Toby Box/ Athletics

We are delighted to announce that Toby Box, retired sprinter and well known for beating Linford Christie, has been successful in attaining a training Chartered Surveying role within CB Richard Ellis.
Although a comparatively late starter, Toby is inspired by the opportunity. ""I would like to thank Russell and the team at Sport2Business for opening the door to this life changing opportunity. I was fully supported and encouraged right from the start of the process, and would encourage any athlete looking for a new career to get in touch to see what's possible within Sport2Business."
Toby also worked closely with the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust and indeed met S2B at the Leeds harnessing talent conference at Leeds Metropolitan University. This has been a great case study exemplifying how our two organisations can work together to help an athlete transition into their next career. Toby did stress how without the combined intervention, he would not have either thought about or be successful in applying for this particular role.

Toby has been working with S2B and DKHLT over the last 12 months seeking the right career opportunity. His attitude has been first class and his life skills as an athlete were instrumental during the interview and assessment process. Toby also used the coaching support of the DKHLT and the interview preparation support of S2B to clinch this new opportunity with a genuine employer of choice.
CB Richard Ellis are similarly appreciative of the opportunity to benefit from working with an elite athlete who will make a genuine long term contribution to their business.

Andy Gomarsall/ Rugby

‘It has been a really interesting time understanding that I have to take control over my transition. I am still fit and want to play at the top level for as long as possible but now, when not training/playing, I am proactively networking and pursuing some diverse and fascinating opportunities.

I have always had a burning desire to play and coach and ultimately aspire to become a Director of Rugby but my proactive networking over recent times has stimulated my interest in business. The psychological profiling I went through with CAS was invaluable, helping me to understand more about my transferable skills and key drivers.

My business interests now include significant involvement in the telecommunications sector and sportsware distribution businesses. Professional sport is always a precarious industry but working with CAS has helped me feel more prepared for and indeed more motivated about my post playing options.’

Jo Nicholas / GB Badminton

“I had been thinking of retiring for a while and made the decision that I would stop after the Europeans in April. I approached S2B to look at my options for the future and they were really pro-active in introducing me to a variety of businesses.  They helped me prepare myself and as a result now enjoy a new role with Mark Group while still playing badminton at County level.”

Jo has been a genuine success in her role with the Mark Group. Within 18 months she was promoted to a sales manager role ahead of many more experienced sales executives. She is the embodiment of the whole S2B ethos that retired athletes translate their high performance into their subsequent careers.

Martin Corry / Rugby

“Working with Careers After Sport got me off my backside! Their personal mentoring approach made me put pressure on myself to act positively and the structure of the Career Coaching programme enabled me to take things forward in a logical and constructive manner.

The whole experience has made me start to think very clearly about what I want to do, where my skills are and what areas I need to work on to develop success for myself in the longer term. In addition, S2B have followed up with commercial opportunities that have suited my ambitions”

Through our partnership with Martin, he was originally introduced to a 1 day a week role with RBS. On retirement he worked with us to be placed in a 3 day a week commercial development role with the Mark Group and we are currently working with him on supplementing the Mark role and his media commitments. Our 3 year relationship with Martin is a great case study for both parties.

Paul Wycherley / Kayak

‘The sponsorship from Dare Digital has been great for me as working with through the Careers After Sport programme with Simon has really increased my self awareness and opened my horizons to the many and varied opportunities that I could pursue. I have been encouraged to seek and obtain work experience, with Simon and Sport2 Business proactively introducing me to various organisations keen to engage with me. The work experience with Lambert Smith Hampton was invaluable, introducing me to various departments of a property firm. I then saw an exciting part time opportunity to help Pete Gardner develop and promote a membership proposition to athletes. Sport2Business were invaluable in helping me prepare for the interview and I am delighted to be working with the BAC’.

Andy Nicol / Rugby

"As I worked with Careers After Sport, went through the assessment centre, and saw the programme, I saw the potential benefits. In the last 4 months since working with them, they have helped me better understand my transferable skills and walked me through the challenging interview and assessment process undertaken by the banks.

I have been fortunate enough to earn a tremendous career opportunity with Royal Bank of Scotland which really excites me but is something I would not even have considered myself capable of 5 months ago!"

Andy has built a very successful career with RBS over recent years and has maintained his media profile as the face of Scotland Rugby.

Leon Taylor / Olympic Diver

“However, busy you are, there's no time better than the present to broaden the options of your post sports career choices. I'm still at an early stage in my CAS programme, but I'm finding the whole experience extremely rewarding and I'm already making progress.”

