University Soccer in the UK. Preparation for life after Sport! Part 2
In part 1 of “Preparation for Life after Sport” I highlighted some of the attributes that you will exhibit as a Soccer and Study athlete, attributes that will stay with you for the rest of your life.
In part 1 we discussed achieving goals, winning mentality and accountability, and in part 2 we will look at other key attributes you will have shown as a student athlete.
For sure problem solving will be right up there – anyone who has travelled round the world to study and play soccer in a completely new environment will be accustomed to working there way through a myriad of challenges.
Our student athletes tend to be endowed with a high level of initiative so when a problem does arise, they instinctively look for solutions to the problem – another valuable personal quality.
Part and parcel of the student athlete experience is the ability to
develop co-operative relationships with a variety of people from different cultures and different backgrounds. Many of our student athletes comment that developing such relationships is one of the most positive outcomes of their time as a student athlete.
And finally, a common quality in our student athletes is the ability to communicate with people, at whatever level, with confidence and authority. They will be first and foremost good listeners, with the ability and confidence to persuade people to their point of view.
Over the 40 years I have spent in various Senior Management roles in Blue Chip companies, it is difficult to underestimate just how powerful an international student degree is viewed by a potential employer.
It is important to understand that, if you take yourself seriously as a female student athlete, you may have the potential to be successful on the field of play and play at the highest level.
It’s even more important to understand that, if you take yourself seriously as a female student athlete, you will definitely be successful off the field of play.
The reason is simple – in your time as a student athlete you will have exhibited many, if not all, the key qualities, or “what count factors”, that a potential employer is looking for. These have been detailed in the last 2 blogs.
A placement with Soccer and Study will provide an environment to develop these attributes.
“If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build, end up building us” - Anon
GED MALONEY – DIRECTOR AND HEAD OF RECRUITMENT
