Career Clarity with Athletes: A 2ndwind Podcast with Ryan Gonsalves

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In today's episode, Ryan speaks to Christopher Billy, a retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Huddersfield Town, Plymouth Argyle, Notts County, Bury, and Carlisle United. After a 17-year career as a professional footballer, Billy happily transitioned into a career in sales. 

He is currently a senior sales and Account Manager at Talent Track, a game-changing AI-based platform that connects the whole talent acquisition journey through deep data insights. Talent track is a candidate attraction platform that specializes in driving more applications into businesses as well as providing real-time Analytics and reporting. 

Tune in to learn more about:

• Billy's 17year career as a professional footballer
• What got him thinking about his 2nd wind, life after his sporting career 
• His experience in the business space as a Sales a d Account manager 
• The future of Association football and what it means to kids growing up today

… and so much more! 

Links:

Website: https://TalentTrack.co 

LinkedIn: Christopher Billy 

Twitter: @cbilly7

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In today's episode, Ryan speaks to Claire Bennett, a former GB Fencer. She was a member of the Great Britain Women’s foil fencing team and part of the World Class Performance Programme. After 17 years of dedication, she missed out on the Olympics, a feeling she describes as a shot in the stomach and the hardest thing she’s had to deal with. Since she retired from fencing in 2012, Claire has been keen to inspire and encourage young people and adults alike to achieve their potential.

Claire is currently working with elite musicians from Southbank Sinfonia and the BBC covering topics such as resilience, motivation, and thinking correctly under pressure. She is also the Director of Programmes at the Women's Sport Trust. She is also helping in making an impact on young people’s lives and raising aspirations whilst working on the Sporting Champions program. 

Tune in to learn more about:

• Claire's sporting journey and the biggest shift in her sporting career
• How and when she got the freedom to move on in her life after sports
• Her amazing company and her career as a performance coach

… and so much more! 

Links 

Twitter:@CBennetGBR

Are you looking for Career Clarity for your next step, for more information, or to book a consultancy, make sure you check out www.2ndwind.io 

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In today's episode, Ryan speaks to Chris Alcock, a  rugby union footballer. After an extensive professional rugby career, Chris felt that he had put his body into a fair share of stress and damage. He retired and transitioned into recruitment where he could use his interpersonal skills and work ethic to create an impact. 

As a 360 recruiter, Chris has experience in end-to-end coordination and delivery of the recruitment process which includes planning his business development strategy, pitching to clients, sourcing, and delivery of strong candidates, which has given him insights into project coordination.

Tune in to learn more about:

• Chris's win ratio in his rugby career and why he left his professional career
• How the relationships he had established in his sporting career came in handy during his transition
• His goals and aspirations in the corporate world
• The things that Chris feels he sacrificed during his sporting career - and why you shouldn’t.

…and so much more!

Links

LinkedIn: Chris Alcock

Are you looking for Career Clarity for your next step, for more information, or to book a consultancy, make sure you check out www.2ndwind.io 

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In today's episode, Ryan speaks to Taryn Nadine Woods, an Australian water polo player from the gold medal squad of the 2000 Summer Olympics. Taryn was part of the national women's team for around 12 years. 

Taryn is currently a marketing and communication professional excelling in the Communication and Stakeholder Engagement role at Aurecon. Following 12 years as a professional athlete culminating in a Gold medal at the Sydney Olympics, Taryn has extensive experience in developing, managing, and delivering B2B partnership arrangements for the government sector and has completed a Digital Marketing Executive Certificate at UTS. 

Tune in to learn more about:

• The start of Taryn’s  professional career and the highs and lows she experienced
• Taryn's return to the top and going through her studies simultaneously after a car accident 
• How and when Taryn sensed the end of her elite playing career
• Her advice to young players in terms of retiring in their 20s and 30s

…and so much more!

Links:

LinkedIn: Taryn Woods

Are you looking for Career Clarity for your next step, for more information, or to book a consultancy, make sure you check out www.2ndwind.io 

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In today's episode, Ryan speaks to Sarah Alexander, an accomplished skater, rower and triathlete. Sarah rowed for Dartmouth and as a Triathlete her peak ITU World Ranking was 62, and was 4th in the Elite National Championships before the COVID-19 pandemic became a drag on her progress.

Sarah is currently a Consultant at Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Combining the drive of a former professional athlete, the resilience and agility of an entrepreneur, and the analytical problem-solving skills of a Chicago Booth MBA, she is on a mission to bring meaningful change.  Sarah is passionate about women’s empowerment, health and wellness, sustainability, and the future of mobility. This is why she’s set to identify opportunities for impact that others have previously overlooked.

Tune in to learn more about:

• An amazing sport, triathlon, and Sarah's journey as a professional triathlete
•  What propelled her to start thinking about branding and building her business as an athlete
• Her transition to consultancy and the skills she brought from her sports experience

…and so much more!

