A sporting chance of a career

There is a breed of men and women out there so passionate about what they do that they get up early in the morning just so they can get better every day.

They make financial sacrifices so they can train. We're talking about athletes - professional or semi-professional sportspeople. Sponsorship deals carry those with a top ranking a long way while they are active. The All Blacks don't do too badly these days with salaries and sponsorship deals but for those in less commercial sports like squash or pole vaulting, they have to accommodate training with a full time job. Even though netball is a huge sport in New Zealand, most gold-medal winning Silver Ferns hold down full time jobs as well as train.

In the early days, athletes are often so focused on excelling that they concentrate on their sport without any thought of a career. They rely on their families and work in whatever job keeps their finances steady. If their career ends unexpectedly, they can emerge with very few qualifications or without a life plan.

Steven Ferguson, at 25, is a bright young hopeful for New Zealand, who left school at 16 to become a full time sportsman. He has competed in two Olympic sports, swimming and kayaking. He has always been too busy with sport to qualify for any profession.

His father, Ian Ferguson, owns Ferg's Kayaks and Steven is keen to set up his own business. He has just put a deposit on his first house in Tauranga, thanks to sponsorship from companies like Orca, Vodafone, Sparc and Ferg's Kayaks. He dismisses the idea of going to university after his career ends - he thinks in his mid-30s. He'll be too old then, he says.

He trains 28 hours a week, thanks to sponsorship, and works in his father's shop part-time. His future job "will have some kind of link to sport whether it is coaching, some sort of team management, marketing.

"As an athlete, I have taught myself to have a lot of determination, dedication and commitment. You put your whole life into one thing.

"You quite often see a lot of athletes as good business people. Look at Marc Ellis and Adam Parore. They know how to be aggressive businessmen as well as athletes."

He jokes: "I won't need any qualifications if I've gone to five Olympics and won three gold medals."

A lot of sportspeople hope their achievements will be their entree to a new world when they retire.

Meanwhile, sports organisations are working harder to prepare their athletes for post-sport careers. Stuart + Carlyon financial adviser Deborah Carlyon has been called in to a number of organisations, including Netball New Zealand, to talk about the personal finances of sportspeople.

"They are interested in financial education and more athletes are asking for financial advice," she says.

There is still a ways to go. NZ Olympic Committee Secretary General Barry Maister had a recent conversation with Georgina and Caroline Evers-Swindell.

"I asked what their plans were after they stopped rowing and they were very unsure about their future. They didn't have a clear pathway ahead, which surprised me," he says.

Sarah Ulmer, on the other hand, seems to be handling things with more expertise. "Sarah Ulmer has done superbly. She has taken her career and made it into a business. She has had fantastic advice and I hope it works," says Maister.

Many countries reward their medal winners with hefty salaries, sometimes for the rest of their lives.

In New Zealand, that does not happen, but the Government has recognised the need to support athletes during and after their sporting days and is trying to encourage them to think earlier about their future.

There is backing for those who make the effort. Two schemes were launched this year, with the first, Avenues, announced in February by Sport and Recreation Minister Trevor Mallard. Run with Sparc (Sports and Recreation New Zealand), it helps match top athletes with employers. Silver Fern player Jodi Te Huna started last week as a consultant in the injury prevention unit. ACC chief executive Jan White said: "It's a win-win situation. We get the benefit of Jodi's skills and profile, and ACC is happy to offer Jodi flexible work hours to accommodate her rigorous training and competition needs," she says.

"For us, it's really good to get a netball icon like Jodi out and about promoting safety. She is credible and knowledgeable," says an ACC spokesman.

Te Huna, who was doing teacher training before starting the job, talks of the dilemma of full time work with companies that don't understand.

"It is so hard as an athlete to plan employment when you're always asking, 'can I have this time off here for the Commonwealth Games, and then I've got a three-day camp...' The Avenues programme was tailored to meet my needs,"says Te Huna.

A number of Silver Ferns are becoming involved in another programme targeting Olympians, an initiative which has been run in other parts of the world. The Athlete's Career Programme is a partnership between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Adecco Group, the global human resources company.

Adecco wants to develop a career transition programme with Olympic sports in the best interest of athletes.

Former New Zealand soccer captain and striker Earle Thomas has been appointed ACP project manager. "The skills you have which get you to the top level of athleticism are the same as those you will need in the work place, things like team leading," he says. Steven Ferguson is being encouraged to join the programme.

Silver Fern goal attack, Maria Tutaia, 19, has received personal and professional career assessments from ACP. Thomas is trying to line her up with placement opportunities in her field of interest - fashion, sales and marketing.

"I love Trelise Cooper. She is one of my all-time favourites." She is too shy to approach Cooper for an internship. She expects to find work with a retail clothing chain.

"You give them [ACP] your training schedule and they find companies who can work around it. It is not like I'm going to be working nine to five, five days a week."

She did the first year of a fashion and design course last year but had to leave it because of the Commonwealth Games. "It is very hard keeping the two balanced," she says.