For every young player who makes a career in the professional game, there are hundreds who don’t.
It is estimated there are at least 10,000 players in Academy systems in England, but less than one per cent of those go on to become established in the first team at their respective clubs.
Life After Professional Sport (LAPS) is an organisation aiming to help athletes find fulfilling careers away from sport – whether that’s due to age, injury or bad luck.
The group recently held an event at Bolton Wanderers and young players from a number of clubs, including Rovers, were in attendance to gain valuable skills and information.
“We are all about making sure that athletes across any sport - whether they're still playing or they're retired - are finding ways into different workplaces, they've got a Plan B and are ahead of the game,” said Lauren Smith, one of the most decorated British badminton players and two-time Olympian.
“It's a networking event really. We're trying to connect athletes with companies, we are opening athletes' eyes into the possibilities or careers that they could go into.
“We want to show them what is out there, what they can do alongside their sport and what is also there for after their sport.
“We have got three events this year in the North, Midlands and South. We just want to make sure as many people as possible are able to get here to have these conversations with companies and to reach as many athletes as possible.
“I was an athlete, I retired last year. I didn’t really want to think about what’s after it when I was still playing because I thought if you are thinking about that, you are not focused on what is now.
“But it's totally not the case, there is a lot you can do while you are still competing to prepare yourself and it makes that transition so much easier. That is really important for mental health, financial health and things like that.”
James Coppinger, Doncaster Rovers’ record appearance maker, was also in attendance to pass on knowledge and advice from his playing career.
Coppinger, who hung up his boots aged 40, believes it is important for players to be prepared for life after football.
“I was part of the event last year at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium,” he added. “I've always followed LAPS, obviously a big advocate for preparing for life after sport, in my case football, so anything that I can do in terms of sharing my experiences, that's why I do what I do.
“I think it's really hard to pursue your dream of playing professional football but to have nothing planned for after that, I think it's even harder.
“I was fortunate enough to play until I was 40, but for a lot of other players the career is shorter. I think if you pour everything into you as a player, when it does come time to transition, it's going to be harder.
“Putting a lot of emphasis on the importance of, although you don’t want to, thinking about what you could do after football, and I felt like it was really good.”
