Warwickshire wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose, batsman Matt Lamb, seamer Oliver Hannon-Dalby and leg-spinner Josh Poysden will be better prepared for life after cricket having attended a successful inaugural Professional Cricketers’ Association Transition Conference at Edgbaston.
They were among 14 past and present county cricketers who attended the two-day conference with a range of ages with Lamb the youngest at 21 and former Leicestershire seamer Lloyd Tennant, who now works as a Cricket Liaison Officer for the England and Wales Cricket Board, the oldest at 49.
Ambrose was joined by fellow former England internationals Michael and Michael Lumb at the conference where former county players Kevin Sharp, Kyle Hogg, Stephen Peters, David Balcombe and Paul Nixon were among the guest presenters who discussed their own transition from playing.
You can learn so much from the experience of players who have made the transition and from the areas that they would have liked to have been more prepared in.
Tim Ambrose
“I’ve not done a huge amount of Personal Development work but that’s what this conference and the work we do with our Personal Development and Welfare Managers is all about,” said Warwickshire wicketkeeper Ambrose.
“You can learn so much from the experience of players who have made the transition and from the areas that they would have liked to have been more prepared in. Their experience can help you when you have to tackle those issues yourself.
“But everyone is different, everyone has their idea of what they want to do when they finish, how they want to do it and what is going to motivate them.
“Events like this help you open your eyes and hopefully make some decisions and improvements in areas that you will need to in the future.”
The PCA Transition Conference included sessions on pensions, financial management presentation and networking skills and a networking lunch attended by former county cricketers Graeme Cessford (Worcestershire), Alex Gidman(Gloucestershire and Worcestershire), Chris Whelan (Middlesex and Worcestershire), Andy Miller (Warwickshire and Sussex), Stuart Eustace (Warwickshire) and Richard Grant (Glamorgan).
The conference aimed to support and complement the work of the PCA’s regional Personal Development and Welfare Managers that support players transition one-to-one, by bringing players together.
Ian Thomas, PCA
“We have been extremely pleased with the success of this week’s PCA Transition Conference,” said Ian Thomas, PCA Director of Development and Welfare.
“The conference aimed to support and complement the work of the PCA’s regional Personal Development and Welfare Managers that support players transition one-to-one, by bringing players together.
“It gave them the opportunity to share experience and learn from each other. It was extremely pleasing to see players attend from different ages and at different stages in their transition.
“A number of players attended as a proactive way of preparing for the future, even though they are still playing and that approach has to be commended.
“The conference provided practical, reflective and directive workshops that were all well engaged and received. The new transition conference complements other PCA Development and Welfare initiatives, such as the PCA Rookie Camp which helps players transition into the professional sport and helps us support players from start to finish of their careers.”
For more information on the PCA’s Personal Development and Welfare Programme visit thepca.co.uk
