Switch The Play 2016

A social enterprise that is committed to helping people fulďŹ l their potential through and beyond sport

About us It’s a harsh reality that most talented young athletes never achieve their dream of sustaining a career as an elite professional and even those that do will often fail to acknowledge that things don’t last forever. Everyone will need a second career, it is a question of when and how positive that transition will be.

Coping with rejection or forced retirement and making an effective transition is especially tough, especially if athletes haven’t had help to develop in a balanced way or been given the skills to pursue alternative career paths.

OUR VALUES AND OUR APPROACH Our approach is founded in our core values of integrity, authenticity and being people-centred. We put the needs of individuals at the heart of our thinking and everything we do is driven by excellence.

That’s where we come in.

• We listen and we ask the right questions. By creating trusting relationships based on open and honest communication, we get to know how our clients work and what their needs are.

We aspire to work with the industry and support all those landscape partners with a shared interest in talent, sport in education, athletic performance, individual welfare and transition.

• We recognise that our clients needs will differ. That’s why we work closely with every client to design tailor made approaches that utilise the best mix of our services and harness the right expertise from across our extensive network.

Switch The Play is a social enterprise with the mission to support people through transition to fulfil their potential through and beyond sport.

• We deliver outstanding results that make a positive difference. We set Switch The Play up to make a positive difference to people’s lives so they can fulfill their potential. Everything we do is driven by that passion to make a difference and provide life-shaping outcomes.

££

Why this is important?

To set some context in terms of why we believe that more can be done to support the industry, here are just a few of the figures we have seen.

PRO

££

THE REALITIES OF TRANSITION:

THE FORGOTTEN MAJORITY IN SPORT:

PRO

9966%%

s s club club by by ed ed s sign s sign olarolar ll sch ll sch tbatba of foo of foo ageage thethe in from in from agaaga play play notnot willwill at 16 at 16 propro earn earn do do who who se se of tho – of – tho of 18 of 18 be be still still will will 2% 2% only only ts ts tractrac concon t 21t 21 s pas s pas propro

5555%%

d d asease relerele & 18 & 18 n 15 n 15 wee wee betbet llers llers tbatba of foo of foo h as h as s suc s suc blem blem d pro d pro ferefere s suf s suf club club by by of of & loss & loss ietyiety anxanx ion,ion, ress ress depdep & & holhol to alco to alco ed ed or turn or turn ncence fidefide concon nthnth 1 mo in 1inmo with with useuse ce ce stan stan subsub d d asease g rele g rele of bein of bein

££

PRO

9988%%

, , entent remrem of reti rs of rs reti 2 yea 2 yea hinhin WitWit

PRO

s s letelete athath lege lege of Col of Col propro ’t go ’t go dondon USUS in the in the

9900%%

d tod to s nee s nee letelete athath of pro of pro from from entent remrem r reti r reti k afte k afte worwor in in st are st are momo rt, and rt, and spospo l” jobs l” jobs rmarma “no“no

PRO

7788%%

££

PRO

by by er Rug er Rug of form of form y half y half OnlOnl are are ers ers play play on on UniUni ir ir thethe d with d with sfiesfie satisati er er care care ondond secsec

s s letelete athath er pro er pro of form d ofd form A thir A thir ir ir the the of of trol trol con con in in feel feel not not diddid £yeayea hing hing r finis r finis rs afte rs afte s two livelive £s two

PRO

in33 11in ££

e e havhav ersers play play er NFL er NFL of form of form er er undund or are t ort are krup krup e ban e ban gongon ss ss l stre l stre ncia ncia finafina

6600%%

PRO

ersers play play er NBA er NBA of form of form rs rs 5 yea in 5inyea with with ke ke brobro areare entent remrem of reti of reti

areare llers llers tbatba er foo er foo form form t t firsfirs in the in the with with rced rced divo divo from from entent remrem of reti s ofs reti nthnth momo 12 12 e e l gam l gam iona iona fess fess propro thethe

6611%%

on on UniUni by by er Rug er Rug of form of form ry ry injuinju e an e an havhav ersers play play on on ed ed actact impimp t has t has thatha er er a care a care hadhad 36% 36% ir life; ir life; thethe ry ry injuinju inging endend

Sources: Professional Players Federation, RPA, XPRO, Teeside University, Sports Illustrated, Al Jazeera

Understanding transition in sport Our approach to transition follows the Change Curve which is a powerful model used to understand the stages of personal transition. It helps to predict how people will react to change, so that we can help them make their own personal transitions, and make sure that they have the help and support they need.

We use this model to focus on 1. Prevention strategies embedding long-term culture change to give athletes the tools to prepare for effective transition, 2. Cure strategies – interventions to support people who are in the process of transition.

INTEGRATION

The following presents a scenario for a retiring athlete.

Finally find something I can excel at – this will work and will be good.

DECISION DENIAL

ANXIETY Being told my contract was not being renewed or a career ending injury.

Thinking I can still prove the coaches wrong, or requesting a second, third and fourth opinion from a specialist

FRUSTRATION

EXPERIMENT

Regret for the things I hadn’t accomplished, who could I blame?

Start to accept things are different and I need to move on.

Throw lots of mud to see what sticks.

