Derek Hall, Football

Derek Hall chose to attend Stanford amidst other offers because of the educational opportunity. Because of this decision, he was able to network with staff and alumni to find a new career path once he retired from the NFL.

​Name: Derek Hall
Hometown: Overland Park, KS
Sport: Football
Career Duration: 15 years
Level: NFL (49ers Practice Squad)
Retirement: 2013
Current Occupation: Director for Sales Engineering for ServiceTitan
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Interests: Fantasy sports, NBA, cooking and smoking meat, hanging out with friends, restaurants, traveling, and yoga

​Where are you from and when were you introduced to football?
I was born in New Orleans but bounced around. I consider my home to be Overland Park, Kansas. That’s where I spent my most formative years and where I was introduced to football. Little league football was the first time I was coached and yelled at, and I almost quit in 6th grade. Thank goodness my parents already paid for that season and refused to let me quit. I was able to grow through the challenges of being pushed hard in a difficult sport, and was able to get a college scholarship to Stanford. I had a brief professional career, and I’m very grateful for those years.
 
What was your high school experience like to get recruited by Stanford?
I went to a Jesuit high school which was a football powerhouse, which helped with exposure. There were always college recruiters stopping by because our school produced a good amount of Division I football players. We were nationally ranked a couple times. I played tight and defensive end and was really strong my last few years. As a three star recruit, I was fortunate to have several offers to play in college, including Stanford, Boston College, University of Kansas and Michigan State. I almost went to Boston College after my first official visit, but my parents helped me make the right decision to take advantage of a free education at Stanford. It was tough at the beginning, but fantastic at the end. I’m incredibly grateful that I had good mentorship by my parents. I think the fact that education was a priority for me, set me up for success post sport.
 
How was your experience at Stanford?
My career was OK. I was a late bloomer, and changed from defensive to offensive lineman midway through after we got new coaches. Our first year we went 1-11. We had a pretty toxic team environment, then we hired Coach Jim Harbaugh who turned the program around. He pushed me to change positions to offensive line, and because of that I didn’t start until my senior year. We had a great year, I made honorable mention in All-Pac 10 at right tackle, and we won the Orange Bowl. I had a great time, and a good game there which provided good exposure. This set me up well to get an opportunity to join an NFL team. It was a great ride and I’m very grateful for the success we had in the end. 

What did you study at Stanford?
I studied Communication and Digital Media Technology. I specifically focused on how humans interact with technology and computers. It was a great track. I love technology — always have. I was always fascinated with how we’re impacted and socialize with it. It definitely helped with a career after football.
 
How did you get to the NFL?
If I would have had another year of eligibility, I would have had a better chance to be drafted. I only had one strong year on tape and so I was not drafted, but instead signed as an undrafted free agent to the 49ers. I had a few options, but Harbaugh was there. It was a lockout year, so there was a limited off season program. By going there I had a better opportunity for success since I already knew the playbook. And I already knew the coaches, and they knew me. I ended up making the practice squad for 1.5 years, did scout team work, and was on reserve. I was able to travel with the team and build many relationships. It was very stressful, but a great experience.
 
In what ways was it stressful?
The NFL is a very cutthroat business. Supply is much larger than demand. You’ve got a 53-man roster, and then a practice squad with players constantly competing. If you aren’t one of the top performers, you don’t have any job security. I could have been let go at any time. I was working week to week. I’d only know if I’m on the team that week if I made it to Wednesday’s practice. So that meant stressing every week wondering if I would be cut and if I would need to bounce around the country to another team. It was very high pressure with no job security, so any mistake you made was amplified.
 
Why did you decide to retire?
It ended up being a lifestyle decision. Because I wasn’t a drafted player, that meant I was very disposable. There’s politics in everything. If you are a highly drafted player, your general manager will take a big stake in your success and give you more chances than those who aren’t. I realized I would never have strong job security. I’d also always have to worry about living in different cities, scraping by, and trying to make a team. I was also about to get married and didn't want to live that disjointed life. I had a good degree and knew I didn’t need to do it, and my body wasn’t feeling great either, so I decided to move on.
 
Did you sustain any major injuries in your career?
I was very blessed that I didn’t deal with catastrophic injuries or have any major concussions. I broke my hand in high school, and had the normal wear and tear playing offensive line. But even on the practice squad it’s like getting into a car crash every day. Over time, especially the style we played at Stanford and on the 49ers, my back and shoulder pain would linger. Overall I’m very fortunate I stopped when I did and I have been able to manage my health effectively post football. I focused a ton on yoga during football, which helped with loosening my hips and back, and helping with pain management. It also taught me how to meditate and focus on mindfulness in stressful situations. I’m a big proponent of it and now do yoga three times per week.

