By Jennifer Scuteri
NFL Player Engagement
Attendees of Player Engagement’s inaugural Transition Assistance Program met at Tufts University on a Friday evening to handshakes and formalities. But over the course of three and half days in Medford, Massachusetts, former players, their significant others, and Player Engagement Transition Coaches came together to become a new kind of NFL team.
TAP, which took place June 7 through 10, was a huge success. While all of Player Engagement’s programs cater to the needs of the athlete, TAP is the first of its kind. The curriculum was designed by an advisory committee of former players that included Leonard Wheeler, Luther Elliss, and Patrick Kerney.
These men, along with four outstanding Transition Coaches – Gary Cobb, Donovin Darius, Tony Stewart, and Freddie Scott – came together to create a safe space to address the social, psychological, physical, and financial aspects of transitioning out of the NFL.
This advisory committee recognized that former players are not the only individuals undergoing transition, and extended the invitation to players’ significant others as well. All of the women in attendance benefitted from taking part in the discussions and enjoyed the opportunity to spend some time amongst their counterparts as well.
“My expectations were exceeded,” said Jennifer Lawrence, wife of former Baltimore Ravens player, Matt Lawrence. “I was just hoping to get insight into what other people were going through and see if we could relate to other people and get ideas about what helped people to transition.”
Instead of kicking off the program with a keynote speaker, each of the TAP advisory committee members shared their personal transition stories and explained their motivation for becoming involved in the program. Then, each of the attendees had the opportunity to share a bit about themselves and what he or she hoped to accomplish. Although everyone gathered for a variety of reasons, each knew then that they would not go through the journey of transition alone.
As the weekend continued, sessions began with a large group discussion. Participants were then divided into their breakout sessions, where they had the chance to develop relationships with their Transition Coach mentor and other attendees. The peer-to-peer model was in full force and the safe haven of the locker room was recreated.
“They totally captured the needs of the former players and they captured the needs of all age ranges,” said Matt Lawrence. “For us to be able to get together and talk as if we never missed a beat out of the locker room and talk about different age ranges, family dynamics, financial dynamics, emotional dynamics, as well as just psychological dynamics, it all kind of tied in in three days, which is amazing.”
The TAP Advisory Committee presented in their areas of expertise along with Tufts faculty. Luther shared his past experiences with the group and imparted his wisdom during the Transition with Family & Friends session. Patrick spoke on the necessity of managing the finances for “You, Inc.” wisely and went into depth about making smart financial decisions.
Leonard addressed the group and sparked a call to action during the Communication and Relationship session, as he told the attendees, “This is the beginning of not just taking care of yourselves, but taking care of the whole community you have worked so hard for. If not now, when? If we don’t want to commit to something so small, how can you commit to something bigger?”
While the final wrap up discussion was brief, the goodbyes were not. After spending three days tackling some difficult issues, the men and women shared contact information, fist bumps, hugs, and even posed for photos with their Transition Coaches and each other.
Player Engagement hopes to hold TAP several times a year, giving even more former players and their spouses the opportunity to connect. Please continue to check nflplayerengagement.com and our Women’s Resource Initiative page for information about the Transition Assistance Program.