Florida Football celebrates second annual GatorMade week

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — As the Gators enter Week 6 of the 2023 season and prepare to host Vanderbilt for homecoming, the Florida football team will also celebrate its second annual GatorMade Week. 

GatorMade is a holistic player-focused and purpose-driven initiative that develops players during their time at UF and beyond by empowers them with opportunities to learn, serve, and lead.

The week serves as a way to raise awareness and promote the initiatives of the GatorMade program, which was established by UF coach Billy Napier prior to the 2022 season.

“We’re celebrating our player development program this week,” Napier said on Monday. “This is really ultimately about creating awareness about what we’re trying to do to impact our young men and create awareness for our alumni, how they can get involved with the program. We were very fortunate to have great leadership in that area.

“Savannah Bailey has come over from Clemson and implemented GatorMade, and I can tell you, just in the brief time we’ve been here, it has made a significant impact on our young people. We recently have added Dr. Stephen Alli to our staff as the director of career and professional development. We continue to have four full-time people there.”

In honor of GatorMade Week, the team will wear helmet decals of the GatorMade logo during Saturday’s homecoming game against Vanderbilt.

Savannah Bailey, senior director of player relations and GatorMade, met with reporters on Monday to discuss how her program has evolved.

“First year is drinking from a fire hydrant. It was new place, new everything. I wanted to come in and institute stuff immediately, but also realizing without the relationship piece whatever you’re trying to build is going to fall flat. I got to take that valuable step back and say, ‘OK, how do I make sure they understand what this is and who it’s for?’ It’s for them. That’s the purpose,” Bailey said.

“So in the second year you’re going in with a lot more buy-in, a lot more trust, student feedback. You get to create more customized, personal anything what we’re doing. The stuff we have planned for spring 2024 is based off of feedback from this team, the guys that will be on the trips and doing those things. It feels a little bit more built in. Again, it’s for them, by them. That’s the whole point, the ownership piece there.”

In honor of GatorMade Week, the program will highlight its 2023 South Africa Abroad Service Trip, Business Break in New York City and the Nike World Headquarters Corporate Visit. Additionally, the @GatorsFB social platforms will feature the people that make GatorMade possible.

Napier gave a shout-out Monday to former Florida football player Mike Ricketts, who made a notable gift to GatorMade last year.

“We started an endowment for continual support from investors. We’re very thankful for Mike Ricketts, who’s a former player, who’s a pillar in that endowment. Very thankful for what he’s contributed not only his investment, but also just his input and his passion for this area,” Napier said. “I think we’re looking for good mentors. I think we have a great group of alumni out there. We’re looking for corporate partners for internships, all of which can be great resources for our guys.

“Just this year we’ve done some really unique things. The South Africa service abroad trip was outstanding. The business break in New York City, guys came back. They’re different as a result of that. We took a group out to the Nike World Headquarters corporate visit this past spring. Next year we anticipate going to Los Angeles. We’re also doing a real estate workshop in Miami for the players.”

The trips and events shown on social media generate a lot of attention for GatorMade, and understandably so. But for Bailey, the behind-the-scenes work and interactions with the players are just as enjoyable and impactful on them.

“The stuff that makes the stories, the trips and all those things, are big pieces, right? That’s the application of all the things we teach every single day,” she said. “It’s Stephen Alli pulling aside one of the wide receivers, who had Billy G as his coach. ‘Hey, when he’s saying this, this is what we’re talking about here.’ Who can break some of that stuff down. Diane Lebon helping folks get ready for Gator Walk, because that’s her passion.

“How do we make sure you feel will most confident and at your best? To me, just hanging out at the nutrition bar and saying, ‘What are we putting in our bodies today? How are you feeling? What do you need energy for? Why do you not have energy?’ Digging deep into some of those layers. I think it’s always those things. The daily stuff. Not the big things, but always little ones.”