{"id":61948,"date":"2015-09-24T19:26:41","date_gmt":"2015-09-24T11:26:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=61948"},"modified":"2016-05-31T09:57:45","modified_gmt":"2016-05-31T13:57:45","slug":"game-plan-designed-to-help-canadas-athletes-thrive-in-and-after-sport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2015\/09\/24\/game-plan-designed-to-help-canadas-athletes-thrive-in-and-after-sport\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Plan designed to help Canada\u2019s athletes thrive in and after sport"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"(Photo<\/a>
(Photo from the Canadian Olympic Committee’s official Facebook page<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How much responsibility should a sports organization bear for athletes about to retire or who have retired? A lot, says Hayley Wickenheiser.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a massive responsibility,\u201d the Canadian women\u2019s hockey star said.<\/p>\n

The caretaking of athletes is a subject close to Wickenheiser\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n

She wrote a passionate essay earlier this year about her friend Steve Montador. One of the issues the former NHL player struggled with before his death at age 35, wrote Wickenheiser, was the end of his hockey career and livelihood.<\/p>\n

The cause of Montador\u2019s death has not been released but researchers said after examining his brain that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.<\/p>\n

Wickenheiser wrote the hockey community as a whole needed to do more for athletes at risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, where this really hits home is with Steve Montador \u2013 the transition skills, thinking about a life after the game while you’re in the game,\u201d the six-time Olympian said. \u201cWhat I saw in Steve and some other athletes I\u2019ve known through the years is they don\u2019t think about that until it\u2019s over and then there\u2019s this real gap and the floundering that exists there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is really hard to see athletes retire and kind of flounder and not know where they\u2019re going to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wickenheiser sees similar struggles in her community of Olympic athletes. Swimmers, lugers, speedskaters, paddlers and cross-country skiers also wrestle with the major life change of retirement. Most don\u2019t have the financial cushion of pro athletes.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s difficult to leave the sport community in which you\u2019ve spent half your life to enter a world for which you feel ill-prepared.<\/p>\n

The Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee and the country\u2019s network of sport centres and institutes are launching a new program Thursday that \u201cwe believe from inception will be the world’s first high-performance wellness and transition program,\u201d COC chief executive officer Chris Overholt said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGame Plan\u201d covers five areas: career management, networking, education, skill development and health.<\/p>\n

The program includes life skills services already offered by Canadian sport centres and institutes across the country, but is broader in scope and designed to be accessible to athletes no matter where they are geographically.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to tackle a lot of areas: employment, life after sport, the mental side,\u201d Wickenheiser said. \u201cIt allows you to reach out to people who may be able to help you along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Game Plan is probably on the leading edge of what\u2019s out there right now currently for any transition program for athletes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The COC and CPC worked with the professional service firm Deloitte to develop Game Plan. That partnership has been extended until 2032.<\/p>\n

National team athletes and athletes up to two years after their retirement date are eligible for the program.<\/p>\n

Game Plan\u2019s genesis was Overholt\u2019s meeting with a group of Olympians in Calgary a few months after the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI heard some stories from the athletes involved that were a bit mind-blowing for me \u2013 the issues they faced in transition out of sport and some of the challenges that came with that, whether it be professional transition or some of the mental-health challenges that came alongside that transition,\u201d Overholt said.<\/p>\n

Decorated swimmer Benoit Huot faces the end of his career with some trepidation. His fifth Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro next year will be his last.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would lie if I would say the transition between being an athlete and the after-athlete life wouldn\u2019t be a concern for me,\u201d the 31-year-old from Montreal said. \u201cIt\u2019s a stress because I\u2019ve been an athlete for the last 20 years or so. It\u2019s the place I\u2019ve felt the most confident.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still in a certain uncomfortable zone knowing that I don\u2019t exactly know what I will be doing or what will be my next role or objective after sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s in it for the COC and the CPC, in taking on responsibility for athletes preparing to walk out from under their umbrellas?<\/p>\n

Overholt cites a study by former Olympic rower Dr. Kirsten Barnes, in which athletes said worrying about their lives post-sport compromised their performance while they were actually competing. Taking away that concern could help them win medals.<\/p>\n

Also, sport is a profession where athletes remain the faces of their teams long after retirement. Helping them be happy retirees is a good business practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re never going to be able to say that we can look after every one of our athletes in and through their retirements,\u201d Overholt said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re asking me do I feel we have a moral duty of care? Do I feel like we have a responsibility to help them, to be the best they can be on and off the field of play while they\u2019re competing and in helping them with those things, that we can set them up for an easier transition and for success in life after sport? Absolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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