Subject: Fall/Winter, Winter/Spring Crossover - Tips and Tricks?
Hello everyone!
Wanted to make a quick post to see how everyone handled fall crossover, and if you learned anything going into the spring? Ways to manage your time, barriers you've set for yourself, or even the best way you found to relax during such a stressful time.
When I worked in the secondary school setting, crossover was always a difficult time full of stress. When we first started, these were 12-14-hour days with long breaks in the middle, making it very difficult to have any time to myself as I was always in work mode. Luckily, I had a great support staff and was able to have a meeting and condense the practices into a much more reasonable time, and clearly outline their intended schedules in an online calendar that I managed so that myself and other teams could easily see it.
For myself, I find that activities that don't require too much mental stress (Legos are always fun, at the risk of outing my childish hobbies, lol) or even cooking a nice meal can be fun ways to decompress. Stuff with clear directions so that I can turn my brain off!
What works for you? What difficulties have you had with crossover?
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Brandon Gallimore DAT, ATC
Heidelberg University
Marion OH
(336) 999-4711
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