introduction
Performing as a high-performance athlete is not an opportunity for everyone. Only the very best high-performance athletes of The Netherlands may refer to themselves as TeamNL. High-performance sports means developing yourself every day. Stronger, faster. Pushing your boundaries. Fulfilling your dreams. We love to win. But not at the expense of everything.
As TeamNL, we advocate a responsible development and honorable performance. We do so from the perspective of our team values: excellence, respect and togetherness. And we do so together with and respecting everyone who forms part of TeamNL: high-performance athletes, coaches and staff. Ordinary people who accomplish outstanding performances. We focus on the career of a high-performance athlete in this magazine. A number of high-performance athletes, in the section on the profession of a high-performance athlete, share how they carry out this wonderful profession, what their experiences are and how they further develop themselves as individuals.
TeamNL not only provides support to their performances. Additionally, it supports high-performance athletes (to prepare for their) next career. With the program TeamNL@work, we make high-performance athletes aware of the fact that high-performance sports is a temporary profession and we support them in their (preparation for the) transition to a next career step. Thanks to the financial support from the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, we offer this free of charge to all athletes with the following elite athlete status: A-, HP- and Select, as well as to high-performance athletes who had one of these standings up till two years prior to the assistance from TeamNL.
Since the beginning in 2017, more than 500 (former) high-performance athletes have made use of the support offered by TeamNL@work. It always starts with a confidential intake. The need for support is defined in this conversation with the (former) high-performance athlete. Together, we determine which support program fits best. This can range from an advice to an individual tailor-made program, and from assistance in the career transition to a group program. The high-performance athlete is responsible in the end for his or her support program.
For instance, the need for assistance to an active high-performance athlete may be in the field of the dual career. Over the past years, together with the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the TeamNL centers and the educational institutes, TeamNL has devoted much attention to reaching national agreements. For instance, as regards exams that are taken in various exam periods, flexible program schedules with the availability for trainings and competitions, assistance by high-performance coordinators at the educational institutes or (a partial) exemption) for certain courses. In the section on TeamNL@work | high-performance sport and education, we read the stories of high-performance athletes who combine their high-performance career as athletes with education. How do they manage this? Won’t they fall behind fast because of trainings and competitions?
Active high-performance athletes can also combine their high-performance career with gaining relevant working experience. Contacts with the business community are important. Contacts with the business community that supports high-performance sports are even more important. This is why we have the list of companies, i.e. the TeamNL@work-bedrijvenpool. This list consists of around fifty professional organizations which devote time and attention to assist high-performance athletes. For instance, in having conversations to explore the societal career or in offering internships or traineeships. Isn’t working on top of high-performance sports detrimental to the athlete’s performances? Can you combine it well? In the section on TeamNL@work | high-performance sport and working experience, high-performance athletes will take you along in their experiences.
TeamNL@work also devotes attention to competence development and networking. This is why eight different group programs have been developed in the past years: from sport marketing and media to entrepreneurship, and from personal branding to international government. These programs are particularly unique because the participants come from different sport disciplines. Olympic, non-Olympic and Paralympic. They start working together to gather more knowledge about a specific topic, to do some networking or to gain some practical experience with one of our partners.
High-performance athletes can also gain working experience, use their competences and (further) develop themselves. For instance, by being active in society as a speaker, by giving a clinic, or by committing themselves as an ambassador for a charity organization. High-performance athletes color the country of The Netherlands in orange with their performances, but they are an inspiration to many Dutch people at the same time. TeamNL supports and applauds this, but only when the high-performance athlete strives for this personally and if it can be combined with the goals in sport. High-performance athletes share this in the section on the Societal engagement by TeamNL why they are involved in society and how they express this in addition to their high-performance career.
But, as said before, there will be a moment, whether scheduled or unforeseen, when the high-performance athletes will make the transition to a next career step. This can be truly difficult at times, since the world beyond the high-performance sport is often unknown. A TeamNL expert in transition counseling is available at TeamNL@work to offer high-performance athletes guidance in this respect. We also offer career counseling, introduction to the labor market, application training, assistance in drafting a resume, assistance in finding the right traineeship and, if needed, coaching on the job. Together with our cooperation partners and the list of companies, i.e. the TeamNL@work-bedrijvenpool, we try and enable that the transition to the next career step will be as smooth as possible for the high-performance athlete. On their way to new dreams and goals. Various high-performance athletes share how they experienced their transition and what was useful for them in the section on TeamNL@work | the next career step.
This is how TeamNL@work offers support to high-performance athletes so as to develop themselves in addition to and after their high-performance sports career. (Former) high-performance athletes appreciate this support and refer their fellow high-performance athletes to the program. To this end, TeamNL@work contributes to a responsible development and honorable performance by TeamNL.
