Why Athletes Need A Coach Outside Their Sport

As a student-athlete, amateur or professional athlete, you have developed a trust factor with coaches throughout your athletic career that began early in your childhood. Whether you’ve had a whistle blowing in your ears, voices of encouragement, criticism, and support, you’ve relied on your coach’s guidance and direction to lead you to victory. You trust their process towards success!

You may either have retired or are preparing for the day you leave your sport, and the adjustment can be devastating. Kevin Dineen, current head coach for the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, said “The moment that I realized the skills weren’t there, it was hard to get out of bed some mornings. It's not an easy transition. I would say most players really dread when it’s time to hang up the skates and decide what's next, and I went through a real funk when I retired.”

Former NFL-er Chris Hale highlights how you may not be in control of when you leave the game. “An athlete never says it’s time to go, there’s about 1 percent who say that. The league says it’s time to go.”

Going through those challenges can be easier with the help of a coach. Coaching has grown dramatically in the past couple of decades for executives, entrepreneurs, and anyone else wanting to elevate their game. Transition coaching is essential for those going from one career to a completely different one, and this is what athletes like you should be focusing on.

It’s critical to start early. Matt Stover played in the NFL for nearly two decades, but he learned quickly that “If an athlete steps out of the game and doesn’t think they have to work just as hard to be successful after sport as they did to be an elite athlete, they are going to find themselves in a very fearful world. The work ethic and the effort needs to remain.”

Although everyone can benefit from coaching, transition coaching truly works best if you are a competitor who is driven by success, and you want to be in an elite position once again. Most of the athletes I have spoken with do struggle with their transition, are unsure of what steps they should be taking, and lack the structure they once had as an athlete. Because you may be facing the same hurdles, you should look at being coached once again, it’s what helped you become an elite athlete.

A transition coach is a trained professional who specializes in helping you:

●       identify your identity beyond being an athlete

●       regain your daily structure and confidence

●       develop a personal marketing pitch (PMP)

●       having a networking strategy

●       be ready for all interviews, pitches, and other critical meetings

●       prepare for the offer negotiation phase

 It’s having someone to hold you accountable again, to blow the whistle at you and get you focused on the results. Typically this is accomplished through a series of 1-on-1 or group sessions depending on your personal preference.

You’re used to being in a locker room, and often being surrounded by others sharing your situation will bring you back that camaraderie. Group coaching can be very useful and effective. With that said, having your own personal coach be able to push you individually, to share your challenges with, and to have a more specific approach to your situation may be best for you. 

Although a big percentage of athletes choose to remain in their sport upon retirement, perhaps as a coach or in broadcasting, an increasing amount of current and retired athletes are looking at being more directly involved in business, specifically as entrepreneurs or investors. Others are seeking to transition from their sport into a career in a corporate setting and having a more traditional work week. 

If you choose to hire a transition coach, it will work if you and your coach have a strong relationship, where you both push and pull to get you to your desired result.

It’s critical that you find your coach:

●       knowledgeable about how to navigate you

●       empathetic to your specific situation

●       strong enough to be capable of pushing you towards your goals

●       able to give you the occasional kick in the pants when necessary!

You and your coach may have different backgrounds, but what you may need most is a fresh perspective, and all the tools needed to get the results needed to win again. Although everyone’s needs, efforts and progress can be different, the goal line is the goal line!

You may have concerns about the cost, as many of the top coaches will require an investment of thousands of dollars. But coaching is not as expensive as you may think once you factor the real-life value you will gain from it. In fact, most wonder what took them so long to get coaching!

Consider what you might be missing if you try to do this all on your own. Think about what isn’t working now, and how your life would be transformed if those hurdles and challenges were replaced by fulfilling and rewarding things. Coaching is the speedboat getting you to that tropical island faster than the life raft you may be drifting on; all you need is a coach to navigate you there!

Preparing for life after the NHL, T.J. Galiardi, co-founder of Outcast Foods, gives this piece of advice. “I just started to learn more about other things other than hockey. I think I always knew my career was going to end at some point, so I was just trying to figure it all out by starting to dip my toe in everything to see what I actually enjoyed.”

Do your research and reach out to a transition coach who will get you back to being fulfilled, excited to have a structure and a purpose again. You are truly capable of performing at an elite level again, just get that whistle blowing in your ear once more and you’re well on your way! 

Reach out anytime to connect with me directly, and join The Win Again Academy company page for info about all the Clubroom events where we bring together entrepreneurs, athletes, founders and executives in an incredible networking space using cutting edge tech to let you move freely table to table at your own pace, meet who you want to and when you want to, and seeing presentations happen seamlessly!