Out of uncertainty, players must seize new opportunities
WE hear pronouncements from Gary Neville’s pulpit almost as regularly as Nicola Sturgeon briefings these days. Scottish footballers would be advised, however, not to let his lecture from Thursday just blend into the lockdown blur.
Neville implored players to use their time out from the game to begin learning a new trade or start an online degree, such is the danger of them not having a job as a footballer next year.
Many on the enforced break right now will admit to enduring an uncomfortable adjustment to life temporarily without football. Now would be the time, then, to contemplate life after football.
That’s the message being promoted by East Fife defender Chris Higgins, PFA Scotland’s personal development officer, when contacted by players throughout the coronavirus crisis.
He reveals that the flood of phone calls and Zoom chat requests to his number share the common theme of tedium tormenting idle athletes.
Higgins explains: ‘Since lockdown began I must have had about 50 players phone me and say: “Chris, you need to help me — I am bored out of my nut here”.’
The former Dunfermline and Queen of the South centre-half can respond with an inspired suggestion to, in the short term, alleviate the boredom.
As for long term, this advice and guidance to nudge them in the direction of studying for a new career is a life-changer that has never been more valuable than now with so much uncertainty and fear stalking clubs.
‘A lot of them don’t have any idea what they want to do but that is fine,’ says Higgins. ‘It is the commitment to try and find something new that counts.’
In his union role, Higgins can steer members towards education, training, building employability skills and helping players find employment.
Routes include starting education via The Open University, personal training qualifications, gas apprenticeships (a bespoke course set up by Higgins for members), IT skills courses, police briefings to guide them through applying to Police Scotland as well as employability events for secondyear apprentices.
If the path was good enough for Manchester City’s imperious leader Vincent Kompany to pick up a Masters in Business Administration on his way to lifting Premier League trophies, there simply can be no higher recommendation.
For Higgins and his Scottish audience, he cites Brian Easton of Hamilton (right) as a glowing example to interested parties.
Easton is halfway through an Open University business management degree (Innovation and
Enterprise).
Out of action from
December 2017 and
May 2019 with a groin injury while at St Johnstone, Easton had plenty of time on his hands to consider plotting a profitable life in retirement.
The 32-year-old, who played two seasons in the English Championship for Burnley and has also represented Dundee, St Johnstone and Accies in the Scottish top flight, expects many of his colleagues to follow suit in the current climate.
Easton says: ‘A lot of players at my level already work on having a Plan B, if you like, but the situation we are all in with coronavirus could increase that.
‘There is obviously a huge amount of uncertainty. Businesses across all walks of life don’t know how badly they are going to be affected and football is not any different.
‘Clubs could go to the wall and players, as their employees, could find themselves out of a job.
‘Facing those kind of threats, it can be very comforting to think that you have other possibilities potentially open to you.
‘That was certainly the case for me a couple of years ago when I got a bad injury. It was good to think that, if need be, this was another road I could go down. So I would expect an awful lot of players will look to take advantage of these sort of opportunities in the near future.
‘We are doubly blessed in that we get to do something we love for a living and earning that living also gives us sufficient free time to learn other skills.’
The flexibility of the Open University course, explains Easton, is perfect for a footballer to tailor learning with the sporting schedule. ‘For my course, you have to complete half-a-dozen modules to pass and I have chosen to do one a year, so it will now take me another three.
‘I could do it quicker but this pace suits me. I’d been doing maybe around an hour a day plus three or four on my day off, so about ten hours a week.
‘It is all online. There are some special open days where students can meet up for lectures but they tend to be on a Saturday, which is no use for me.
‘I find the university work a good distraction from life as a footballer. You might be worried about an injury or lack of form at the start but it soon gets your mind thinking about other things.
‘It works the other way too. Studies have shown professional sportsmen and women who take on courses of study actually perform better at their day job because getting the variation helps them mentally. By the time I am done, I would like to think I will have the confidence and knowhow to be able to start a company up when my playing days are over.
‘Right now, I really don’t know what kind of business it will be. It could have some kind of connection to football — or it could be a world away from it.’
The Scottish PFA pays for half of the Open University course fees for the Accies skipper, who signed a new 18-month contract with the Lanarkshire club in January.
‘That is a huge help and there is a grant available when you finish playing to get you started on a new career,’ adds Easton.
‘It’s not just uni either; their personal development support can put players on the road to all sorts of careers.
‘When you are talking about a future not only for yourself but also your family, it obviously makes sense to get yourself sorted out as best you can.
‘My family are definitely behind me in my study. The club are, too. I’ve been at places where you would take a lot of stick in the dressing room for trying to better yourself this way.
‘Hamilton is different. Coaches, players and staff are all supportive and encouraging.
‘I guess it helps that Blair Alston is doing it as well. The main thing, though, is that Accies don’t have any Billy Bigtimes.
‘Guys have to work hard to earn their living on the pitch and recognise they are probably going to have to work hard off it when they are done playing.’
Higgins can delve into his personal experiences to encourage, having graduated through Napier University’s School of Applied Sciences with a BSc Developing Athletes Through Professional Practice.
‘I’m still playing football and learning as I go along now, I take Spanish lessons which are really popular with a lot with players,’ says Higgins.
‘But, listen, there are a whole load of different paths available. The overall message is get yourself involved now, do the study or training whenever you are able and build yourself something for the future because the majority are going to need to find a way to earn a living upon retirement. Plus it can be really enjoyable.
‘Vincent Kompany did a degree. Not because he needed to, but because he thought it would be a valuable use of his time.
‘It might not be for everyone, but we’d urge all players to at least consider giving it a try. That is the key first step.’
With the kind of threats we face right now, it’s comforting to think you have other possibilities open to you ‘VINCENT KOMPANY DID A DEGREE. NOT BECAUSE HE NEEDED TO BUT BECAUSE HE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A VALUABLE USE OF HIS TIME’