ACT Community does not do tick-box transitions. We believe support after sport should be embedded in experience and supported by research. That’s why we’ve joined up with Leeds Trinity University on a long-term partnership focused on understanding and improving athlete transitions out of sport. Together, we’re uncovering what athletes really need when sport is no longer their full-time identity.
We believe the best solutions happen when insight meets experience, and this partnership brings together ACT’s lived experience and Leeds Trinity University’s academic expertise. Led by Sport Psychology experts, Dr Chris Rowley and Dr Helen Heaviside-Brown, within the university’s School of Psychology, the project explores the realities of life during and after sport through rigorous research and applied student-led placements.
Translating Research into Real-World Support for Athletes
One of these projects was to translate the findings of existing research on athlete retirement and career transitions into accessible resources for retired athletes. Whilst there’s a lot of guidance out there, it tends to be written for researchers and academic audience rather than for the people in the middle of those transitions. So collectively, we set out to address a simple challenge: can we make academic insight speak to athletes?
Second-year Sport Psychology students Navjeet Cheema and Ryan Wilson were tasked with creating resources that cut through the academic language and spoke directly to athletic audiences. Working alongside ACT and guided by the Leeds Trinity University’s academic team, they took research and shaped it into something athletes would actually want to read, watch or use, because academic insight is no good if it stays locked behind jargon.
“You can have the best research in the world, but if no one can hear it, it doesn’t matter,” said Navjeet.
It wasn’t just a language barrier that posed a challenge. As Ryan and Navjeet dug into the literature, it became clear that some of the most important questions about life after sport simply haven’t been studied in depth.
“There isn’t much research into some areas of the transition out of sport yet,” said Ryan. “We had to bring in ideas from other fields and apply them to the athlete experience.”
Instead of relying solely on what's been published within sport psychology, they drew from other disciplines, like educational and occupational psychology, to piece together insight that could help athletes navigate identity loss, career changes and emotional recovery.
Working closely with ACT and guided by Leeds Trinity University’s academic team, they created a set of blogs, infographics and videos tailored to different learning styles and athlete needs.
Why Peer Support Stood Out
One theme they connected with deeply was the role of community.
“One of the bits I found really interesting was the impact that being supported by your peers can actually have on athletes,” Ryan explained. “Talking to someone who’s either gone through what you’re going through or is going through it with you can be more beneficial than other strategies.”
Navjeet echoed the same finding. “I found a few studies where peer support really helps not just after sport, but in sport too. The athlete is more motivated and their performance is better.”
For ACT, this isn’t just a research theme. It’s the foundation of our peer-powered support network, and this project confirmed that we’re building in the right direction.
From Assignment to Impact
This project showed how academic insight can be translated into practical tools that speak to the lived experience of athletes.
The blogs, infographics and videos were built with the end-user in mind: athletes navigating new pathways after sport. The result is not just clearer communication, but deeper connection.
By reshaping academic findings into athlete-first formats, the project delivers guidance that feels personal, accessible and practical rather than theoretical. This is research designed to help, not just inform.
A Bigger Picture
Our partnership with Leeds Trinity University is designed to be long-term and impactful. We’re not collecting insights for the sake of it. We’re building a robust evidence base around athlete transition to inform better support, stronger communities and a clearer understanding of what life after sport actually looks like.
About ACT Community
ACT Community helps former athletes build successful second careers. Our career pathways are designed to meet the realities of life after sport, offering guidance, tools, and job opportunities with organisations that value your skillset.
Danielle Brown
Danielle is a double Paralympic gold medallist and five-time World Champion in archery. She was also the first disabled athlete to represent England - and win gold - at the Commonwealth Games in an able-bodied discipline. Since transitioning from sport, Danielle is now a children's author, public speaker and the Marketing Manager at ACT Community
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