By Sean Millington,
CFL.ca
With training camp fast approaching, the prospect of another CFL season is now imminent for established players and hopefuls alike. The battle for a job can be so intense that to think of anything else is all but impossible. Things like what to do if one doesn’t get this job? What to do when this job ends as it does for all players?
For many athletes retirement creeps up on them unawares and catches them napping. Most are unprepared and the massive transition required can seem quite daunting. I know from personal experience how challenging preparing for life after football can be.
The realities of CFL salaries means that many players work in the off-season but just as many, if not more, are completely committed to their football careers and don’t have an alternative to fall back on. Without work experience it’s hard to find a job and for most athletes who have played the game since they were young, football has been the only career job they have ever had. This lack of work experience makes it all the more difficult to decide on a career path.
Retired athletes often find themselves doing in their thirties the things that everyone else did in their early twenties; things like deciding on a career, establishing networks and working their way up a corporate ladder. These things are much more difficult to do later in life, especially as older players often have the responsibility of a family and mortgage to take care of.
Despite all the obstacles it is possible to make the transition from athlete to another career path smoothly as demonstrated by players like Wade Miller (retired Blue Bombers fullback), Julian Radlein, Lyle Green or even myself, interestingly enough all fullbacks. Wade showed an aptitude for business even during his time with the Blue Bombers and used his position on the field to help set himself up for when he was no longer there. He was recently included in the Caldwell Partners’ Top 40 Under 40 group as an individual who has achieved a significant level of success before the age of 40.
Julian has put his money where his mouth is by turning his passion for the environment into a business opportunity as one of the partners in a biomass fuels company. He is also active in the community, recently taking part in an initiative with the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation to raise awareness of the positive role local foods and the greenbelt play in combating climate change. Lyle is also helping to establish his network for post-football employment by volunteering with SOS Children’s Village BC as their official ambassador.
Alternatively, you can just be lucky; as I was, in landing a great job right after I retired. The year I left football CBC started a new show called the CFL on CBC and I was fortunate enough to win a position with the company, however, I wouldn’t recommend depending on the stars aligning providing one with post-career employment.
Ultimately each player needs to give their all to football for as long as they are fortunate enough to be able to do so, but at the same time managing to carve another path that can lead them to an alternate career once their playing time is done.
Sean Millington played 13 years in the CFL with the Edmonton Eskimos, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, B.C. Lions and Toronto Argonauts and has been a panellist on the CFL on CBC since 2003.
(The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily of the Canadian Football League)
