Have you Ever Wondered What Happens to Sports Players After their Careers Finish?
What Happens to Sports Players After their Careers Finish?"Most people believe vulnerability is weakness. But really, vulnerability is courage. We must ask ourselves... are we willing to show up and be seen?" Brene Brown Sport plays such an important role in society and yet, once a player’s career has come to an end, relatively few move into media and it is a time/need for them to reinvent themselves and find new roads to forward their careers. It must be very strange to be used to playing in front of crowds for many years, hearing the chants and enjoying the atmosphere and then suddenly it is gone.How many of us have considered this group as being a valuable source of employment? Many have great skills, determination, ambition and a good work ethic. However there is also a deeper point. For many players, they do struggle to adapt after their careers and feel lost. EP has been fortunate to be exposed to some of this talent pool as we have a number that have created entrepreneurial concepts that they are seeking support for – and it is this that has opened our eyes and thinking to this group. We are working with four former Rugby players, a former footballer, a former Swimming International, two surfers and so on. 
There are a number of points to be considered:
- Fitness and sport is on the rise.There is a convergence of sport and hospitality – so the logical question to ask is whether there is available talent that can really help companies develop new ideas, new techniques to improve the guest experience?
- What is the future of sport and hospitality? One idea that EP is considering is creating a Think Tank body of former players to explore future ideas that could be used in Hospitality – would this be of value?
- Is this a talent pool that can be of value in the future?
- Many former players do struggle with the loss of their careers and struggle to adapt. Can Hospitality play a role in supporting this group?