Nurturing Athletes Through Life's Challenges

By Imago Group
Wednesday 6 June, 2007

Sport Knowledge Australia’s (SKA) “Athlete and Career Development Introductory Programme”- taking place at Sydney Olympic Park from 23-26 July - features some of the country’s top academics and practitioners in the player development field. They will deliver up-to-the-minute teachings on managing the life-cycle of elite athletes.

SYDNEY - Whether it was Ian Thorpe struggling for clarity on his future, Cathy Freeman preparing for life after athletics, or Shane Gould reconciling with what might have been had she not retired as a 16-year-old, each of these iconic Australians sought professional guidance connected with a daunting transition.

All three turned to highly regarded transition specialist Deidre Anderson, CEO of Sport and Recreation at Macquarie University. Much of the insight she has gained working with these and other celebrated as well as many lesser-known athletes will be imparted at Sport Knowledge Australia's four-day July live-in course - Athlete and Career Development introductory programme.

"For elite and not-so-elite athletes retirement is often traumatic; it's the end of the world to them, and there is a need to be empathetic to that," says Anderson.

"During the course we'll also look at other times when an athlete might be struggling - with injuries for example, or missing out on major selection such as Olympics, and the challenges faced in coming back from let downs."

Anderson said she would cover career transitions and key stages of the counselling process, dealing with success and failure, coping with fame new-found wealth and the development of the "athlete identity" which often finds self-worth judged solely on athletic performance.

The evolving role of the Athlete and Career Development Manager she says involves helping athletes maintain a balance from early on in their careers, and setting goals within and outside the sport environment. Crucial to the efficacy of the manager is a healthy club or sport association culture where the role is embraced with a view to sustainable success.

Anderson points to the Sydney Swans with its famous 'no dickheads' policy as one of the organisations doing well in creating a nurturing environment, "They started from the top with strong leadership and agreement on the sort of people they wanted in the club; they didn't skirt around the edges.

"The player manager needs the grace to be able to speak with leadership and have support for their role in order to influence improvement. Otherwise they will be left to clean up recurring issues stemming from a poor culture which perpetuates as young athletes are inducted into that same unhelpful system."

At the Sport Knowledge Australia course another key presenter, Jeff Bond, also a renowned sport psychologist and Account Director for performance development consultancy firm, Lane4 Australasia, will be emphasising the need to recognise occasions when specialist intervention is necessary. As one example he says, “You could look at for instance ‘eating pathology’.

“An athlete inexplicably loses weight, and in this scenario it may be tempting for someone in career and athlete education, or coaches, to address the issue in-house with dietary guidance rather than being alert to the potential of an underlying psychological problem and taking the precaution of seeking professional assessment advice.”

Former Essendon premiership player Steve Alessio, now General Manager of Player Development for the Australian Football League Players’ Association, brings first-hand knowledge from the athletes' perspective to the SKA course as well as practical experience in the career guidance role.

“We help players with their transition in and out of the game – from the time they are drafted right through to retirement and beyond ” says Alessio.

“With all players we help develop their resilience, communication and decision-making skills plus we provide career and education support, vocational training and where necessary assistance with personal issues.”

After a recent trip to the USA to study similar roles in the NFL, NBA and baseball, Alessio was satisfied that the AFL Players’ Association’s commitment to Player Development was of international standard, “It was satisfying to return from the US with the knowledge that our evolving Player Development model is both innovative and robust when compared to other established professional sports.”

The Players Association, Alessio says, is gearing up to extend its assistance to former players going back to the 1970s and 80s.

In presenting the course Anderson, Bond and Alessio will be joined by Sonia Francis, lecturer in sport management at La Trobe University, (School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management), Sean Wellman, Assistant Coach and Development Manager for the Western Bulldogs and practicing sport psychologist Jacqui Louder who boasts considerable experience at the elite level.

For more information on the course, please visit here.

ABOUT SKA: Launched in June 2005 with a Federal Government grant, SKA is jointly owned by the University of Sydney, University of Technology, Sydney and the Sydney Olympic Park Authority. SKA assists the continued global growth of the sports industry, helping more communities around the world to benefit from Australia’s strong sporting culture. Since its launch, SKA has delivered sport management programmes at the prestigious Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, run facility management courses in China and various seminars and courses in Australia on topics as diverse as player valuation strategies, genetic doping in sport, player welfare, executive sport management, elite sport coaching, major event management and facility management.

ATTENTION EDITORS AND PRODUCERS: Presenters are available for interview by contacting –Imago Group – Liz Herbert, Mobile: 0407 234 221 Tel:+61 2 9331 7222