Q & A
Q: I'm an 18 year old elite athlete. I'm doing really well right now. I'm healthy, I know where I'll be playing at for the next couple of seasons, I don't think I'll be traded, released or get hurt, my team says they'll help me if I want to take some school courses or get a part-time job, and I'm going to keep playing as long as I can at the highest levels possible. Why would I need the Next Shift Network?
A: Great to hear that things are going well for you. It's always nice to feel certainty and confidence! If you're the kind of athlete that sees the value in being proactive and intentional about planning and preparation in your sport and your life (we call it creating a Plan B while you're living Plan A), some potentially helpful connections available to you through the Next Shift Network include:
A: Great to hear that things are going well for you. It's always nice to feel certainty and confidence! If you're the kind of athlete that sees the value in being proactive and intentional about planning and preparation in your sport and your life (we call it creating a Plan B while you're living Plan A), some potentially helpful connections available to you through the Next Shift Network include:
- Current and former elite athletes who have successfully made the shift from life in sport to life beyond sport. These mentors have "been there" and "done that" and can provide insights, advice and encouragement regarding what you're experiencing now and what you might experience later.
- Mental, physical and spiritual healthcare providers. These experts can improve your confidence/mindset, your competitive fitness & performance, and your overall well-being.
- Career/vocational and educational assessment providers. These people can help you identify interests, skills & aptitudes you've never considered and suggest different educational and training programs that best suit you.
- Professionals, entrepreneurs and business leaders. Our roster of established business people and professionals can provide you with valuable insights into potential career options and experiences, discuss the best ways to enter into various labour markets and find business opportunities, and talk you through how your skill sets might be utilized in their profession or business.
Q: I missed part of last season with a pretty serious injury. I've recovered now and am training hard but I'm a little worried that my spot on my team's roster might not be very secure anymore. I don't think I really want to play anywhere else if I'm cut but I don't know what else I'd do, especially if I'm released once the season has started. Saw your post about being intentional and wondered if you could help me think things through?
A: First of all, props to you for having the courage and insight to reach out. Truth be told, for an elite athlete in a high-performance team sport, it's the exception, not the norm to know that your roster spot is 100% secure in any given season. Taking the time to think about strategies and options regarding your future is really smart!
So, how can Next Shift help? Would you like to speak to a fellow athlete (in your sport) who has faced and overcome some of the same pressures and uncertainties you're facing? Would you like to hear how that athlete navigated the situation? We can connect you. Would you want to explore some potential education or career paths and have your aptitudes and skills assessed? Our network has people who do that. Do you want to work through the emotions and uncertainties you're wrestling with and create strategies to help you be at your very best, mentally and physically, when the season starts up? We can refer you to experts who'll help with that too. Reach out when you're ready to chat!
A: First of all, props to you for having the courage and insight to reach out. Truth be told, for an elite athlete in a high-performance team sport, it's the exception, not the norm to know that your roster spot is 100% secure in any given season. Taking the time to think about strategies and options regarding your future is really smart!
So, how can Next Shift help? Would you like to speak to a fellow athlete (in your sport) who has faced and overcome some of the same pressures and uncertainties you're facing? Would you like to hear how that athlete navigated the situation? We can connect you. Would you want to explore some potential education or career paths and have your aptitudes and skills assessed? Our network has people who do that. Do you want to work through the emotions and uncertainties you're wrestling with and create strategies to help you be at your very best, mentally and physically, when the season starts up? We can refer you to experts who'll help with that too. Reach out when you're ready to chat!
Q: I'm a junior hockey player. I've graduated from high school. My team says players can "take courses" during the season but they don't really help us players who aren't in high school figure out what courses to take (or why). Last season I never ended up taking anything and me and the other players who weren't in high school would just help out with minor hockey teams and volunteer in local schools sometimes. I feel like I should try to take something or build my resume somehow this season. Any suggestions?
A: Thanks for your question! You've described what happens to a lot of junior hockey players who've graduated from high school and find themselves playing away from home, usually in a small town or city, with some but not a lot of "free time". Feel free to reach out for more specific information based on your location, but as a starting point, maybe consider exploring one of these options?
A: Thanks for your question! You've described what happens to a lot of junior hockey players who've graduated from high school and find themselves playing away from home, usually in a small town or city, with some but not a lot of "free time". Feel free to reach out for more specific information based on your location, but as a starting point, maybe consider exploring one of these options?
