80: James Beeston - From Professional Football to Business Success and Coaching Mastery

In this episode, Ryan speaks to James Beeston, a former full-time footballer who successfully navigated a complex journey. In their riveting discussion, James recounts his journey from being scouted at the tender age of six, through his time at a youth academy, to the founding of Bisterra, his thriving supplemental soccer training company.

In 2010 James was rejected from Port Vale Football Club where he was an LFE apprentice, a team he had ardently supported for almost his entire life. Rather than succumbing to this heartbreak, he saw it as a redirection to something greater. Realizing his untapped potential lying in training, he teamed up with his then roommate Mike, started as a club coach but felt as though team coaching wasn't maximizing a player's full potential, hence opting for individual training. Fast forward to today, the company operates in six different states. 

Tune in to learn more about:

- A sneak peek into the dynamic world of his brainchild, Besteera

- The sacrifices and trade offs he encountered as he grew in his sporting adventure

- Why did he switch his euphoria of apprenticeship to getting a hit of the reality of his dream 

- The recollection of his first heartbreak in sports and how it was delivered to him

- What he had to change in his renewed course to be a professional footballer

- The profound benefits of maintaining your discipline and professionalism in whatever environment you're in

- The positive impact his partner Mike has brought  not only to the business but in James’s life too

- How James continuously supplements his learning in terms of business management and personal improvement

- Valuable gems derived from the rejection that laid the foundation to a successful business 

… and so much more! 

Are you looking for Career Clarity for your next step, for more information, or to book a consultancy, make sure you check out www.2ndwind.io  

Links:

Website: http://www.beesterasoccertraining.com 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesbeestera 

X: https://x.com/Beestera_James?s=20 

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM6RS7Fjq/ 

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

We'd get free tickets to go and watch the home games. It was unbelievable for me. I'd go and watch every home game of my favorite team, obviously going into train full time. It was kind of like I'm pulling back the curtain, I can see before. You're kind of behind the curtain and you're like what's going on behind there. I'd love to be a part of that.

Speaker 1: 0:17

So the first extended schoolboy contract for me was the first year was unbelievable Me getting to go into the first team changing rooms and I'm sweeping up the first team changing room floor. That was my job and I was just buzzing to be there. But, as you said, the lads that were my age and it just took a little bit of the shine off things when they got a professional contract but they're not treated as professionals. So I was thinking maybe the glitz in the glamour of being a pro isn't all it's got out to be. I may have to rethink this a little bit, because these lads are better than me and they're not getting in the first team squad, never mind the start on 11. So if they can't do it, how am I going to cope in this situation? So I think that was the biggest aisle.

Speaker 2: 0:59

Hi, I'm Ryan God-Salvez and welcome to a Second Wind Academy podcast, a show all about career transition through the lens of elite athletes. Each week, I invite guests to the show, who shares their unique sporting story. Please join me to delve into the thoughts and actions of athletes through a series of conversations. Don't worry, there's plenty to learn from those of you that aren't particularly sporty. Elite athletes are still people after all. Let's be inspired by the stories of others.

Speaker 2: 1:32

Today's guest joining me on the show today is James Beeston. He's a former full-time footballer based in the UK, a former student athlete in the US, and now runs a business he founded along with two other co-leaders. Now, you're going to love this conversation because we talk about the concept of sustained success and stability. We also touch on teamwork, or how to build a good team and playing to your strengths. So if those things are important to you, you're going to really love this conversation. So, james, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me, ryan. Great, I am again intrigued with our conversation because I think your path to where you are today has been really interesting and, I think, quite deliberate in some respects and taking opportunities as they appear in others, so really keen to peel back and understand a bit of your thinking and understand your perspective.

Speaker 1: 2:30

Yeah, hopefully I can give your listeners a little bit of experience from me, a little bit of advice and things that I would continue to do and would have done differently, given a chance again.

Speaker 2: 2:40

Brilliant. That's exactly what this chat is about and why people tune in. So, James, let's start with today. Tell me about you. Tell me about Beesterer. Where are you right now?

Speaker 1: 2:50

So Beesterer Soccer Training is a? We're a supplemental soccer training company based in Albany, New York, which is like three hours north of Manhattan. Whenever I say New York, everyone just thinks New York City straight away. So just to clarify we're three hours north and what we do? We're not a team. We're not a club.

