Student-athletes learn many skills during their time in college. The amount of time required per week during their careers teach them discipline and lead to incredible achievements. Student-athletes are provided a solid foundation from which to build and get ready for life after sports.
How 15 to 20 hours a week can change a professional athlete’s life, if you’re Nkem Ezurike (former women’s soccer standout at Michigan).
– First team All American
– Academic All American
– Program’s All Time Leading Scorer
– Professional Athlete
– Pan American Athlete
– Part Time employee with Game Theory Group
Nkem Ezurike, one of Canada’s finest women’s soccer players, is laying out the model for sustainable success in her sport and beyond. She has translated her success on the field into becoming one of GTG’s most valued employees – all while continuing to pursue her dream of playing professional soccer. Recently, she was selected to be a member of Canada’s Pan American Games team.
Lately our team has heard from a number of professional athletes – men’s basketball overseas, lacrosse, soccer – and as their careers begin to wind down, they begin to fear the unknown. What is next for me?
As a professional athlete, their identity as an individual is completely tied to their being an athlete. This transition away from their athletic being is a significant transition and one GTG is helping individuals take head on. This transition is so significant, we won’t cover it here but will soon to follow. It’s hard for them to imagine being defined by something other than their sport or athleticism.
What we hear from the professional athlete is
no real professional experience
no clue what they want to do
insecurity about their skills in the workforce
where will they fit?
Nkem’s approach breaks the mold – her rookie season for the Boston Breakers, she began working with GTG in our athletic department operations team. She works remote on items that can be covered during flexible hours. She gets to talk with colleagues and professionals about her interests and job opportunities. While doing something she enjoys, she is also proactively networking and setting herself up for success down the road.
She understands the most critical aspect to career development – your career is a process, not an event. She’s taking the same mindset she did toward developing her athletic skills, and it’s working.
There is little evidence that the very best formatted resume ever landed the individual a job.
There is little evidence that the most amazing job fair sealed the deal for landing a dream career.
There is, however, evidence that being a successful student-athlete translates into being successful in other parts of life.
At GTG, we want to prove to student-athletes that pursuing their athletic dream and setting themselves up for success beyond sports do not have to be mutually exclusive. Nkem is proving, along with thousands of other successful athletes, that you can do both at the same time.
We’re here to help athletes in that transition and also to congratulate Nkem on all of her success on and off the pitch.
