“Transitioning with Athlete Career Transition has been the best thing that could have happened to me. Not once did I have to worry about what I would do when I retired from Ice Hockey, I feel like I’m in really good hands with ACT. Because of these guys, I felt prepared and confident for my interview with EY with all the steps before and after my interview,” said Florence Schelling, three-time Olympic Swiss Ice Hockey player.
For Florence her Ice Hockey career started at a very young age. At just 4-years-old Florence took to the ice like a duck to water, and it was very early in life that she realised Ice Hockey was going to be a serious sporting career. Born in Zurich, Switzerland, Florence at the age of thirteen was selected to play for the Swiss Women’s Senior National Team having been scouted for her incredible talent.
Florence trained for four hours, four times a week during the winter, with two to three games every week. Ice Hockey games would usually last around five to six hours with the warm up and the cool down. Summer training would be slightly shorter but more often with Florence training for two hours, six times a week. Training for as long as Florence did truly paid off for her and her Ice Hockey team, competing in the Olympics three times as well as the World Championships an astounding ten times.
“My biggest achievement was winning a bronze medal in Sochi at the 2014 Olympic Games and becoming the tournament MVP and best Goaltender. The feeling of receiving an Olympic medal around your neck is indescribable, it left me completely speechless and I fought against tears of joy,” said Florence.
From a young age Florence has been inspired by other athletes, working hard to compete and pushing herself in training so she could be at the top of her game, “I looked up to every single athlete, I always admired athletes and their achievements and how they got there. Within Ice Hockey I was a big fan of watching the goalies and I would look at the skills they had and try and adopt them to my game.
“When I played my first World Championship, I was 14-years-old and saw the Women’s Team Canada for the first time. The way they were training, dealing with the media, talking to fans and promoting the game was inspiring for me.”
As well as dedicating herself to her sport, Florence made sure that she also completed her education, gaining a BBA in supply chain and marketing as well as completing an MBA. Florence identified this as an important element to support her career after retiring from Ice Hockey.
EY offer opportunities to athletes who excel in their career. Athletes who are motivated and who strive to be at the top of their game. Florence is excited at the prospect of finding a new focus and advancing her career within EY: “I am looking forward to entering the working world and having received that opportunity at EY. Not only do I look forward to meeting many new people within EY but mostly on transferring my experience from hockey into the working world.”
At just 29, Florence is retiring from sport into the next phase of her career. For some, that may seem a daunting experience, but the team at ACT ensure each athlete is supported from the very beginning, often before the decision to retire has been made. Using a modern approach to the business world, ACT work with each athlete individually giving them a tailored support program throughout their transition which includes regular contact from ACT’s in-house performance psychologist Ben Paszkowec.
“It’s important each athlete is individually assessed so we can give them the right support needed throughout their transitioning process. We want to be able to offer each athlete the necessary skills and knowledge to move forward in their careers. As a team we understand the demands of a transition, we help athletes adapt by providing resources to aid transition and help manage athletes by helping establish a vision, develop a strategy and implement the processes to achieve desired goals,” explains Ben.