You’re on Your Own Now

Inside the book and game of CareerBall: To be fair, we athletes have had it pretty easy… with a lot of help along the way. Our parents (who supported our initial efforts by making sure we were enrolled in sports) made the try-outs, drove us everywhere, fought the politics of all-star teams, and were always emotionally invested in our early success, even if they didn’t make all our games all the time.

Our coaches have also been there along every step of the way, whether it was our club coach, high school coach, or even our uncles, grandmother, or skill coaches—whomever looked after us as we participated in our sports career along the way. College, nowadays, is also very much invested in our sports: special recruitment packages, pre-enrollment, class tutors, life-skills training… you name it, colleges today provide most every athlete with some type of assistance.

If you made the professional ranks or even the elite amateur teams that travel the world, handlers and agents and managers all work hard behind the scenes so all you have to do is compete. What a life!

But then, reality sets in. Sports are over, and all the coaches, agents, administrators, handlers, and, sadly, even some parents, vanish… leaving you with a depressing feeling of starting over. And this time when you glance behind you to check on your entourage, you may realize you’re on your own!

Let’s Put this Transition into Perspective

Inside the book and game of CareerBall: There are generally two distinct camps that competitive athletes fall into when the subject of career planning is raised:

• Those that screw up, screw around, or just don’t care enough and eventually “evolve” into their careers, and 
• Those that “get it” early on in the process, identify their talents, and point themselves in the right direction.

By far, the biggest challenge you will face as a competitive athlete is determining which camp you are in.

Although there will be many transitions in your life, few have the potential to be as important or challenging as ending your competitive playing career. At some point, every student-athlete ends his or her competitive career. For many, this event will coincide with the completion of their athletic eligibility—what might be called a planned or expected transition. For others, though, termination of their sports careers may be unexpected, caused by things like career-ending injuries or being cut from the team or a simple loss of interest in the chase.

Although you may not be close to the end of your high school, college or professional athletic career, it is never too soon to begin planning for your transition out of sports. Begin thinking now about what you want to do after sports career has ended, and then take action to move towards that goal. 

The Old Way vs. The New Way

Inside the book and game of CareerBall: Many of you will also be old enough (or wise enough) to see how times have changed in the average “athlete-centric life-cycle.” In the past, the old athlete-centric lifecycle went something like this:

• Grow up (eventually)
• Play many sports (for fun)
• Become really good at one sport (or two, or three)
• Go to college and play ball (have fun for 4 years)
• Graduate (usually)
• Get a career (something really terrific and rewarding)
• Get married (once, or twice if you’re lucky)
• Raise a family (or two)
• Retire (after 25+ years at the same company and a nice pension with benefits)
• And, lastly, here’s the good part… then die and go to heaven (hopefully)

Today, the new athlete-centric lifecycle we experience goes something like this:

• Grow up (faster than ever)
• Play one sport exclusively (join the 10 & under travelling team)
• Try to avoid burnout on sports (usually around age 17)
• Go pro or go to college and play ball (work your butt off year-round until you quit or are cut)
• Graduate (maybe, after 6 years)
• Get a job (and then about 10 more and 3 different careers over your lifetime)
• Get married (maybe, once, or twice if you’re lucky)
• Raise a family (if that’s your thing and you have the time/money)
• Retire (after 40+ years funding your own retirement plan and rising health care costs)
• And, lastly, here’s the really good part… then die and go to heaven (hopefully)

Game On!

Inside the book and game of CareerBall: The time has come whereby everybody associated with competitive athletics—administrators, coaches, parents… even YOU!—need to wake up, step up, and commit to your career in ways you may have never thought of or have been told about. And the earlier you do this in your athletic life, the better.

On the whole, society has just come off a decade of entitlement and instant gratification, in which a worldwide attitude of “What’s in it for me?” was the general attitude held by most athletes. The world today is a very different place. Now, athletes are asking the question: “What’s going on, and how will it affect me?” The simple answer is that times have changed. The more complex answer that is as an athlete-centric culture, we have been asleep at the wheel, caught up in believing that a 100 percent commitment to organized sports would always produce a great outcome in our life. But sadly, unless you’re making seven figures a year and signed to a multi-year deal, being a good athlete is no guarantee that you will succeed in your career after sports… or even find a job, for that matter.

I love the saying “Instant gratification takes too long” and I agree. But there is no escaping the fact that you will have to commit nearly the same amount of time, energy, and self-responsibility you applied to sports if you want to be just as successful in your career.

Times Have Changed

Inside the book and game of CareerBall: I have been advising thousands of highly competitive athletes on how to prepare for the proverbial “life after sports”… and help them make the most of their career choices and opportunities. The main core of my advice centers around two central themes:

• First, you must thoroughly understand the vast array of “transferable skills” acquired through athletic experiences and how to leverage them in your job search and career, and, 

• Second, you must thoroughly understand, and commit to a list of fundamental disciplines about self-assessment, going about your job search and career growth in the correct (and intelligent) fashion, and seeking out and learning from others who have successfully traversed the road before you. 

It’s important to realize that we are now living in times where most of the rules have changed… especially when it comes to the timing of making important life decisions and nurturing a meaningful career. In the old days (around ten years ago or so) career planning and career development was rewarded mostly by just showing up to the interview. Today, though, career planning and development requires more preparation and effort, and a little luck. The bottom line is, today, if you want to achieve success in your career, the fundamentals are still the same as they were yesterday but you must begin to think about your career much earlier in life and remember that preparation and effort are key, most important ingredients.