Are you looking for Career Clarity for your next step, for more information, or to book a consultancy, make sure you check out 2ndwind.io

Links:

Instagram: @sarah_alxndr

LinkedIn:   Sarah E. Alexander

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In today's episode, Ryan speaks to William  Tuffley, a partner in the business services team at BDO In Brisbane. William specializes in sports wealth advisory, providing accounting and financial service advice during and after athlete sporting careers. Will was a dual sportsman in first-class cricket and rugby in Brisbane and semi-professionally in Hong Kong. 

William has been in and around sport all his life, and has seen first-hand the difficulties athletes face in their transition to life after sport. This is why he is passionate about getting athletes educated early on financial management.

Tune to learn more about:

• Will's sporting background
• The other side of his career apart from sports and the course he picked
• Will's thought process in dual-tracking finance and the sporting world
• Why athletes transition too early or too late in their careers

…and so much more!

Links

To get in touch with William: [email protected] 

William on LinkedIn: William Tuffley

Are you looking for Career Clarity for your next step, for more information, or to book a consultancy, make sure you check out 2ndwind.io

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In today's episode, Ryan chats with Bridget Johnston, a driven and passionate government worker currently in the NSW Government Program as a Policy Officer at the office of the secretary at customer service. Bridget graduated from the University of Sydney in December 2020 with a major in government and International Relations. Whilst completing her degree, she worked as an Electorate Officer, Office Assistant, and Water Polo coach.

At 11, Bridget began playing water polo and at 12 she made 1st state team younger and won nationals, fast forward a few years she made her 1st Professional League in water polo at Melbourne. She has also triumphed with a gold medal in the Australian Women’s National League in 2017 and a silver in 2018.

Tune in to learn more about:

• Bridget juggled her sport from age 11 and managed to do well in school
• How she bridged the gap between the junior and senior world champs
• Not enjoying water polo and moving from it. 
• Why she picked politics and international relations at the University
• What drew her passion back to water polo
• What was the difference between her 1st water polo career and the current one 
• Her retirement from playing national team to focus on her career
• How she was balancing an excellent emerging career and being a goalkeeper
• If she sacrificed other things that she regrets not experiencing

…and so much more!

Are you looking for Career Clarity for your next step, for more information, or to book a consultancy, make sure you check out 2ndwind.io

Links:

Check out Bridget on LinkedIn: Bridget Jonhston

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In this episode, Ryan chats with Sam Wykes, who retired from Super Rugby in June 2021. After a career spanning more than a decade, which includes over 100 Super Rugby caps, and five years playing in exciting Japan Sam is well into the transition of a career beyond sport, working as a recruiter in the construction industry.  Sam and Ryan not only chat about the transition, but also share some insights and lessons on what  Sam has observed and learned about himself in the journey to finding his position behind the desk. 

Tune in to learn more about:

• How sports was introduced to Sam
• Sam's tough medical history, benign tumors while growing up
• The clubs he played for and the experience he got
• Sam's brilliant career
• How Sam felt walking off the professional sports field
• How he felt moving from a master in the field to where he is today

        …and so much more!

Are you looking for Career Clarity for your next step, for more information, or to book a consultancy, make sure you check out 2ndwind.io 

Links:

Sam Wykes on Instagram: @Samwykes4

Sam Wykes on LinkedIn: Sam Wykes

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At only 16, Amy Sayer made her international debut for the Matilda's, the senior Australian women's football team. Shortly afterward, she won the W league championship with Sydney FC and is now a sensation playing in the US for Stanford Cardinal. Currently at Stanford University doing a double major in Human Biology and Philosophy, Amy is a perfect example of a young player with a solid grounding, prepared to make difficult decisions in striking a balance between sport and education.

Tune in as we chat about:

• How she whilst being a top-performing athlete and international footballer at a young age
• How Amy has managed to find the balance between academics and athletic excellence
• Why academics are still important to her and what she is pursuing at Stanford
• The role parents, role models, and coaches have played in her focus
• Balancing  football career and work and why Matilda's embrace a lot more than the football career

          …and so much more!

Are you looking for Career Clarity for your next step, for more information, or to book a consultancy, make sure you check out www.2ndwind.io 

Links:

Check out Amy's Instagram:@amysayer

Amy on Twitter: @amysayer10

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Bryany Parker, 25, is an ex-professional footballer, an entrepreneur, and founder of The Sponsorship Platform. She works in football part-time and studies full-time. Parker is almost completing her Bachelor of Sports and Exercise Science at UTS. With her colleague from the football club, they launched a startup that delves into sports sponsorship - The Sponsorship Platform. The startup focuses on the small to medium scale of sports sponsorships, motivates athletes and small to medium businesses, and tries to pair them up. She is also currently going through candidacy for an honors project at the University.

Tune in as we speak about:

• Parker's life before 10 years and how her school experience was
• How she managed to strike a balance between sports and academics after her parents gave her space to figure it out by herself
• How and when football become an important part of her life
• The severe knee injury that almost marked an end to her career 
• Parker's disrupted educational journey at the university 
• Her experience in the navy and her quarter-life crisis 
• The pivotal moments of her journey and what she is currently doing

                 …and so much more!

Are you looking for Career Clarity for your next step, for more information, or to book a consultancy, make sure you check out 2ndwind.io

Links:

Parker's LinkedIn: Bryany Parker

Parker on Instagram:@bryanyyyp