Micheal Carberry's thinking about life after cricket
County: Hampshire
Adviser: Heidi Coleman
What made you decide to use the Performance Lifestyle Service?
Although I had had a brief meeting with Heidi at the end of the 2004 season, I hadn’t really given much thought to my life after the game and didn’t feel ready to start thinking about it. A year later, with another season closing and some uncertainty as to where I would be playing in 2006, I decided to give her a call. I felt that the time was right to start planning ahead and putting some long-term plans in place. I also wanted to develop some skills that would help me in the workplace.
How has PL worked for you?
Heidi met with me on the day that I phoned her and our work started from there. Heidi explained to me that long-term career planning was not something that we could resolve in one meeting and that in order to do this properly we would need to meet on a regular basis. Heidi and I have met frequently over the past 10 months and maintained regular contact over the phone in between our meetings. This has helped me enormously and kept me focused on the process rather than allowing me to drift and put off the planning for another few months.
What has PL enabled you to do?
When I first met with Heidi I had little idea as to what I wanted to do long-term. Although I spend much of my free time outside of the game working as a DJ in bars and clubs in the London area, I am realistic in that this may not become a full-time option for me and I really wanted to have something more secure as a back-up plan. Through her questioning, and the exercises that Heidi set, it became clear that my passion for art and design remained strong (I had studied this at school) and was something that I had a real interest in. I have narrowed my ideas down to the field of ‘Product Design’ and this is something that I am seriously thinking about long-term. I also wanted to develop some additional skills, in particular IT.
Where are you now?
During the off-season (2005-2006) I developed my IT skills by attending a course at the local Learn Direct centre, identified for me by Heidi. This was great as it provided me with the understanding that I required, and also helped me to develop some well needed IT skills which will no doubt stand me in good stead both now and in the future. The course was perfect in that I could study at my own pace and also in my own time. In terms of Product Design, realistically I will need to have a degree or HND to get into this field. In order to be accepted onto a course I will need to study for a foundation course in Art and Design at college. Heidi has identified a number of courses for me at colleges in the Southampton area and I am looking to start a part-time course in September this year.
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