- Take an online university or college course in an area of interest
- Consider apprenticeship training in a trade
- Do a coaching certification course through the National Coaching Certification Program
- Look at getting some Google "Career Certificates," perhaps in digital marketing & e-commerce, data analytics or cybersecurity
- Get a CPR, basic life support, or emergency first aid certificate
Q: A former competitive athlete here. Just wanted to leave you a comment.
During my athletic career, I'd say I did all the right things (I was competitive, dedicated, had a strong work ethic, I was coachable, mentally strong, a good teammate, etc.). I achieved a measure of success because of that. If I'm being honest though, I never reached the highest levels of success I had dreamed of and nothing came easy. I wasn't considered a "top prospect", I was rarely "a lock" in any tryout I participated in, and my family didn't have the sports pedigree or connections to smooth the way for me. I worked hard for every opportunity I got, and worked even harder to stay on the top-level teams I made.
While I'm a successful professional now, I'll admit that it took me a while to get comfortable with my life after sport. At first, I wasn't sure who I was or what to do if I wasn't training, competing and being an athlete. I wasn't sure how to apply my athletic mindset in new environments. I could have used some input and guidance from an organization like Next Shift Network and its roster of people (especially former athletes and professionals or business people who could have mentored me). Anyway, keep encouraging elite athletes to set the stage for their future opportunities outside sports even while they are competing. To any elite athletes reading this, use the resources and relationships offered here! It'll help.
A: Thank you so much for this! It's always awesome to hear from former elite athletes and to learn about what their journey away from competitive sports looked like ... what worked, what didn't, and what would have helped them navigate the new challenges and opportunities they encountered. Hoping you get many opportunities to speak into the lives of elite athletes who are looking to move from success in sport to success in life.
During my athletic career, I'd say I did all the right things (I was competitive, dedicated, had a strong work ethic, I was coachable, mentally strong, a good teammate, etc.). I achieved a measure of success because of that. If I'm being honest though, I never reached the highest levels of success I had dreamed of and nothing came easy. I wasn't considered a "top prospect", I was rarely "a lock" in any tryout I participated in, and my family didn't have the sports pedigree or connections to smooth the way for me. I worked hard for every opportunity I got, and worked even harder to stay on the top-level teams I made.
While I'm a successful professional now, I'll admit that it took me a while to get comfortable with my life after sport. At first, I wasn't sure who I was or what to do if I wasn't training, competing and being an athlete. I wasn't sure how to apply my athletic mindset in new environments. I could have used some input and guidance from an organization like Next Shift Network and its roster of people (especially former athletes and professionals or business people who could have mentored me). Anyway, keep encouraging elite athletes to set the stage for their future opportunities outside sports even while they are competing. To any elite athletes reading this, use the resources and relationships offered here! It'll help.
A: Thank you so much for this! It's always awesome to hear from former elite athletes and to learn about what their journey away from competitive sports looked like ... what worked, what didn't, and what would have helped them navigate the new challenges and opportunities they encountered. Hoping you get many opportunities to speak into the lives of elite athletes who are looking to move from success in sport to success in life.
Q: Hey. I aged out of junior hockey after last season and didn't get any offers to play USports or NCAA or ACHA. I'm at school now at XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX but I'm finding it tough to be motivated, to make new friends (I'm older than a lot of other first years), and to be enthusiastic about my life right now.
A: Really applaud you for being honest here and so sorry that you're feeling a bit disconnected and unmotivated. As you move into life beyond sport, it is totally natural to feel the loss of connection and camaraderie with teammates, and to find it a bit bewildering when you no longer have a set team schedule, defined performance goals, and coaches to give feedback and demand accountability. We'll be in touch directly with the names of the people in our network you might want to talk to. For now though, just a few practical suggestions:
A: Really applaud you for being honest here and so sorry that you're feeling a bit disconnected and unmotivated. As you move into life beyond sport, it is totally natural to feel the loss of connection and camaraderie with teammates, and to find it a bit bewildering when you no longer have a set team schedule, defined performance goals, and coaches to give feedback and demand accountability. We'll be in touch directly with the names of the people in our network you might want to talk to. For now though, just a few practical suggestions:
- Create a schedule for yourself. As an athlete, you were required to be disciplined with your time so don't completely abandon that model. Schedule time to exercise, time to study, time to connect with mentors and friends, time to get involved in something new, time to relax.
