Most athletes don’t plan their exit, it happens to them, an injury, a contract ending, or a conversation they didn’t expect. For Toby Salmon, former professional rugby player with Exeter Chiefs, Newcastle Falcons, Agen Rugby and Rouen Normandie Rugby, injury was the catalyst, instead of ignoring it, he used it.

In this episode of Athlete to Athlete: Lessons for Life Beyond the Game, Toby shares how injury forced him to confront the question most athletes delay: “What happens when this stops?”

He didn’t panic, he explored. While still playing, Toby began speaking to athletes who had already transitioned. He researched programmes, he asked questions, and he weighed up whether another two years would genuinely move him forward, or simply delay the inevitable.

Today, he is a Senior Consultant at KPMG China, specialising in finance transformation, and a graduate of the EY Athlete Transition Programme. What makes this episode powerful isn’t just where he landed, it’s how he thought.

This conversation unpacks:

• Why corporations actively seek athletes
• Why soft skills are your unfair advantage
• Why trying something new is rarely as hard as you imagine
• Why networking isn’t transactional - it’s curiosity
• And why waiting until the final whistle is a risk you don’t need to take

Toby reframes transition as a strategic decision, not an emotional reaction. If you’re still competing and telling yourself “I’ll think about it later”, this episode challenges that narrative.

Key Takeaways

• Injury can be a catalyst, not a catastrophe
• Ask: will another contract add growth - or just time?
• Corporations value athletes for mindset, not technical skill
• Hard skills can be taught - leadership, resilience, and drive can’t
• Trying something new is usually easier than you think
• Use the “safety net” of sport to explore
• Networking = curiosity, not asking for favours
• Athletes are in a unique position - people want to speak with you

This is not about leaving early, it’s about leaving intelligently.

About the hosts

James Rule, Co-Founder of ATA, is a seasoned leadership coach and former professional rugby player with extensive experience in high-performance sports management. Having held CEO roles at Super League clubs and senior positions in major sporting organisations, he understands the pressures of transitioning beyond elite competition. A passionate advocate for athlete development, James drives ATA’s mission to provide structured, research-driven support, ensuring athletes are equipped for long-term success beyond the game.

Karl Birch, Co-Founder of ATA, is a former rugby player turned coach, mentor, and leadership specialist. With over a decade in medical sales, where he led a team, he combines industry expertise with a deep understanding of the athlete mindset to help athletes transition into meaningful careers beyond sport. Passionate about early preparation and proactive career planning, he has guided former athletes through transition, ensuring they step confidently into their next chapter.

Connect and Contact

www.athletetransitionaccelerator.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/athlete-transition-accelerator/

Instagram:

@ataccelerator https://www.instagram.com/ataccelerator

Email: support@athletetransitionaccelerator.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when the pressure lifts, but the drive doesn’t?

In this episode of Athlete to Athlete: Lessons for Life Beyond the Game, we sit down with Shea McAleese - Olympian, Commonwealth Games medallist, Olympic coach, and one of New Zealand hockey’s most respected high-performance leaders.

Across more than 20 years in elite sport, Shea has lived every angle of performance: athlete, coach, mentor, and now leader beyond the game. What he shares in this conversation is something many athletes struggle to give themselves permission to explore:

Stepping away doesn’t mean stepping down.

Shea opens up about the importance of creating space from your sport, not to lose connection with it, but to rediscover joy, perspective, and balance. He explains why athletes who stay too close for too long often burn out, why doing something different can make you better at who you are, and how pressure-free environments are often where the biggest learning happens.

This episode challenges the idea that athletes must cling tightly to one identity. Instead, Shea reframes transition as a natural evolution of performance, one that rewards curiosity, self-awareness, and courage.

Whether you’re still competing, approaching the back end of your career, or quietly wondering “what else could I do?” this conversation will resonate.

Key Takeaways from Shea McAleese

• Stepping away from your sport can reignite love, not weaken it
• Burnout often comes from staying in high-pressure environments too long
• If something makes you unhappy, it eventually affects everything
• Entrepreneurship demands passion - perseverance only comes if you care deeply
• You do have time - athletes just need to use it intentionally
• You don’t know what you don’t like until you’ve given it a fair run
• Organisations want athletes - don’t undersell yourself
• Athletes persevere, execute fast, and finish what they start
• Resilience is a transferable superpower
• Feedback is not personal - it’s performance information
• Understand when athletes typically transition - awareness matters
• Mentors accelerate growth where you have blind spots

About the hosts

James Rule, Co-Founder of ATA, is a seasoned leadership coach and former professional rugby player with extensive experience in high-performance sports management. Having held CEO roles at Super League clubs and senior positions in major sporting organisations, he understands the pressures of transitioning beyond elite competition. A passionate advocate for athlete development, James drives ATA’s mission to provide structured, research-driven support, ensuring athletes are equipped for long-term success beyond the game.

Karl Birch, Co-Founder of ATA, is a former rugby player turned coach, mentor, and leadership specialist. With over a decade in medical sales, where he led a team, he combines industry expertise with a deep understanding of the athlete mindset to help athletes transition into meaningful careers beyond sport. Passionate about early preparation and proactive career planning, he has guided former athletes through transition, ensuring they step confidently into their next chapter.

Connect and Contact

www.athletetransitionaccelerator.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/athlete-transition-accelerator/

Instagram:

@ataccelerator https://www.instagram.com/ataccelerator

Email: support@athletetransitionaccelerator.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.