“A lot of high school and college athletes see themselves as the next LeBron James-level professional athlete. But many falling short of that dream have to learn who they are and their skills and passions.”

This is where Focus Our Future Inc. can help, says Kevin Watson, who created the nonprofit in September 2017.

Its mission: To help prepare student-athletes transition from sports to life and future professions.

The organization connects student-athletes with working professionals for networking, interviewing and employment opportunities. It partners with area schools, colleges and universities, companies and mentors to help get student-athletes ready.

Focus Our Future also leads Future Flyers, an AAU track and field team of male and female athletes ages 5 to 18.

Its first event of 2019 will be a Feb. 6 networking event for Thomas Jefferson High School athletes at Deep Run Recreation Center in Henrico County.

Focus Our Future grew out of Mr. Watson’s own experience transitioning from sports to the work world. It wasn’t smooth, the 36-year-old says.

He graduated from Henrico High School in the International Baccalaureate program, where he lettered three years in football and was state runner-up in the 55-meter and 110-meter hurdles.

Mr. Watson then went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was the 2003 Atlantic Coast Conference champion in the 60-meter hurdles and All-ACC in the 110-meter hurdles. He has the third-best time in the 60-meter hurdles in UNC history at 7.88 seconds.

“As most athletes performing at a very high level, I wanted to continue in track and field,” the former champion said.

“After coaching a year at Virginia Commonwealth University, I decide to try to run professionally, and moved to North Carolina and started to run with one of the best coaches in the world.”

He says he worked three part-time jobs as he trained full time, spending hundreds of hours in preparation for a 14-second race. But it was hard to sustain that lifestyle without sponsorships, he says, and he made the decision to join the workforce in order to make ends meet.

He had conversations with former Highland Springs High School track Coach Greg Ford.

“Coach Ford provided books to read and, over the course of many dinners, helped me to create Focus Our Future,” Mr. Watson says, which grew out of “Fueling our Future,” which he organized in 2014 for student-athletes at Henrico High and Lee-Davis High schools as a networking platform connecting student-athletes with working professionals to increase employability.

“Student-athletes had the opportunity to hear about prospective careers they were interested in as they were matched with professionals in those fields,” Mr. Watson recalls.

Like the current program, “we gave them a glimpse of what can be offered to them and let them know there is a place to land after finishing their sport.

“I received rave reviews from parents, professionals and the student-athletes about the event.”

Focus Our Future, he says, encourages student-athletes to find out who they are and offers a chance for personal reflection “in a judgment-free and stress-free environment.”

In addition to his work with Focus Our Future, Mr. Watson is a caseworker in Richmond with the Medicaid community coordinated care program. He reminds students that “sports is not the only thing in life.”

Meet a sports realist dedicated to helping student-athletes focus on the future, and this week’s Personality, Kevin Watson:

Community involvement: Founder, Focus Our Future Inc.

Date and place of birth: Sept. 16 in Richmond.

Current residence: Chesterfield County.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in psychology, with a minor in coaching education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; master’s degree in public leadership, Virginia State University.

Family: Wife, Torie Watson.

Reason for founding Focus Our Future: My transition from sports to the working world wasn’t smooth. After years as a working professional, I decided to create an organization that would help student-athletes have a smoother transition than I had in my career.

Focus Our Future’s mission: To help prepare student-athletes for life after sports for the betterment of communities around the world.

A student-athlete is: Focused on their academic responsibilities while exercising their passion for sport.

Most valuable lesson learned from being a student-athlete: Proper time-management leads to the successful achievement of both short- and long-term goals.

How has being an athlete influenced your career aspirations: As an athlete in track and field, I spent hundreds of hours preparing for a race that lasted 14 seconds or less in hopes that I improved my race time by tenths of a second. The patience, attention to detail, faith and focus developed being successful in track and field influenced me to create an organization. Also, the leadership roles that I played as a captain and influencer on my teams made me more aware of how I can create positive environments with others for the purpose of accomplishing goals.

Why sports are important: Sports provide an environment for athletes to exercise their passions, values and ideals while serving as a wonderful form of entertainment for the athletes, participants and the observers. Sports also provide an environment for participants to learn life skills, such as discipline, accountability and responsibility, as well as build relationships with others while becoming more self-aware.

What track and field means to me: Track and field allowed me to live a dream that led to great friendships, opportunities and success in life. The sport helped me discover who I am and reminds me of the benefits of chasing my dreams. I find the technical aspects of all of the events beautiful, purposeful and meaningful.

What motivated me to get involved in community service: As an International Baccalaureate student, community service was mandatory. I grew fond of the many service projects I participated in over the years, and I loved the impact that I made in those respective communities. I participated in more than 100 hours of community service in high school.

Advice to student-athletes struggling to balance school, work, practices and games? I would encourage the athlete to write down a few short-term and long-term goals. To overcome issues juggling all of those things, I would encourage the student-athlete to actively use a calendar with alarms to track appointments, meetings, study sessions and practices that can motivate the student-athlete to accomplish their goals.

How I start the day: I remind myself why I do what I do. Then I prioritize my day accordingly.

A perfect day for me: When I spend quality time with my wife and accomplish a few things that I’ve prioritized.

Something I love to do that most people would never imagine: I love to support small businesses and their owners. When I travel out of town, I love to find small businesses in those respective areas to patronize.

Sports hero: Roger Kingdom, 110-meter hurdler. His performance in the 1988 Olympics ignited my passion for track and field and the 110-meter hurdle event.

How I unwind: I play party games such as Taboo or Scattergories with friends and/or family.

Best late-night snack: Cookies.

Best thing my parents ever taught me: Stay as organized as you can.

Person who influenced me the most: Henrico High School track and field Coach Jeff Brown.

The book that influenced me the most: “How to be a Gentleman: A Timely Guide to Timeless Manners” by John Bridges.

What I’m reading now: “Track and Field Coaching Essentials: USA Track & Field Level 1 Coach Education Manual” edited by Will Freeman.

One thing I’ve learned in life: That the world interacts with you when you show people what you love.

My next goal: To partner with an entire school system by offering the Focus Our Future program to their high school senior student-athletes.