Your Career.
Coached.

Next Mode helps athletes save time, accelerate career development, and prepare for life beyond sport through personalized AI-powered guidance. Powered by Dream Big Tech. Built on the Next Play Framework™.

Build Your Free Profile → See How It Works
Dream Big Tech → Next Play Framework™ → Next Mode™ → Next Play Index™
Personalized Coaching Weekly Career Game Plans Available Anytime

Meet Your Career Coach

Product Preview

Next Mode creates a personalized coaching experience that grows with you every week.

Real dashboard — no generic AI graphics. Powered by Dream Big Tech with research from the Next Play Framework™.
Next Mode Dashboard Preview ⏵ Live Preview
Career Readiness Score
84 · Ahead of 72% of peers
Weekly Career Game Plan
3 actions · 18 min this week
Season Path
Freshman✓
Sophomore✓
Junioractive
Senior—
Momentum
0 pts · +12 this month
Employer Ready Profile
LinkedIn · Resume · Pitch · Ready for review
Talk to Your Coach
“How do I prepare for summer internships?”
📄Resume 🔗LinkedIn 🗺️Roadmap 🎯Interview Confidence

The Mission

Built for the 98%

Only a small percentage of athletes will compete professionally. But 100% deserve to be professionally prepared. Whether your next chapter is corporate, entrepreneurship, graduate school, coaching — or something you haven't discovered yet — Next Mode helps you prepare before your final season. Because life after sports shouldn't begin after sports ends.

NIL income and portal offers are real — but they're short-term. Career readiness is what travels with you to every school, every deal, and every job after. The Next Play Index™ makes that progress visible.
Next Mode dashboard

The Differentiator

Every Week Has a Game Plan

One headline, one sentence. Next Mode keeps coaching after you leave the website — an ongoing relationship, not a one-time tool.

✉ Sunday email briefing Every week
◆ Dashboard check-in Live
⟳ Accountability loop Continuous
📋
Your Weekly Game Plan
📧 Sunday Brief 📊 Dashboard 🎯 Accountability

The Process

Your Career Season

Five stages. Click each to expand.

01
Discover
Explore career paths matched to your sport, major, and interests.
02
Translate
Convert athletic experience into professional language employers understand.
03
Build
Create your LinkedIn, resume, and pitch — all in one place.
04
Practice
Interview prep, networking scripts, and real-world simulations.
05
Launch
Step into your career with confidence and a clear path forward.

The Magic

Your Value, Translated

Click any card to see the translation.

Captain
→
Leadership · Team Management · Accountability
Film Study
→
Strategic Analysis · Pattern Recognition · Preparation
Training
→
Discipline · Consistency · Performance Under Routine
Competition
→
Performing Under Pressure · Resilience · Adaptability
NIL Partnership
→
Brand Partnership & Sponsorship Management
Negotiating Deal Terms
→
Contract Negotiation · Stakeholder Alignment
Managing Multiple NIL Deals
→
Portfolio & Stakeholder Management
Evaluating a Transfer Decision
→
Strategic Market Evaluation · Risk Assessment

B2B

For Athletic Departments

Scale career development without scaling staff.

🎯
Personalized Support
Tailored to each athlete's sport, major, and goals
⏰
Available Outside Office Hours
24/7 coaching that fits training schedules
⟳
Continuous Accountability
Weekly check-ins and progress tracking
📊
Career Readiness Tracking
Real-time visibility into athlete progress
🏆
Supports Student Success
Retention, graduation, and post-grad outcomes
Bring Next Mode to Your Department →

Trust / Founder

Why I Built Next Mode

As a former student-athlete and HBCU graduate, I experienced firsthand how the lessons learned through sports don't always translate into career opportunities. Over the past decade, I've built my career at three of the world's leading technology companies while helping organizations leverage cloud and AI. Along the way, I continued mentoring athletes and saw the same challenge over and over: incredible talent, but no personalized way to translate that experience into career success. Next Mode was built to bridge that gap — combining personalized guidance with continuous coaching to help every student-athlete build confidence, communicate their value, and prepare for life after sports.
Fred Underwood — Founder, Next Mode
Former Student-Athlete · HBCU Graduate · Cloud & AI Solutions Architect · Sports Tech Builder · Doctor of Business Administration Researcher
Fred Underwood
Fred Underwood
Founder, Next Mode
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Former Student-Athlete · HBCU Graduate
Cloud & AI Solutions Architect

Your Coaches Prepare You for Competition.
Next Mode Prepares You for Everything That Comes After.

Start building your career today — it's free.

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