Second Season Success: Helping Seniors Transition From Sport to Career

Volume 1, No. 1
Online ISSN: 3071-0898

© The authors. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons 4.0 License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Second Season Success: Helping Seniors Transition From Sport to Career

CONFERENCE ABSTRACT

Danni Watson*, Christopher Murray*, Charlotte Walker*, and Ashley Gardner⁺

School of Health Sciences, Barton College, Wilson, NC, USA
*Student author, ⁺Faculty mentor

CITATION

Watson, Danni; Murray, Christopher; Walker, Charlotte; & Gardner, Ashley. (2026). Second season success: Helping seniors transition from sport to career [Conference abstract]. Barton Journal, 1(1), 209–210. https://bartonjournal.org/vol-1-no-1/2026-cat4-article-no-045

Abstract

The Final Whistle Foundation is a student-centered organization focusing on senior student-athletes transitioning to life outside their sport after graduation. Student-athletes often face challenges when dealing with a structured schedule their whole competitive career, then transitioning to post graduate employment or further education (Wood, 2014). The problems are trying to tackle translating athletic skills into career skills, having limited engagement to different career paths, and having loss of a daily structure (Stout, 2018). Using the Eight Dimensions of Wellness Framework, the Final Whistle Foundation proposed a senior student athlete-oriented seminar that aimed to increase career readiness, improve transferable skills, and enhance self-confidence. To accomplish the given objectives, the seminar will be held for two to three hours, by a student-athlete alumnus. This seminar will include structured reflection, a skill translation workshop, action planning, and building new professional schedules supported by a collaboration with athletics. A total of $500 was requested to support materials, facilitator compensation, and participant engagement resources.

Keywords: grant proposal, competitive career, student-athletes

References

Stout, M. Lisa. (2018). Does participation in college athletics prepare student-athletes for careers and life after college sports? A review of the literature. Kinesiology, Sport Studies, and Physical Education Synthesis Projects, 42.

Wood, M. (2014). The end game: How the NCAA has failed to prepare student-athletes for careers after sports. Arizona State University Sports and Entertainment Law Journal, 4(2), 466–538.

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