The reality is that you will either have the good fortune to bow out on your own terms, or the decision will be made for you.

This summer will see the end of many a footballing career. During the transfer window, some players will sign lucrative deals and be lauded by media and fans alike. But there’s another side of the coin. What happens to the players whose contracts are not renewed, who have suffered a career-threatening injury, or who are simply getting too old to continue playing at a professional level?

Following retirement, you may wake up not knowing what you want to do with the day, let alone with the rest of your life. So, what can you do now to prepare for the next stage? Follow these five tips to create the retirement of your dreams:

• Cultivate self-awareness

In Western society, our self-esteem is often tied to what we do rather than who we are. Consistent with this, when you hang up your boots for the last time, everything that made you feel good about yourself will be cast aside.

Before that day arrives, consider your strengths. What do you do well? How can you use your strengths to your advantage and in an area you’re passionate about? Long before retirement, you should start looking for other ways to boost your self-esteem outside of sports to gain a balanced perspective on your personality, values, and future goals.

• Take control

We all want to feel at least some degree of control over our lives and have the autonomy to make our own free choices. If you’re forced into retirement on account of an injury or age, then you don’t have any control over that decision.

My best advice is to not leave it all to fate. Accept that you will have to retire at some point and start planning now. Doing so will give you a sense of direction and control that you can hold onto long after your final game. In fact, planning for a career after sport may actually improve your athletic performance in the interim.

• Know what’s important to you

Without sugar-coating it, after retirement you might feel as though you’ve lost your family. After all, you’ve literally been kicked out of the locker room from one day to the next. The same fans who once begged for your signature no longer give you a second glance. Not surprisingly, many former athletes end up feeling lost, lonely, and as though their best years are behind them.

That’s why it’s vital to know what you want in life, what you value, and to be clear on your future goals. Above all, seek out new experiences that are personally meaningful and rewarding.

• Grow your support network

As an athlete, you’re connected to your team, your fans, and feel a strong sense of belonging. In a word, you’re never alone. After retirement, unless you have a very supportive family or circle of friends, you’re likely to feel a significant void.

Surround yourself with the right people throughout your professional career, rather than relying on hangers-on and teammates to boost you in the end.

• Make time for hobbies

For many athletes, nothing compares to the adrenaline rush they experience when they cross the finish line or score the winning goal. And perhaps nothing ever will.

However, if you pursue other hobbies and interests throughout your career, you’ve got a much better chance of finding pleasure again. It’s also worth emphasizing that you can still enjoy the game post-retirement.

No matter your career stage, retirement is inevitable and you need to take responsibility for it. Embracing this can help you to prepare for your life after sport. Although the transition may be challenging, following these five steps will help you on your way.

The post Athletes Beware: Avoid the “Superman Syndrome” by Planning for Retirement appeared first on Career After Sport.

Over the last few years, retiring athletes’ problems moving into second careers have made the headlines as yet another athlete faces financial or emotional issues. But what actually happens when you enter the work force? What further issues can you expect?

We know that some skills transfer easily from sport to the work force. Leadership, commitment, drive and attention to detail are attributes that work in both settings. However, some behaviours are no longer appropriate. Take job history for example. Many athletes have been accustomed to changing teams frequently – concepts such as loyalty and longevity are not often a priority for club or athlete. In today’s world, employers still expect to see stability on a CV; too much moving between companies and you are labelled unreliable and disloyal…and the job offers dry up.

Then there is job purpose: having been used to knowing what you had to do and why, at work you may just not “get it”. You may feel that you have entered a “mundane world of ordinariness”. With no obvious reason for doing what you are doing, you end up questioning the sense of it…and getting frustrated.

When it comes to goal setting, in sport, everything is geared to success. You know what you want to achieve and how you will get there. In organisations, goals tend to be fixed annually, if at all. They may even be imposed on you. And they are often less tangible than ones you are used to.

As for feedback on your performance, you will often have to wait until year end to hear how you are doing. You may need to learn to read the signs. The “no holds barred” type of performance assessment you may be used to just won’t happen.

And remember that whilst teamwork is a transferable skill, it often requires more cooperation than competitiveness. Using the same drive and single-mindedness you have shown in the past may not always be appreciated.

Experience has shown us that transition into the work place can be tough. You are behind your peers. You require new skills. You have to adapt to a way of operating which is foreign to you. Preparation is key. Gain awareness of the pitfalls by talking to people who have already been through it and learn from them. If you have the opportunity, try job shadowing or an internship. Get as much prior exposure to the world of work as possible. The more you plan for your future, the easier it will be.

The post Life After Sport: Entering the Workforce appeared first on Career After Sport.

