Players share their experiences in Career Transition Month seminars

Rugby League Cares is running a series of seminars throughout May designed to help current and recently retired players achieve professional success and fulfilment post-rugby.

Many players find the transition from being a full-time athlete to working life away from sport a real challenge and RL Cares is working hard to smooth that process.

The seminars form part of the charity’s ongoing commitment to player welfare, which includes making training and education grants available to players to help them prepare for the next chapter in their lives.

RL Cares’s dedicated player welfare team is headed by Steve McCormack, the former Scotland international coach who works alongside Transition Manager Francis Stephenson, Community Manager Keith Senior and Career Coach Julie Measures.

The first seminar takes place this evening (Tuesday May 11, 6pm to 7pm) when three players who have already taken positive action to prepare for their futures will share their experiences.

The three players, Matt Cook, Matty Blythe and Danny Addy, are all at different stages of planning their journey towards new careers and will be able to offer valuable insight to their peers.

Matty Blythe trained in close protection in the final year of his career at Warrington Wolves and is now training director with Vanquish Security; Widnes player Matt Cook has balanced his playing career with studying for an Open University degree; and Salford Red Devils star Danny Addy is a trained barber who runs his own business.

The online seminars are open to all current and recently retired players, who should contact their player welfare manager or Julie Measures for the Zoom log-in details.

May is Career Transition Month across all sports and RL Cares will follow up tonight’s seminar with one focused on Managing Transition (Tuesday 18^th) and one on Why Employers Value and Seek The Skills of RL Player (Tuesday 25^th).