Identifying Your Transferable Skills

By Kelly O'Brien, NFF Center for Youth Development Through Sport, Springfield College

By now, you probably have a number of different life roles. Each morning when you walk through the doors of your high school, you become a student. In the afternoon, as you suit up for practice you become an athlete. During the evenings or on the weekends, you may be an employee at a local restaurant or shopping mall. Each of these "occupations" requires you to use different skills. Skills are your developed abilities or strengths. On the football field, you develop your physical skills such as tackling, kicking, or passing. In the classroom, you may refine your problem-solving skills or your writing ability. However, there are a number of skills that you have learned as an athlete that can transfer into your other life roles. These are called transferable skills.

Athletes often believe that they do not have any skills beyond those that they have learned in athletics. This idea is simply not true. Take a moment to read over the questions below and think of at least three responses to each.

It is quite possible that most, if not all, of your responses can be useful in other aspects of your life. For instance, many coaches would like their athletes to be responsible, hardworking, and respectful. Participating in competition may have taught you how to deal with pressure, to think on your feet, and to make good decisions. In addition, being an athlete may have taught you how to organize your time, how to be a team player, and how to be an effective leader.

These are just a few examples of the numerous transferable skills that you have likely learned as an athlete. Each of these skills will be essential to your success in college as well as your future career. Many college professors, as well as employers, expect their students and employees to exhibit these same qualities. The key is to identify which skills you have learned and how use them effectively in order to be successful in your other life roles.

Information adapted from: Petitpas, A., Champagne, D., Chartrand, J., Danish, S., & Murphy, S. (1997). Athlete's Guide to Career Planning. Illinois: Human Kinetics.

This information was taken from the NFL/NFF Coaching Academy program that was designed under the leadership of Dr. Dan Gould at the University of North Carolina Greensboro and Dr. Steve Danish at Virginia Commonwealth University. The program is designed to further educate youth and high school coaches in not only the areas of football skills and strategy but also the game's character building and social benefits.

Whether it's a strategy for keeping a team academically eligible, the development of a life skills curriculum for a coaching clinic, or the latest research on sports in society, the NFF Center for Youth Development through Sport at Springfield College in Massachusetts has the answers. While supporting Play It Smart remains the primary focus of the staff's attention, the NFF Center is quickly becoming a source of information on using sport to develop the qualities of leadership and academic excellence in America's young people.

For more information about the NFF Center, click here.