Speaker 1: 3:08

The whole concept came about in 2014 when I was just leaving university, didn't know what to do, so decided to do a little bit of private coaching, because I was doing club coaching before, but I just wasn't satisfied with players. So you've got 16 players within the team Every training session. I didn't feel like I was maximizing every single player's potential and development, so just started with the one-on-one, the small groups. I felt like I was getting a lot more personally out of that. I was enjoying that more and I felt as though the players were more engaged and they were getting more out of that environment. So that's how the whole concept came about.

Speaker 1: 3:51

Fast forward to present day. We are partnered with Nike Sports Camps. We're operating out of six different states for camps. We've got well over 600 clients operating in individual small group sessions, and we also do club development sessions too, where a lot of the clubs in the area are kind of grassroots, with parent volunteer coaches. So they'll hire us to come and do the training sessions. The parents will be there, they'll have a bit of coaching education and then they'll coach the teams on the weekend. So those are the main facets of the business currently.

Speaker 2: 4:26

I really like that the journey, even from starting the business to where you are today and the way you ended with where you are right now. So it still sounds like there's room to grow for the organization and for you as someone running that company as well.

Speaker 1: 4:41

Yeah, it's exciting. Also pretty daunting as well. A month ago we moved into an office. I did a bit of work experience when I was growing up in an office, like a summer internship, and I hated it. I was just stuck behind the desk and I'm like this is not for me. So the fact that I've moved into an office now we've got six staff members there full time, but in terms of productivity and room for growth, as you said, it's just seemed as though we've got more done within the past month than we've done in the past year. You know, it's a collective think tank where we're constantly thinking new ideas, things that we can do. Problems are being solved quicker. So yeah, like you said, it's very daunting, but also an exciting time too.

Speaker 2: 5:23

Yeah, brilliant. Well, listen, let's rewind a bit, because I suppose now I'm intrigued this whole not wanting to be stuck behind the desk and now you find yourself in there. So let's wind it back, I guess, to probably around the time of that work experience, and just help me understand then your, what was football to you as you were growing up and what was the career like for you.

Speaker 1: 5:44

So I started playing when I was around five and I can vividly remember a flyer that I got in school that it was like go and play on a Saturday morning, it's just like lads and dads. So went there with my dad and just had a kick around. Remember loving it. And pretty early on I got scouted by Port Vale. So if you're listeners who don't know Port Vale or a professional club bopping around the third or fourth league of English football, typically promoted and relegated they're always yo-yoing around those leagues. They're the only club that have never been in the first division that are currently in the professional pyramid. I think that's a little fun fact there.

Speaker 2: 6:26

I really didn't know that.

Speaker 1: 6:27

Yeah. So I got picked up by them when I was six and I supported Port Vale. So my friend who was on the podcast the other week, Matt Hemsley, he played for he loved Leicester City and all that's, all he wanted to do was play for Leicester City. So for me to have the opportunity to go and play for Port Vale, even though I was a six year old, it was just a fantastic opportunity and I was just so excited to just be a part of the club, get to put on the kit. So I managed to work my way through from six years old all the way through to 19 years old, and there was a long journey there within that youth academy.

Speaker 2: 7:03

Wow, so that is amazing achieving that six. You know little boys dream, so I'm guessing from that you wanted to be a footballer your entire life.

Speaker 1: 7:13

Yeah, that's all I wanted to do. I didn't neglect schoolwork. My parents were very supportive of football, but they always made me aware that school comes first, so I was never allowed to slack off in school and I was always kind of motivated anyway to do the schoolwork and to give it my all, give it my best. But yeah, my first love was football. Still is football.

Speaker 2: 7:34

Yeah, well, it's good and, like you say, still is football. You're still getting to live that. You still have football in your life, in what you're doing. So I'm curious then obviously at 16, there were some big decisions to be made about what you're doing as a footballer, and then certainly at the age of 19. So were there any trade-offs for you? Do you feel you had to trade anything off as you grew up in that football structure?

Speaker 1: 7:56

I don't think so, but it's 16. So you work all the way through from under 16 and every year it's the retained or release list. So coaches are telling nine 10-year-olds that you're either good enough or you're not good enough, and we're going to release you or we're going to have you back next year, as you're aware. So just go through that. That built certain traits that I still continue today that ability to not settle, to give it my all every training session, every day that I go into the office now, every time that I'm coaching, to give it my best, because you never know if it's going to be taken away. But also, at 16 years old, a lot of the lads my age got an apprenticeship.

