“I did not see my redundancy coming. I was in shock at first and as the days went on, I felt demoralised, devalued and rudderless. My identity was shook up. I had worked up to become a senior executive, was passionate about my role in the executive team, passionate about my empowering team and consistently got good results. My team were hard-working and high-performing. I did not understand why. At my lowest moment, a friend referred me to Playmakers and The Phoenix Program. My coach and mentor, who had lived experience, understood integrally what I was going through. They challenged me to think outside the square and put together a customised development program which helped me look up and immerse myself in new experiences. This really helped me recalibrate and back myself. I took hold of my transferable skills and learnt to leverage my knowledge, skills and attributes while building new skills. With the support of my mentor, I moved into setting up my own business strongly. I now run a successful business. I now also support others as a mentor in the Phoenix Program. My family and I are so grateful to the Phoenix Program and Playmakers.”

“I was good at my job and worked hard. I always got good performance reviews and was told that I was valued and important. However, every time I applied for more senior roles within my company, I did not get the job. Most times, I was told that someone who was more suitable was chosen. I got very general feedback that did not help me. I was given access to some generic development opportunities. A colleague told me about the Phoenix Program and I got in touch with Playmakers. My coach quickly understood what I needed and worked with me, challenging me to critically evaluate myself, my skills and capabilities and supported me to improve what I needed to. Armed with a new perspective, positive mindset and new and improved skills, I got the next role I went for. I am doing what I love and ding it well. I am on track to keep progressing my career now. Thank you Playmakers for helping me manage my career.”

“I was at cross-roads in my career as a professional athlete. I had been waiting on my next contract which kept being delayed. I knew that in another couple of weeks, I would lose the opportunity to join a team in Australia or overseas. By chance, at just the right time, I met a Playmakers coach who, in a simple conversation, opened my eyes to what I needed to act on, with urgency. Not only did I win a contract to play internationally that season, I came back and worked with my coach and mentor from the Phoenix Program to explore my transferable skills, explore the synergies between my sports career and business and build my business acumen and skills,  Through structured support and mentoring, I was able to set up my business and now am strongly set to scale down my sports career as a player and move into my sports business as a leader and coach. I am also now supporting other players at the end of the sporting careers to transition into new careers.“