It’s easy to assume that professional sportspeople and ordinary members of the public lead lives as different from one another as chalk and cheese. While this may be true in a general sense, there are marked similarities too. As a recent guest on Today FM’s Ray D’Arcy Show, Irish rugby captain Brian O’ Driscoll spoke briefly about the need for players on the cusp of retirement to adapt in order to achieve some kind of career longevity. As with anyone else, education proved to be the most effective means of achieving this.
‘I can see within our own set-up lads going back to college, doing night courses and evening courses’ said the former Lions captain. ‘The world isn’t the same place it was five years ago. You can’t walk into a job just because you played rugby: you need to be skilled’. Given the economic climate in which we find ourselves, O’ Driscoll’s words can likewise be applied to the rest of us. By acknowledging the need for continuous development, we remain open to learning new things; and with each new skill acquired, we expand our career choices and job mobility. So next time you’re beginning a new course, don’t be too surprised if you see some familiar faces in the classroom…