Photo credits
Performing as a high-performance athlete is not an opportunity for everyone. Only the very best high-performance athletes of The Netherlands may refer to themselves as TeamNL. High-performance sports means developing yourself every day. Stronger, faster. Pushing your boundaries. Fulfilling your dreams. We love to win. But not at the expense of everything.
As TeamNL, we advocate a responsible development and honorable performance. We do so from the perspective of our team values: excellence, respect and togetherness. And we do so together with and respecting everyone who forms part of TeamNL: high-performance athletes, coaches and staff. Ordinary people who accomplish outstanding performances. We focus on the career of a high-performance athlete in this magazine. A number of high-performance athletes, in the section on the profession of a high-performance athlete, share how they carry out this wonderful profession, what their experiences are and how they further develop themselves as individuals.
TeamNL not only provides support to their performances. Additionally, it supports high-performance athletes (to prepare for their) next career. With the program TeamNL@work, we make high-performance athletes aware of the fact that high-performance sports is a temporary profession and we support them in their (preparation for the) transition to a next career step. Thanks to the financial support from the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, we offer this free of charge to all athletes with the following elite athlete status: A-, HP- and Select, as well as to high-performance athletes who had one of these standings up till two years prior to the assistance from TeamNL.
Since the beginning in 2017, more than 500 (former) high-performance athletes have made use of the support offered by TeamNL@work. It always starts with a confidential intake. The need for support is defined in this conversation with the (former) high-performance athlete. Together, we determine which support program fits best. This can range from an advice to an individual tailor-made program, and from assistance in the career transition to a group program. The high-performance athlete is responsible in the end for his or her support program.
For instance, the need for assistance to an active high-performance athlete may be in the field of the dual career. Over the past years, together with the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the TeamNL centers and the educational institutes, TeamNL has devoted much attention to reaching national agreements. For instance, as regards exams that are taken in various exam periods, flexible program schedules with the availability for trainings and competitions, assistance by high-performance coordinators at the educational institutes or (a partial) exemption) for certain courses. In the section on TeamNL@work | high-performance sport and education, we read the stories of high-performance athletes who combine their high-performance career as athletes with education. How do they manage this? Won’t they fall behind fast because of trainings and competitions?
Active high-performance athletes can also combine their high-performance career with gaining relevant working experience. Contacts with the business community are important. Contacts with the business community that supports high-performance sports are even more important. This is why we have the list of companies, i.e. the TeamNL@work-bedrijvenpool. This list consists of around fifty professional organizations which devote time and attention to assist high-performance athletes. For instance, in having conversations to explore the societal career or in offering internships or traineeships. Isn’t working on top of high-performance sports detrimental to the athlete’s performances? Can you combine it well? In the section on TeamNL@work | high-performance sport and working experience, high-performance athletes will take you along in their experiences.
TeamNL@work also devotes attention to competence development and networking. This is why eight different group programs have been developed in the past years: from sport marketing and media to entrepreneurship, and from personal branding to international government. These programs are particularly unique because the participants come from different sport disciplines. Olympic, non-Olympic and Paralympic. They start working together to gather more knowledge about a specific topic, to do some networking or to gain some practical experience with one of our partners.
High-performance athletes can also gain working experience, use their competences and (further) develop themselves. For instance, by being active in society as a speaker, by giving a clinic, or by committing themselves as an ambassador for a charity organization. High-performance athletes color the country of The Netherlands in orange with their performances, but they are an inspiration to many Dutch people at the same time. TeamNL supports and applauds this, but only when the high-performance athlete strives for this personally and if it can be combined with the goals in sport. High-performance athletes share this in the section on the Societal engagement by TeamNL why they are involved in society and how they express this in addition to their high-performance career.
But, as said before, there will be a moment, whether scheduled or unforeseen, when the high-performance athletes will make the transition to a next career step. This can be truly difficult at times, since the world beyond the high-performance sport is often unknown. A TeamNL expert in transition counseling is available at TeamNL@work to offer high-performance athletes guidance in this respect. We also offer career counseling, introduction to the labor market, application training, assistance in drafting a resume, assistance in finding the right traineeship and, if needed, coaching on the job. Together with our cooperation partners and the list of companies, i.e. the TeamNL@work-bedrijvenpool, we try and enable that the transition to the next career step will be as smooth as possible for the high-performance athlete. On their way to new dreams and goals. Various high-performance athletes share how they experienced their transition and what was useful for them in the section on TeamNL@work | the next career step.
This is how TeamNL@work offers support to high-performance athletes so as to develop themselves in addition to and after their high-performance sports career. (Former) high-performance athletes appreciate this support and refer their fellow high-performance athletes to the program. To this end, TeamNL@work contributes to a responsible development and honorable performance by TeamNL.
introduction
