A reader wrote in asking what sort of transferable skills a professional sports person would be likely to have, and how they could go about finding a new career once their sporting days were over.

It’s an interesting question because I am not exactly sure there is a clear answer, aside from the stock standard “it depends”.

When we think of transferable skills we are referring to certain skills that can be taken from one job, or career, and used again in an entirely different work situation.

However I could not imagine too many baseball pitchers, or football strikers, being able to make use of their specialist sporting talents in an office situation, for instance.

Despite their ability to “achieve targets” or “reach goals”!

Depending on the type of sport, team or individual, and whether any sort of leadership role (team captain for example) was part of a person’s sporting career, transferable skills could include abilities such as player management, team planning, strategy, organisation, communication, public relations, and, of course, teamwork.

And it is these sorts of skills that result in some former sports people being appointed (or possibly headhunted) to senior management roles in the corporate world after their sporting careers have concluded.

Rather than looking outwards though, many sports people approaching retirement may be able to find a role that allows them to remain closely associated with the sport they have probably devoted a large part of their lives to.

And let’s face it, the majority of professional sports people are already doing something they love, so it makes sense for them to stay in the same arena, as it were, and utilise their knowledge and experience in other ways.

There are the obvious opportunities to take up coaching and mentoring roles, or become involved in the management, or administrative, side of the game or code.

Depending on the level of profile an individual has built up during their career, there may be media career opportunities, and this sees a number of former sports people become radio or TV commentators.

Some retired sports people have become involved in a number of other media related activities, ranging from being newspaper sports writers, to doing product endorsements.

Others have been able to benefit from the profile they gained during their sporting careers to establish businesses after their retirement.

Tracey Wickham, a former swimmer with the Australian Olympic team, is now a circuit speaker and also founded a public relations company after her swimming career ended.

There are also a number of other prominent Australian sports people, who have established ventures unrelated to their sporting activities, whilst still in the midst of their playing careers.

George Gregan, who is the current captain of the Australian rugby team, the Wallabies, has a chain of coffee shops in Sydney, while Brett Lee, a bowler with the Australian cricket team as established a men’s fashion label.

So rather than just thinking about transferable skills, sports people approaching retirement should also consider how to transfer their knowledge and experience into another aspect of the sport, and also look at how their sporting profile, or persona, may likewise be of benefit after retirement.