Speaker 1: 8:35

So a two-year apprenticeship, the scholarship, the YTS. I didn't get offered that. I got an extended schoolboy contract which basically meant that I was put on a year kind of trial within the youth team. So it was. It hadn't been done before at the club. They didn't want to release me. But they didn't want to award me a two-year apprenticeship because I was very undersized. So they just said we'll give you a year, see how you're developing the youth team and then after that one year, then you will either be released or you'll get the two-year apprenticeship.

Speaker 2: 9:09

Well, I'm just curious in that moment you've been on extended schoolboy. What was that like for you playing in that team amongst others who were on? I guess that full scholarship or the full apprenticeship scheme.

Speaker 1: 9:21

Again. It was tough at the time because it felt like a bit of kick in the teeth, but on the flip side, my dad was like well, you could have been released. So they obviously see something in you. Technically you're there, but physically you've got a 14-year-old body when you're competing against some lads who are 18 years old, but they've got a 22-year-old body. So you have to take advantage of this full-time opportunity. Yes, you're not getting the same benefits as the lads on the scholarship, but now is a time where you can go in. You can go in full-time and you can get in the gym and work on the things that they want you to work on. Hopefully, you get awarded a scholarship at the end of it.

Speaker 2: 10:02

So keep going then.

Speaker 1: 10:03

I mean, so you've got me hooked, keeping you on the edge of the seat, yes, From the extended schoolboy I was effectively on the Saturdays training with what weekdays I was training with the youth team. On Saturdays I would go with the youth team, sit on the bench the entire game and then on Sundays I'd go and play for the under-16s. So that was my journey and I can remember the youth team manager coming to me on one Monday morning and he's like when was the last day you had off? And I was like I haven't really had a day off since I've got here. It's just been seven days away and again, I'm a Port Vale fan so I loved it all. I didn't really think, ah, I need a day off. That was never. I remember a thought in mind. But he says, look, go home now. Like, don't forget about training today, you can go home and just have the rest of the day off and just relax and recuperate.

Speaker 1: 10:53

But throughout that year the extended schoolboy I showed them enough, where I was awarded a two-year apprenticeship at the end of that season. So that basically pushed my timeline on one year, which I think was looking back was a very, very significant point in my life Because one I got to see the lads my age after the scholarship Some five of them were awarded a professional contract, so I got to see what they were like as first year pros and it wasn't all it's cut out to be, believe me. So they weren't often in the first team squad. So that meant Saturday mornings coming in early running and then they'd have to go and watch the first team play, you know, and speaking to them, coming up through the ranks with them and speaking to them about their experience as a professional player. It wasn't, you know all the glamour and the glitz of the Premier League. You're a lead to footballer not getting in the first team squad, so that was pretty eye-opening too.

Speaker 2: 11:51

And it is, and it is a side of professional sport that most people don't see. Indeed, I should say, many people have privilege to find themselves in that position. It's something that they all want to be, and for those who don't want to necessarily see that being in that position, they don't know what it is like. And so I'm curious, then, for you to have been so close to that dream being an apprentice, looking at those people going through that dream, how did that change your perception of wanting to become a footballer?

Speaker 1: 12:21

I think it started because every time the first team would play at home, all the way through the younger age groups, where I was from under six to under 16, we'd get free tickets to go and watch the home games. So obviously being a fan was unbelievable for me. I'd go and watch every home game with my favorite team, obviously going into training full time. It was kind of like I'm pulling back the curtain, I can see, ah, ok, so I know the tea lady now Before you're kind of behind the curtain and you're like, oh, what's going on behind there? I'd love to be a part of that. So the first extended schoolboy contract for me was the first year was unbelievable Me getting to go into the first team changing rooms and I'm sweeping up the first team changing room floor. That was my job and I was just buzzing to be there.

Speaker 1: 13:08

But, as you said, the lads that were my age and it just took a little bit of the shine off things when they got a professional contract but they're not treated as professionals. So I was thinking, okay, maybe the glitz and the glamour of being a pro isn't all it's cut out to be. I may have to rethink this a little bit because these lads are better than me and they're not getting in the first team squad, never mind the start on 11. So if they can't do it, how am I going to cope in this situation? So I think that was the biggest eye opener.