DEPRESSION A big void from the daily routine, struggling to identify what to do next, pressure on the home life

"VALLEY OF DESPAIR"

Choose a path and realise how hard it is to work a full day and for far less money. Building competence but hard to adjust.

‘I would encourage any player to do some additional learning. It allowed me to switch off from football and took the pressure off as I knew I had something to fall back on. I felt I was pretty well prepared and I struggled so I dread to think how hard some of my former teammates have found it.’

Ben Smith, former professional footballer, Coach at Brighton and Hove Albion, Author of ‘Journeyman'

‘I always thought about my future. I knew that playing netball was unlikely to support me financially so my studies were as important as my sport.’

Olivia Murphy, former England Netballer

‘It’s the best job in the world, but it’s inevitable: at some point your career is going to end and you may not be in control of that, so find out what you want to do and what you don’t want to do whilst you’re playing.'

Leon Lloyd, former England International Rugby Player and Director of Switch The Play

‘Rejection is part of sport but how you manage it can make a huge difference. These are people and not numbers. Many focus on what people can’t do whereas focusing on what they can do and excelling in these areas can be the difference.’

Paul Tassell, Hartpury College

Our Services Creating positive life shaping outcomes to support the forgotten majority in sport through transition to fulfil their potential in and beyond sport

INDIVIDUAL MONITORING & EVALUATION

Those affected by transition; those directly working with/ supporting those in transition

ORGANISATION IMPLEMENTATION

Those with a duty of care responsibility within an overall system or framework

Professional Associations / Unions HE/FE Sporting Charities, Professional Clubs, Individual Athletes

AUDIT

Professional Associations / Unions HE/FE Sporting Charities, Professional Clubs, Sports Management Agencies, Service providers, CSPs

RESEARCH

KNOWLEDGE & INSIGHT HUB The credible authority on transition in sport Research, Events, Athlete / Practitioner / Academic Think Tanks, Storytelling

SYSTEM / POLICY DESIGN SOLUTIONS

Defining duty of care in the context of a sport, talent pathway, sector, overarching programme

Govt., NDPBs, NGBs, Leagues, HE / FE Umbrella bodies

STANDARD SETTING

Our Services Audit A bespoke audit and assurance model based on recognised frameworks from the business world to help analyse approaches to transition, welfare and duty of care at a system or organisational level.

Research Through our network of academics, researchers and practitioners we deliver primary research on a range of transition related topics – the focus is always on either informing policy change or supporting practitioners in the delivery of transition support services. Our research can be a standalone piece of work but is often embedded as part of a wider brief.

Standard Setting We help by establishing overarching standards or benchmarking frameworks where they aren’t in place – or by reviewing them where there is a need for a refresh.

Designing Solutions Through our network of experts we can help design new solutions to support the transition journey. This could include workforce training and continuing professional development (CPD) programmes, education offers, specific transition support services or informing approaches of specific service providers.

Some examples Developing the psychological self These six core educational sessions cover the six major areas of psychological development, tailored to the player, coach, and/or a leadership focus. The focus is on teaching individuals the skills required to thrive in any context, under any pressure, in the face of any challenge, and through any change. The topic areas are: 1. Brain Basics; 2. Explore Your Core; 3. Your Inner Armour 4. Strengthen Your Shield; 5. The Art of Communication; 6. A Mindset for Life and Performance.

Tailored coaching packages Our network of specialist coaches can be matched to the needs of individual athletes to provide a tailored coaching solution to support their transition, whether that be from a former athlete, performance lifestyle practitioner, or leading business people.

Implementation With a network of practitioners who have worked on a range of frontline services across sport we can bring together the thought leaders who get results. Turning great ideas into great delivery doesn’t always happen – our focus is on getting this right. Our support could be in the implementation planning phase right through to operational delivery of a service or programme.

Monitoring & Evaluation Evaluating systems, organisational approaches, and programmes to improve performance and achieve results.

The Board

James Ellis

Leon Lloyd

Steve Mitchell

Rob Young MBE

Chris Brindley

Passionate about developing the person first, in the context of being an athlete or coach

Former England International Rugby Player, Entrepreneur and Author of ‘Life After Sport’

Skills, apprenticeships, careers, talent, athlete welfare and working in open networks

Sports Management Consultant’

Respected and successful leader in business and sport

Associates

Dr Jenn Bennett Chartered Psychologist

Simon Wood Sports Management Consultant

Michael Skubala Futsal Coach and Performance Sport Manager International Futsal Academy

Jennie Bimson Former International hockey player, Ambassador consultant - Gold Ambassadors

www.switchtheplay.com

James Grindal Former Professional Rugby Player, Financial Planning – St James's Place Wealth Management

Katie Halliday Sports Marketing Consultant - Halliday Consulting

Cecilia PereiraYates International Education Specialist and Trainer - GB8 Education and Training

Dr Natalie Campbell Senior Lecturer and Performance Lifestyle Advisory St Mary’s University

Lucy SheppardMarks Lecturer Bournemouth University

Alun Davies Personal Development in Sport Practitioner

Bryan Steel Olympic Cyclist medallist, Performance Coach and Speaker

@Switch_the_Play

Dr Ali Smith Teaching Fellow and Lifestyle Support Practitioner University of Bath