- Explore new opportunities! What are you naturally good at? What have you always wanted to try? Do you think you might like to coach? Can you find a volunteer opportunity that allows you to give mack & get connected? Check out campus clubs and activities?
- Be forward looking & optimistic. Be proud of and content with your hockey accomplishments but don't spend too much time looking in the rear-view mirror. Sports helped make you who you are. It also gave you the attitudes & aptitudes that will fuel success that is new and different.
Q: Hey, I'm an athlete in my first year of university (not going to say where or what sport). I didn't know this before I got here, but apparently my team's former coach was a total tyrant and XX abusive methods have left many of my teammates with a lot of damage to their self-esteem, body image, confidence, mental/physical well-being. We've had a few discussions about this as a team but as a first-year player, I don't want to ask for more details and don't want to say things that make any of my teammates' issues resurface or get worse. I'm wondering if you guys could connect me with a sports psychologist or even with other athletes that went through something like this? I think i need to get some advice/tools for how to be sensitive and supportive, but also for how to focus on my own game and not be distracted by my teammates issues. It can be tricky and awkward.
A: This is tough stuff. Sorry you find yourself unexpectedly in the middle of it. Sincerely sorry too, that your teammates have been left to navigate the emotional carnage and physical damage caused by the coach who had been entrusted with their development and well-being. Absolutely - we can connect you with both a sport psychologist and with former athletes familiar with situations such as this. Email us at nextshiftnetwork@gmail.com or DM us and we'll make it happen.
A: This is tough stuff. Sorry you find yourself unexpectedly in the middle of it. Sincerely sorry too, that your teammates have been left to navigate the emotional carnage and physical damage caused by the coach who had been entrusted with their development and well-being. Absolutely - we can connect you with both a sport psychologist and with former athletes familiar with situations such as this. Email us at nextshiftnetwork@gmail.com or DM us and we'll make it happen.
Q: Not sure if you can give me any help or suggestions here but my team has had a totally brutal start to our season. We had a bunch of vets leave at the end of last year, we're now a pretty inexperienced group, and the constant losing is starting to get tough to handle. Everyone's pretty down. I'm one of the older guys now and want to find ways to encourage and get the best out of our group and maybe turn this around. If we can't its gonna be a long season.
A: Thanks for getting in touch! You're demonstrating a ton of leadership, maturity and commitment by looking for solutions in what sounds like a really tough situation. The short answer to your question is 'yes'! Many of our mentors who are former players have been in situations just like yours. They'd be happy to share some strategies, habits, game and practice ideas, and even team-building activities you might be able to use to get your group over this hurdle. Let us know the best way to contact you and we'll have a network member reach out asap.
In the meantime, stay committed to the process of improvement.. Pay attention to detail. Keep things simple. Lead by example as a veteran & encourage each player to find ways to contribute effectively with a specific dimension of their skill set. Most of all, seek to maintain a positive and forward-looking attitude as you practice and acknowledge the improvements (however small) your group makes game by game. You've got this!
A: Thanks for getting in touch! You're demonstrating a ton of leadership, maturity and commitment by looking for solutions in what sounds like a really tough situation. The short answer to your question is 'yes'! Many of our mentors who are former players have been in situations just like yours. They'd be happy to share some strategies, habits, game and practice ideas, and even team-building activities you might be able to use to get your group over this hurdle. Let us know the best way to contact you and we'll have a network member reach out asap.
In the meantime, stay committed to the process of improvement.. Pay attention to detail. Keep things simple. Lead by example as a veteran & encourage each player to find ways to contribute effectively with a specific dimension of their skill set. Most of all, seek to maintain a positive and forward-looking attitude as you practice and acknowledge the improvements (however small) your group makes game by game. You've got this!
Q: Hey. I'm thinking I might want to go into firefighting after I finish playing junior hockey. Wondering if you guys have any old players who are now firefighters I could talk to about the process and if they like it?
A: Hey there! Good to hear that you're thinking about your post-hockey options and looking for counsel from guys who've done what you're thinking about doing.👏🏻 We're all about creating Plan B while you're doing Plan A! Absolutely, we have network members who are former junior hockey players turned firefighters! They'd be happy to speak with you. Email or DM us and we will connect you.
A: Hey there! Good to hear that you're thinking about your post-hockey options and looking for counsel from guys who've done what you're thinking about doing.👏🏻 We're all about creating Plan B while you're doing Plan A! Absolutely, we have network members who are former junior hockey players turned firefighters! They'd be happy to speak with you. Email or DM us and we will connect you.