Michael Hart: Life After Football
- Former Aberdeen defender now working as a mechanical engineer
- Studied for his qualification while still playing
- Advises current players to plan for retirement early
Michael Hart in his Preston North End days
FOOTBALLERS must now plan for their future away from the roar of the crowd while they still have their boots on...or face grim times when reality bites.
That's the stark warning from former Aberdeen and Preston North End star Michael Hart as he adapts to life away from the game that once consumed his life.
Sport Careers client Michael, now 36, has spent the four years since he retired forging a new path as a mechanical engineer in the oil and gas industry with leading firm Sparrows Group in Aberdeen.
Hart, a defender coaches could trust week-in, week-out in his playing days, began studying for his new career whilst he was starring for the Dons.
And in an exclusive interview with the Sport Careers website he revealed:
"After I quit the game I wasn't unemployed for a long time.
"Looking back if it had dragged on any longer then it would have affected me more.
"I can see how players struggle when they finish because, unless you are one of the lucky ones who can retire on what they earned, you are going to have to find something else to do.
"The statistics in football for divorces, bankruptcy and depression are ridiculous. They are massive numbers.
"You have been getting paid for what you love, the thrill and joy of playing football.
"Then you have no money coming in, no mates to have your back every day and you think: 'What the hell do I do now?'
"PFA Scotland try hard north of the border but it is not enough. They try to support you but there is not enough funding.
"England is different. I only had the three years there at Preston North End but I paid my PFA dues and even now if I want to do a course to educate myself I can claim money back from there.
"Their ethos is that once a player and a member, always a player and a member."
When the card schools were in full flow on the Aberdeen team bus heading for games Michael had his nose in his books studying for his qualifications in Mechanical Engineering.
That dedication has now paid dividends and he said: "My biggest piece of advice is that players have to be thinking of what they are going to do when they finish whilst they are still playing.
"I sacrificed Champions League Tuesdays to study at college from the age of 23 to 28.
"As a footballer you have the time to do it and you must have the discipline to carry it through.
"Once you are there you enjoy it and you have to do that.
"Football doesn't last forever and you have to take control of your own destiny."
These days Michael, who lives in Edinburgh with partner Nicola and their 16-month-old son Teddy, commutes north to dedicate himself to his new career during the week before returning to his family.
He is in the real world now and he reasoned: "I phased myself out of football a little by going part-time at Airdrie United so I was staging myself toward the end.
"After I Ieft Airdrie I took that time out to do up the house but when I sat down and thought I wasn't a player any more it was daunting.
"I had been in the game for 17 years that took me from 15 years old to 32. It had been my life and paid all my bills.
"My CV was all football and I had to think where I was going to go next but you do miss the banter and the graft of training.
"I found the Saturday afternoons torture, they were the most depressing when all your mates were still playing."
In an in-depth interview in the Career Advice section of our exciting new website Michael looks back on his career and the steps he took to ensure he didn't become another forlorn former footballer with no direction in life.
Part of that process was using his English PFA funding to put together a slick CV package with the help of Sport Careers.
And he revealed: "Sport Careers are helping me moving forward because I am a professional inside the oil and gas industry and I want to project myself like that.
"If I was to sit down and try to put my career, even in the four years since I hung up my boots, down on paper I would find it difficult.
"Sport Careers took the CV I had and updated and transformed it.
"This whole process is a no-brainer for me because I get funding for this through the English PFA and I would recommend Sport Careers to every player out there.
"Whether they are leaving the game, like me, or staying in it and looking to develop as a coach then you have to be as professional as you possibly can be and Sport Careers are vital in that process.
"My CV now is laid out superbly, they are the market experts as far as I am concerned. If I am looking for promotion or the next step in my career they will be a huge help."
Michael Hart: Life After Football
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