BACK OF THE NET AND BEYOND

An example for why the transition process for professional footballers may be more difficult compared to the ones competing at semi-pro level.

Generally, professional footballers are in full time training, whereas at semi-pro level you tend to train a couple of times per week, and players will more than likely have a part-time job as well. So transitioning into the working world may be easier for the semi-pro athletes as they will already have experience working outside of their chosen sport; the full time professional footballer generally won’t have any experience in the working world, therefore the transition period might be more difficult.

Doing something productive outside of your chosen sport whilst competing will always aid your transition when it comes to life after sport.

Not only will it allow you to focus on something different, but it will also more than likely improve your performance within your chosen sport too.

To this day, there are still so many archaic processes in place in football; and this needs to change. One of them is how teams approach life after football, and what that looks like for their players. It should be a constant conversation within a player’s development going forward. This will enable the players to have a more tangible, clearer pathway to aid their transition to life after football, and will naturally ease some of the pressure for the players when having discussions around this subject, and will equip them with the knowledge and skills to deal with some of the pressures when going through the transition process at a later date.

Your network is everything!

As a current or former athlete, how valuable do you think your network is? Can you access your network and utilise it to assist your transition process into the working world? I think the answer is yes you can.

Daniel Mills is a current footballer for Dulwich Hamlet. He juggles playing with working as a Diversity and Inclusion Consultant and is a board member for Show Racism the Red Card.

It’s great that he’s put himself in a position to do these things whilst still playing football.

Here he explains how he utilised his time during covid.
Show Racism the Red Card Kick It Out Dulwich Hamlet Football Club

Footballers generally get a lot of free time. It would be beneficial to utilise that downtime to find other interests, there could be something out there that captures your attention. That ‘something’ could create an opportunity for you to pursue when the time comes for you to hang up your boots.

Athletes all have transferable skills suited to other careers. It’s important that you utilise yours when making that transition to another career.

Ian Roper gives us an insight into his transferable skills and how they assist him in his current role.

Former pro footballer speaks about his experiences during his transition into another career after sport.

Ian Roper talks about his development phase during his transition process from football to another career.

Former Walsall and Luton Town footballer Ian Roper talks about his transition from football into the working world.

He’s now a Learning Support Assistant at the Isle of Wight College.

I don’t believe there’s a perfect way to transition away from sport to another career, because everyone’s different, and so the process and journey will never be exactly the same for everyone.

There are many varying factors to your individual experience and circumstances during this time. However there are methods that you can imply to help make your journey smoother.
Manchester City

Thoughts on how footballers can be assisted when it comes to dealing with the next phase in life, when you hang your boots up.
Manchester City

Ian Fitzpatrick talks about how hard it was for him to get into the first team as a striker at Manchester United as a youngster. He was up against some top talent.

Ian Fitzpatrick gives us an insight into his transferable skills that he’s taken from being a footballer to now being a coach at Manchester City.
Manchester City

Former Manchester United footballer and now coach at Manchester City; Ian Fitzpatrick gives some advice that will assist you when it comes to life after football.

Malvin Kamara shares his thoughts on how football’s governing bodies can do more to assist players when it comes to finding their next career path.

Thoughts on professional athletes approaching retirement, and whether the subject should be approached in a different way, with a different mindset.
Vallum Associates LTD

Transferable skills. Talking about mixing that competitive nature with resilience.
Vallum Associates LTD

Navigating the transition from sport to another career is difficult in so many ways. And the journey is not the same for every athlete.

Some athletes don’t realise that aside from the obvious facets involved such as juggling finances, finding a job and in some cases loss of identity, there can also be an element of trauma too, and this often gets overlooked.

My advice is the sooner you start thinking about life after sport, the better equipped you’ll be when the day comes for you to begin the next chapter in your life.

Former footballer Malvin Kamara talks about some of his experiences post football career.
Vallum Associates LTD

Malvin Kamara is a former footballer and now CEO of the recruitment company Vallum Associates.

He talks about his transition into the working world and how he navigated becoming the owner of his own company.

Full episode on YouTube and most major podcast outlets.
Vallum Associates LTD

It’s good to have something to focus on when in the process of transitioning from sport to another career. Amongst other things it allows you to work towards achieving a particular goal, rather than dwelling on the past.

Having a focus on your next career path whilst still competing in your chosen sport can help you to be less fearful about dealing with life after sport, as you will have some type of direction in place already.

If you’re an athlete approaching retirement and aren’t sure what you want to pursue post career, then it makes sense to explore your interests as there could be opportunities there. Don’t be concerned if you haven’t identified something straight away, you can always take some time out and occupy yourself in other ways to take your mind off trying to find your next career path. This break will allow you to clear your headspace, so you’ll hopefully feel more refreshed when you begin to explore options for the future again.

And finally, if you’ve made the transition and secured a role, don’t be afraid to explore new opportunities if the current one is not serving you well. It’s always easier to perform well when doing something you enjoy. Finding that role is not always an easy task.

Transitioning from sport to another career can be difficult in many ways. And it’s not always easy to know what avenue you want to pursue post career. So to aid your transition process it would be beneficial to start exploring opportunities and interests whilst you’re still involved within your chosen sport. I think that will give you a clearer indication with regards to what career path you want to embark on next.

We all know that the football academy system can do more to provide aftercare for released players. But overall the academy system is a great platform for players to learn and grow, doing something they love, whilst trying to achieve a dream and gaining invaluable transferable skills during their journey.

To all former professional athletes. The transition never stops. Keep striving!

Simple! Fear will stifle any progress you’re looking to make.

As a former athlete you may sometimes experience imposter syndrome, after transitioning from sport to another career. Sometimes changing job poses many challenges, use this time as an opportunity to develop and learn new skills. This will allow you to thrive more easily in your new role.

Whilst I’ve never really felt imposter syndrome, I’m not immune to having to learn new things having recently starting a new job in the internet industry, as well as making key decisions in the boardroom at executive level in my other roles. It’s all new stuff, embrace it!