Austin Healey / Rugby

Austin really embraced the Careers After Sport coaching programme and worked closely with Alan Dickinson to prepare himself for the rigours of being interviewed by the Global investment banks. Once he had decided the ultimate direction he wanted to take (private banking), he worked with us to prepare a targeted business plan for the preferred employers of choice in that field. The result is that he commenced work with Credit Suisse while still playing.

'For any sportsperson who has not been involved in business outside of sport for 10 years, it's a huge and worrying step. Careers After Sport and Sport2Business have been instrumental in allowing me to take control and secure my future.’

Austin enjoyed a successful couple of years with investment bank Credit Suisse through the Sport2Business introduction. He subsequently has focussed on a successful media career but he maintains an associate arrangement with the bank.

Hugh Vyvyan / Rugby

‘The Careers After Sport programme has helped me increase my self awareness, get organised and build a life outside of Rugby. My coach has been a great sounding board and given me practical advice on the process of breaking into the business world. Through my personal development plan I now have goals for all aspects of my life and although Rugby is still my number one priority, I now believe that I have a plan that will make the ultimate transition into the workforce more seamless than I would have previously imagined. Although I still fear injury, I now see it as an opportunity as it will enable me to focus on my off field goals. I feel that the fear factor has been removed and I feel more confident within myself. This has been a great learning year for me both on and off the pitch.’

Mike Worsley / Rugby

It was a daunting prospect to seek a career outside the world of sport. The questions I asked myself were - Where do I start? What do I need to do? To have Careers After Sport supporting me through the process has been important and the preparation for my interviews and presentations was invaluable. Most sports people have never been interviewed formally before; it was good to have someone coaching me through.”

John Wood / Cricket

‘Going through the Career Coaching Programme has given me confidence and helped me to prepare for interviews to make the most of the opportunities made available to me by Sport2Business. Every contact I have had within the business has been extremely helpful and professional’.

Ben Phillips / Cricket

“Careers After Sport has given me the direction I have been searching for, as well as giving me the motivation to start bridging the gap between my professional career and the transition to life after cricket. I feel I am beginning the journey into understanding how to adapt the skills I have developed in my cricket career to those required in the workplace and feel comfortable working with a skilled team behind me that have successfully made the same transition.”

Chrystall Nicoll / Fencing

‘I was introduced to Careers After Sport by the BAC and I was fortunate to be invited to the CCE work experience day. The day was very well run by CAS and CCE and it was really refreshing to see a business of Coca-Cola’s reputation keen to engage with elite athletes. Since the day things have progressed superbly, CCE are receptive to my aims and with CAS/Russell’s guidance I have been able to make the most of the opportunity to convince CCE to make an offer to me. I am ecstatic – CCE have fitted the sales/IT training I need around my fencing training schedule; the role really helps me financially, it is a highly energetic but fun working environment that fits perfectly with an athlete’s personality. In my first few days CCE have been accommodating, open and the support network has been faultless. It is a fantastic company and I have every intention of producing great results both in my fencing and for CCE.’ Chrystall Nicoll

Simon Miall / Rugby

Simon has been working closely with his Careers After Sport coach, Jim Julyan who has been vital in supporting him through the process.

“Jim’s industry knowledge and support has been very useful. If you are targeting a specific industry, post sport, it is invaluable to have a coach who has vast amounts of experience in the sector to support you through that process”.

Jon Petrie / Rugby

Glasgow and Scotland international Jon Petrie joined the Careers After Sport programme as he was coming towards the end of a very successful professional career. Jon really had little idea about where he would go and found the CAS programme invaluable in understanding his transferable skills and learning how to effectively ’market himself’ and network himself into opportunities.

‘The CAS programme has really helped to give me a framework and the self confidence to ‘take control’ of my career transition. The initial assessment and the online programme helped me quickly learn how to build a resume, start networking in a more structured way, and have the confidence to approach companies with a plan to gain as much knowledge of the type of career opportunities available. As well as my personal career coach, Allan Mackintosh, the CAS/S2B network has been of real value in making introductions and preparing me for the various interviews I have been to over recent months. The confidence I gained ultimately helped prepare me to network my way into Scottish & Southern Energy with help from the SRU and I am delighted that they have found an interesting role that feels exactly the right fit because I was able to compare that role and organisation with several other opportunities that I have been pursuing. Another comfortable feeling is that my CAS coach has all the right experience in management training to help coach and mentor me through my first few months in the role’.