A career change for any footballer is inevitable. The time will come when you are unable to earn a living playing the game you love. For the younger professional or the scholar failing to earn their first contract, transition is often sudden and involuntary. Deselection at this stage of the footballing journey often leaves only one option, a change in occupation.
So when you find a success story such as George Branford, a now thriving business owner and fitness expert, we are duty bound to share it, celebrate it, and learn from it. George opens with;
“Imagine if you only apply half the effort and discipline it takes to make it in football, and to get as far as you did in the most competitive industry, and put that into a career or business. You’ll not only stand out from the rest, but you will succeed”.
George’s background story is unfortunately not unusual in football. A promising midfield player whose undoubted talent rewarded with a decade on the books of first Chelsea, and latterly, Portsmouth Football Club. Nathaniel Chalobah, Adam Webster and John Swift a few household names to grace the pitch with George during their formative years. The future looked bright as he juggled adolescence with secondary education and focused training sessions, all in pursuit of the dream. Finally, that day came as Portsmouth FC presented George his first professional contract.
But almost as soon as it came, it went. At the end of the season George was informed that his contract would not be renewed. He now faces the unknown. Ten years he’d identified as a footballer, so what now? It may be that you are a young player reading this, or chances are you may know someone in this place right now. So please read on. George is determined to show YOU that there is a new passion ready to replace your love of football. YOU can thrive in a new career and YOU can harness those experiences gained from your football education to assist in this major transition.
“My advice for young players going through a career change would be that there is so much more to life than football. Outside the bubble of football you can achieve things you never knew, you can create your own pathway and you no longer need to rely on others opinions to decide on how successful you will be”.
This mindset might seem a long way off for some. When the news of your release arrives there will be TRAUMA. We know the extent of the trauma is often linked to both the ‘timing’, and the lack of ‘control’ in the decision process. Someone has decided your time is up. The more sudden the news, the heavier the potential effect on your mental health and wellbeing. Stress can elevate, confidence drain, and thoughts of failure often manifest. There is no one blue print however, reactions and experiences are individual, so too a persons coping mechanism.
George recalls;
“I actually felt relieved in some respects, I had felt like I wasn’t progressing at all over the last year and knew that I was never going to get an opportunity to play first team football. So I was excited to try a new challenge else where, as it worked out I never managed to find a new club”.
Straight away you realise George is very self aware. Most probably down to a mixture of his education and the voices of his Portsmouth coaching staff at the time. The idea of a new challenge in football can also present an exciting opportunity. But the realism here is the football industry is tough, unforgiving and ruthless. Chances are limited. What is needed here, is that YOU be proactive. Don’t expect others to search for clubs on your behalf. The best people to help are those that have spent the last few years educating you. It’s your coaches that have the network to open an often closed door.
YOU will need support, and for George that came through friends and family stating;
“I had little or no support from the club really”. Adding, “I feel clubs could touch base more after being released, but I also recognise now that there was nothing stopping me from calling. So please, pick up the phone and call your coach. Reach out to your sport scientist, psychologist or whoever for advice or a chat”. Great advice!
Thankfully Clubs have revised and improved their after care provisions for players in recent times, often having dedicated personnel responsible for just this. But George is bang on, be proactive, make the call! Trust me the staff will be happy to hear from you. It’s just the nature of the beast that sometimes we forget those that are not in front of us. A gentle reminder and reconnect is often all it takes for support to arrive in abundance.
What is important to understand is that through YOUR journey as an apprentice footballer, YOU have experienced and mastered many ‘life skills’. Defined as ranges of transferable skills needed for everyday life, by everybody, that help people thrive. Sometimes not clearly apparent. But let’s look at the typical player development pathway.
YOU would have successfully transitioned from foundation phase to elite youth development phase, along the way hitting physical and technical targets. No doubt experienced deselection, spent time on the bench, played up or down a year, suffered and overcome an injury, said hello and farewell to many team mates, and come first or last in countless bleep tests. Think about how many dedicated hours you spent in the video analysis suite critically analysing your performance against the club’s philosophy and your positional role and responsibility within the team structure. Now throw in the countless video clips viewed on upcoming opponents as you unpick their strengths and weaknesses before game day.
Let’s rephrase the above paragraph in ‘Life Skills’ language. YOU have mastered a range of interpersonal skills including social skills, respect, leadership, communication. YOU have developed personal skills including organization, discipline, self-reliance, goal setting, managing performance outcomes, and motivation. All social skills identified as the most important life skills, YOU are ready for YOUR next challenge.
George offered this insight in to what is the start point.
“Training was always something I was passionate about throughout my career and doing everything I can in the gym to get better was a priority… once I left playing football professionally, it only felt right to give a role in a gym environment a try. In football you’re educated every day on how to improve your heath and fitness levels, so for me I wanted to take advantage of that, and I absolutely love it”.
George merged his passion for training with the idea of helping and educating others in maximizing their health goals. Noteworthy, is George lent on his education through being, and training, as a footballer to further his chances of becoming a fitness expert. Ask yourself now, what else are you interested in? What parts of your football education can you take with you to a new career? And what do you need to do to start that process?
YOU will see that you’ve acquired some serious transferable skills that employers and entrepreneurs alike desire. YOU have a winning advantage.
Let’s finish where we started and leave the final words to George;
“Imagine if you only apply half the effort and discipline it takes to make it in football, and to get as far as you did in the most competitive industry, and put that into a career or business. You’ll not only stand out from the rest, but you will succeed”.
Finally, my thanks to George for the catch up. Check out just how great he is doing by visiting https://georgebranford.co.uk or give him a follow on Instagram @georgebranford
Written by Louis Langdown for The Football Family. Please contact info@thefootballfamily.co.uk if you have a story to tell.