​Did you have any issues with your transition physically?
Physically my transition was fine — it was mainly a mental struggle. It helped that I also did minor league football right after. Seeing and interacting with folks who have been out of the league for a few years, I became grateful football wasn’t my only option. In terms of transition, my body started feeling better after my first month off. Mentally, I’m someone who likes structure, order, and to execute an agenda, and football provides incredible structure. I knew what I needed to do, be, drink, etc. Losing all that was very uncomfortable. I was also dealing with a confluence of emotions. Shame for one, feeling like I wasn’t good enough to be in the NFL, and wondering what people who had looked up to me thought of me now. I grappled with whether I was a failure because I didn’t have a real NFL career. Also fear about what I was going to do next. How will I provide for my family? I was making good money in the NFL and I had to start over, and the Bay Area is expensive. I also was grieving loss of identity. I could no longer tell people I’m a football player and see them be impressed. I was in a tough place mentally. However, I had a great support system, plus a wife and family who were not financially dependent on me, and the ability to utilize my network from college for direction on what I could do. That’s how I got into sales. I was referred to a sales job at Google. It gave me direction, hope, something to work towards and career path to explore. 
 
Would you advise current college athletes to network at their universities?
Absolutely. As a college athlete you have an incredible opportunity as an undergrad that many don’t take seriously. It’s no exaggeration that who you know matters in getting opportunities. You want people who are successful around you to have a positive view of you. Alumni or teammates love to help when others are transitioning. Make sure they have a positive view of you and it will open up doors. Being able to have someone refer you directly to a hiring manager will get your resume out of the pile and at least lead to an interview.
 
Were you nervous about jumping into a new career path?
Very nervous. It was a new field, and I’m very competitive and want to win. But athletes have an incredible advantage in the workplace. Now as a manager, I am always excited when an athlete applies. Although they are in a new situation, the amount of discipline and rigor college athletics requires, sets athletes up for incredible success in any career if they apply it. Many others  in the workplace haven’t pushed themselves past their perceived limits. They haven’t been forced to be accountable to a team and meet a coach’s standard. We are set up to be successful because of the work habits and discipline college athletics instills. I’ve been using these work habits from sports to rise through the ranks my entire career.
 
Is being a Director of Sales Engineering your dream job?
I think everyone desires to do a job that is their life’s mission and goal right after college. In actuality, I believe that’s not a fair expectation for people to have. We have to pay our bills, and you are not going to love every job you have. Sometimes you have to start out doing the grunt work and work your way up. I’ve focused on finding something I liked a little bit more in each job transition, and through that journey I learned what I liked and didn’t like. I found out I don’t like cold calling, but I do like talking to people about what will help their business. A Sales Engineer is the perfect middle ground, and a job I like a lot. I continued to grow into a leadership role, and I love leading a team. Is sales engineering my life’s dream / passion? Honestly no, but it has given me many great tools to eventually start a business. I aspire to be self employed, own real estate, and have several revenue streams. Right now I’m focused on acquiring skills in helping me do that.
 
Going back to your transition, how did you resolve your feeling of a lost identity?
It took a couple months to find a new job and to focus on something else. The sooner you can rally around a next step in your career and find a new initiative or endeavor, whether it is a job or community service where you can dedicate your day to, and feel good about it, that's how long it takes to move past the depression and sadness from a loss of identity. I also didn’t have a long NFL career. I’m sure the longer you have a professional career, the longer it would take — perhaps months or years depending on how successful you are and what you can transition to working on. If you can transition to something you are passionate about, that’s great. If not, I’ve seen a lot of people spiral and not come out of it. Also, any time you introduce vast wealth into the equation, it can lead to compromised relationships with friends and family and incredible pressure to support them. The fact that this wasn’t the case for me contributed to me being able to move on faster.
 
Is there anything else you would like to share?
I hope other athletes can take away from my story that though we have a lot of pride and feel we can make things happen on our own, there are a lot of people available to help in the transition process. Take the opportunity to seek help and assistance when progressing in your career. Most people can train into a job. What businesses are looking for are those who have the right traits, mentality and approach. If you are willing to grind, be self reliant, and take initiative, you will be successful — and athletes are comfortable doing those things.