PCA PRESS RELEASE
Cricketers continue personal development with online webinar series.
To see more articles, click here
Current and former professional cricketers have continued their personal development away from the pitch during the PCA’s inaugural Futures Series, a month-long initiative consisting of 11 webinars designed to prepare them for life outside of the game.
In total, 152 participants were in attendance at the Futures Series, which took place throughout the month of November, with webinar topics ranging from financial planning – the most popular webinar subject with 32 attendees – right through to building your personal brand and more.
Despite his young age, 22-year-old Kent man Marcus O’Riordan was the star of the Futures Series, attending nine of the 11 sessions. But he wasn’t alone as 35 individuals dialled in to multiple workshops across the month.
O’Riordan, who recently continued his personal development in taking over from Ivan Thomas as Kent’s PCA rep, reflected on a productive month for him: “The Futures Series provided a great mix of talks from experts in their field to insight from various PCA members and guest speakers around their experiences and advice on a successful career transition post-cricket.
“A common theme amongst all of the webinars that I attended was that it’s never too early to start preparing for the future, and the process of seeking out a broader range of experience and skills can often have a positive effect on your career as a player.”
The Futures Series took place in the absence of the annual Futures Conference, a two-day event which usually sees PCA members convene at St George’s Park, Burton-upon-Trent in order to engage with their personal development via a series of workshops.
It forms part of the PCA’s Personal Development and Welfare Programme (PDWP), a player-centred programme that supports players through key transitions in their lives, facilitates learning and personal development, helps players to maximise their potential as cricketers and prepares them for life after cricket.
The Futures Series was headlined by Futures Week, during which the PCA shone a light on successful stories of personal development and career transition in order to inspire others to do the same.
PCA Personal Development Manager (PDM) Tom Jones, who led on delivery of the Futures Series, highlighted the importance of planning ahead during a unique year: “Personal development and welfare has always been a key part of what we do here at the PCA, and never more so than during a year when the Covid-19 pandemic has led to significant uncertainty amongst our membership.
“With the annual Futures Conference unable to take place in the circumstances, we were therefore delighted to be able to put on the Futures Series and offer over 150 of our members the opportunity to continue their personal development at home. I hope that the experience will inspire them to take on further courses in the future and will encourage others to do the same.”
If you were unable to tune in to any of the Futures Series webinars, recordings are available via your regional PDM.
Find more information on the 11 Futures Series webinars.
Find out more about the PCA’s Personal Development and Welfare Programme (PDWP).
