Charlie Batch

I was 38 years old, played 15 years in the league, and had an expiring contract — it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was next. Not making the playoffs, the team was getting younger, they drafted a quarterback in the 4th round —all the signs were there. So, I began preparing before I got to the point of that expiration date. As athletes, we all have an expiration date.

I still had my foundation, Best of Batch, and after I retired I was able to be there a lot more than when I was playing.

It was a learning curve in my wife and I's personal relationship. The times that I would've been gone for practice were removed from my life, which caused us to be around each other a lot more. It's harder whenever you work with your wife because it really challenged us from a communication perspective. When you work together all day, you may run out of things to say. It was difficult to ask, "Hey, how was your day today?" and she responds, "What do you mean? You were 10 steps down the hall."

Understanding my passion. I couldn't quit football cold turkey— I had to almost reintroduce myself to the football world outside of not being a player anymore. I had to remove myself from the football player mentality and ask myself, "What's the next step for me?" The biggest challenge was walking into that stadium when I was no longer a player for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It's huge. We all leave this game differently and we all leave under different circumstances so there's some sort of bitterness as we transition. I always tell guys, "Man, we've all been, through this. We all have been fired, essentially, so let's figure out how we can help each other." When they get into that locker room feel, it makes it a lot easier for them to drop their guards down a little bit and have open conversations about some of the challenges they may be facing.

I provide color commentary for the Pittsburgh Steelers Pre-Game TV on KDKA-TV, the CBS affiliate. I also do post-game radio on the Pittsburgh Steelers Radio Post-Game Show.

I used to commentate at the high school affiliate in Pittsburgh — I did that for five years. Prior to that, I took advantage of the Broadcast Boot Camp that NFL Player Engagement provides. I met a lot of great people and of course, they encouraged me to keep practicing.

Then, the color commentator for the Steelers retired after 25 years — he said he just didn't want to do it anymore. One day, I got a call and they said, "Hey Charlie, we know you've been doing all of these other things, but the position is yours if you want it." I looked at my wife, Tasha, and I'm like, "Do I want to do this?" I was nervous. I didn't know if I was really ready for that position. And she was like, " Go for it! Why not? If you decline it, you may not get it for 25 years." And that was it — in 2015 I was officially named the color commentator for the Steelers pre-season games.

I started Best of Batch Foundation when I was still playing in the NFL. The reason why the foundation was started was because I loss my sister to senseless gang violence in 1996; she was caught in crossfire between two rival gangs. It was hard for me at the time to figure out what it was that I wanted to do. I just knew I wanted to do something if I was ever in position to do so.

Best of Batch Foundation is an educational foundation that focuses mainly on literacy and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) programs.

To go from where we were to now, 20 years later, being able to service 3,800 kids annually in seven different counties throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania — it's humbling. I never envisioned the foundation being this big, but here we are.

In the Pocket with Charlie Batch is The Best of Batch Foundation's annual fundraiser. It's a ping pong, pool and poker event. Fans have the opportunity to compete against the Pittsburgh Steelers and local celebrities in the area where bragging rights are at stake. It's a fun-filled competition, but it also raises funds for our literacy programs and helps support our STEAM programs.