• Challenges faced when changing career
• Useful tips for anyone confronted with a career change
• Transferable skills
• Similarities (and differences) between the business world and the world of sport
• Transition from sport into a “normal” life

Listen to the interview HERE

If you are interested in speaking to me about your own career challenge, feel free to email me at julie@sc-careertransition.com to set up a call.

The post Transition, Change and Career Reorientation (even for Sports Stars) appeared first on Career After Sport.

Retirement from sport is challenging and even the most successful can struggle. David Beckham, whilst appearing to have slipped effortlessly into life after football in 2013, admitted in an interview on BBC’s Desert Island Discs earlier this year that he had also had doubts about the transition.

So how can you assist former athletes during this difficult time? A brand-new approach, grounded in neuroscience and psychology, is being used to help professional footballers, ice hockey players and other athletes move on to life after sport.

The SCOAP approach is usually applied to train business executives but I have incorporated its principles into my coaching programme to help sports stars avoid the end of the game blues. It is built on five basic human needs, which have to be fulfilled in order for a person to perform well and be emotionally fulfilled. They are: Self-esteem, Control, Orientation, Attachment and Pleasure. If an athlete or sportsperson fulfills these needs, his or her move into life after sports becomes much easier.

One of the reasons David Beckham’s transition was smoother than some of his counterparts is because the five SCOAP needs had been met.

TIPS for retiring athletes (or anyone facing retirement!) using the SCOAP approach:

1. Self-esteem: Separate the man/woman from the athlete

The first basic need of every retiring athlete is self-esteem, a sense of self-worth, value and appreciation, recognition and status.

For many athletes, self-esteem is closely linked to being an athlete or sports star. So, when they hang up their boots for the last time, everything that made them feel good about themselves disappears overnight.

Beckham’s self-esteem was never limited to what he did on the field. He soon became known for his other pursuits such as modeling, being ambassador to various global companies, as well as being a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and for his role as a family man.

Start looking long before retirement for other ways to boost your self-esteem. Don’t only rely on sport. Learn more about yourself and appreciate your strengths outside of sport to gain a balanced view of yourself.

2. Control: Don’t leave it all to fate

The second basic need is control.

We all want to feel that we have some degree of control over our lives and the ability to make our own free choices. If you’re forced to retire because of injury or age, you don’t have any control over that decision.

Beckham retired when he was at the top of the game, having just won the French league. It was his decision – even though he’s admitted that it hadn’t been an easy one.

Don’t leave it all to fate. Accept that you will have to retire at some point and start planning now. It will give you a sense of direction and control when you leave. In fact, it has been shown that planning for career after sport actually improves your athletic performance.

3. Orientation: Know your values

When you retire as an athlete, you could end up feeling like you’ve lost your family – you’ve literally been kicked out of the locker room from one day to the next. Fans who once begged you for signatures, now don’t give you a second glance. Many athletes end up feeling lost and lonely.

How did Beckham fulfill his need for orientation? As a family man and UNICEF Ambassador he seems to have always had a good sense of how he could contribute and use his skills and former celeb status to connect him to the world.

Know what you want in life, your values and how you fit into the wider scheme of things. Seek new meaningful experiences.

4. Attachment: Don’t rely on hangers-on

As an athlete you’re connected to your team, your fans – you’re never alone. There is a real sense of ‘belonging’. However, when you retire – you’re no longer part of this group and unless you have a very supportive family and circle of friends, you’re likely to experience a real void.

Beckham has a supportive family and a wide circle of friends, who are not limited to the football world. Even though he admits to having felt the void, the blow would have been cushioned. Surround yourself with the right people and don’t rely on hangers-on and teammates to ensure that you don’t find yourself out on a limb.

5. Pleasure: Remember why you started playing sport

For many athletes nothing compares with that feeling of crossing the finishing line or scoring the winning goal.

And perhaps nothing ever will.

However, if you actively pursue other hobbies and interests from early on in your sports career, you’ve got a much better chance of finding pleasure again.

Also, accepting that you don’t have to stop practicing your choice of sport just because you’re forced to quit competing. You can still enjoy the game.

It is this mind shift that is difficult for many athletes.

Beckham learned to find pleasure watching his children play sport as well as pursuing other interests.

Take up a new sport or mentor others. Remember why you started sport in the first place. What else can you do that will give you enjoyment?

Not every sports star has the abilities, brand and financial security of David Beckham or tennis star Roger Federer. However, most retiring athletes can benefit from applying the SCOAP principles to their lives at an early stage to ensure their own transition is not a rocky one.

To find out how ready you are for retirement, visit www.careeraftersport.com and complete a short questionnaire.

Contact me to find out about my Career Transition Programme or how I can use the SCOAP approach to help you.

The post Retirement from sport: Bow out like Beckham appeared first on Career After Sport.