THE TRANSITIONS PROGRAM
for
SPORTS PROFESSIONALS

Easy Street. That’s what we imagine is in store for those few gifted athletes that make it to the pros. Fame, fortune and recognition – a very enticing picture. But the reality is quite different. Most professional athletes have very short careers – the average professional football career is four years and the average major league baseball career is even shorter.

While the odds of becoming a professional athlete are extremely low, the most astonishing fact is how few players complete their careers emotionally and financially prepared for what’s next.

There is a penalty that athletes pay when they leave professional sports. For many, their absolute focus on becoming a professional athlete has left them devoid of skills needed for a new career.   Furthermore, now that the spotlight has past and their finances diminished, they face a new challenge of sorting through their relationships to find out who they can really count on.

For the last twenty-five years, Dr. David Zelman has helped thousands of individuals deal with the major challenges in their lives. He recognizes that the transition process for many successful professionals – especially and particularly, professional athletes – can be a very trying and difficult time. It doesn’t have to be.

Dr. Zelman received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1976. He is the Founder and CEO of Transitions Institute, Inc. – an organization that specializes in consulting to organizations and individuals on communication, strategy development and maximizing productivity and growth.  

Dr. Zelman has worked with some of the world’s most renowned corporations and their executives over the past twenty-five years, including American Airlines, Texas Instruments, Hilton Hotels, AT&T, Random House Publishing and JP Morgan Chase.   He has also focused on the Transitions Process for entrepreneurs and professionals in business, sports, and entertainment.

TRANSITIONS

What the Transitions Institute Provides

The Transitions Institute recognizes the difficulty that all people, not only athletes, experience when going through major life changes. We have developed programs that provide guidance, safety and professional expertise to support our clients in understanding who and where they are in the larger “game of life”. We provide guidance and support to realistically address the opportunities and responsibilities that accompany living a successful life.

The Transitions Process

While it is commonly thought that most people resist change, Dr. Zelman believes that it is the uncertainty that often accompanies change that people resist.   For this reason, the Transitions Process starts by providing an understanding of the change process itself. With this new approach to change, our clients work effectively with our transitions professionals.

The Process consists of four phases:

During Phase I, you explore what you have been committed to and what you are committed to for the future.

During Phase II, you will identify the key life events that have held you back from living up to your full potential. As a human being, success needs to be defined in terms that go beyond your playing career.

During Phase III, you begin to see, based on your personal skills profile, the possibilities that are available to you – things that are calling you, dreams that have long been buried. This results in a freedom to explore possible futures that challenge and inspire you.

And in Phase IV, you explore pathways to the future and develop your personal play book to keep you on your selected path.

THE FORMAT

How It Works

Human beings operate under the totally false notion that our past determines our future – NOT SO. While it is an influencing factor, the past can be put aside, or your relationship to it can be altered, which in turn allows you to powerfully proceed in designing a life that previously was unobtainable. By the end of the Process, your focus is shifted from the past to the future and that makes all the difference in “creating a life” versus surviving it.

Who It Is For

Anyone willing to risk their belief that their life is already laid out for them – that they can’t change.   If you’ve got the guts and commitment to look at yourself and invest your talents, skills, & willpower in yourself, we can show you how to do this and produce extraordinary results.

How Long It Will Take

The basic Transitions Process consists of four day-long sessions over 2-3 months and a lifetime of practice. Follow-up programs are available to support you in further developing areas you want to improve (finances, health, career, relationships, etc.).

The Format

You meet for four one-day sessions over a 2-3 month period with a program leader in a one-on-one or group situation. Several methodologies are used: discussion, inquiry, presentation of information, assignments between sessions, etc.