Programs to support transition

Research I conducted in 2013-2014 into career assistance programs delivered to Australian athletes identified five program types linked to successful transitions after sport. Reflecting on my time in the AFL, these five program types remain important in managing successful transitions. 

These elements were:

• personal management skills

• occupational and vocational elements

• career development elements

• social support development and 

• counselling elements.

Personal management skills include life skills and skills transferable from the athletic career. Life skills are the physical and mental skills that had value in and out of sports that assist athletes to manage present life situations and successfully cope with future life events. Transferable skills are defined as general skills that are context and content free that, once developed, can be applied to different situations and spheres of life. 

Occupational and vocational programs involve direct contact with employers in work, simulated work and / or in networking settings.

Career development programs are related to knowledge of the job market, soliciting (e.g. resumes and interviews), vocational guidance and career advice and ultimately, career planning.

An example of social support development is the ongoing positive support of a retiring athlete’s family, friends, teammates and professional counselors. They can also include the maintenance / creation of formal and informal links with past players.

Schlossberg’s model of human adaptation to transition suggests that difficulties in the transition experience can be addressed by analysis, understanding and a problem solving approach, such as counselling (Swain, 1991, p. 158).

Career Game Plan can help! We offer 1:1 and group initiatives to define where current, transitioning, and past athletes are in their career journey and guide them to envision and prepare for their future to ensure a lifelong legacy of achievement and wellbeing.

Over the coming weeks we will dive deeper into the 5 program types – explaining what they are, where they can be accessed and how they may help.

Swain, D. (1991). Withdrawal from sport and Schlossberg’s model of transition. Sociology of Sport Journal, 8, p. 152-160.