Speaker 2: 13:40

Yeah, and that you know essentially what's coming. There is this reality of what your dream is, and I think for many, you know, we try or at least those who I work with we do a lot of visualisation and it's trying to understand. You know, where do you want to be, what is your dream? And moving that from this, I guess, fantasy into something that's real. And there your dream was well becoming real right in front of your eyes, and it wasn't necessarily what you hoped it would be. What was your process then to make that next decision?

Speaker 1: 14:09

Well, I wasn't in charge of the decision for a professional contractor, it was all down to the first team manager, who at the time was Mickey Adams, who had experienced managing in the Premier League with Leicester City very experienced manager. And the second year of my scholarship I was competing for the sentiment field position with Sam Mosey, who's currently the captain of BitSwitch Town. So that goes to show the type of player that I was competing against. So he was getting called up a lot to first team training sessions. So before the definite decision had been made, I'm looking and I'm thinking well, it's going to be Mosey, it's not going to be me. So what's the plan B for me? And, as I said, the benefit of this extended schoolboy is that part of the programme as an apprenticeship you have to complete your level two coaching badge. So I did my level two coaching badge with my age group, but then a year and I absolutely loved it. I was like, wow, this is a bit of me, so I can see a future in this, especially when the instructors are saying you know, you're pretty good at this, you might want to enroll on to the UA for B next year.

Speaker 1: 15:15

So in the summer just before my last year of my apprenticeship, I went to do the UA for B course so I was 18 years old at the time went down and got to experience it at West Bromwich Albion with the demographic there was older players that had just come into the end of their game. They're coming to retirements and they're looking at what's next, so they're doing all their coaching badges. I'm there as an 18 year old and I'm thinking well, one, forget the coaching badge. Great. Two, it's given me the experience to help me out as a player too, because I understand you know certain concepts from a coaches perspective as well. So getting that UA for B also give me that idea of you know I can see a future in this, so that was massively important. And then the decision of James you're not going to be a professional footballer at Port Vale came in February of 2010.

Speaker 2: 16:09

How, was that delivered and how did you walk out? What happened next for you, like immediately after that it?

Speaker 1: 16:16

was a Friday morning and we're all sitting in the changing rooms getting ready to go out to training. No one's been told yet whether they're getting released or or a professional deal. I get called first and it was out of the blue, completely out of the blue. We didn't know it was going to be today. So the youth team manager comes in and says Gaffer wants to speak to you in his office. So walk in the corridor and I'm thinking I'm not going to get a professional deal if this is what it's about. So I sat down and he said look, love everything about you, love your personality, love your attitude, your willingness to learn your technical ability. You can cope with the level, but physically you're just not there and we've not got the budget to keep you and kind of allow you that time to kind of grow into your body. So he said you're going to be released, you're not getting off at a professional deal. But this he goes this hasn't been done before.

Speaker 1: 17:07

We want to offer you a job as a technical skills coach within the academy, so it's a full time position. We'll keep your playing registration, so you'll still play the reserves and you'll get a full time salary. So it's a bit of a hard hitting. You're not a professional but on reflection, I've got a stable full time job that's earning more than first year professionals would do. And I get to play reserve team football, which again the lads that I'd come up with who are our pros? That's what they were doing anyway. I just be earning more money than them. So I was like, yeah, absolutely, I'll take that. So went out to train. The lads are giving me the condolences. Sorry about this, sorry about that. I'm like, look, I'm fine with it, I've accepted it. I knew it was coming. I was just excited to have the opportunity to coach and be the technical skills coach for the academy.

Speaker 2: 17:58

Now, that wasn't your plan B though, was it?

Speaker 1: 18:00

It wasn't my plan B. My plan B was probably to go to university and study a coaching degree and then get a coaching job. So the fact that I was offered a coaching job without even applying or anything, I was like, yeah, I'll take that Absolutely If it keeps me within the game. It keeps me at Port Vale. That was a win-win for me.

Speaker 2: 18:21

And you speak there about the financial reward. So you're still getting to play, but there's a financial aspect to it. So, as this progressed, was that something that made you reflect on whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, or were you still more concerned about the am I playing or not playing? What was the key motivator for you?

Speaker 1: 18:40

Am I playing or not? Playing was definitely a big factor. You know, am I playing at a good level? You know I didn't want to give up on the dream completely at 19 years old. From the financial part, it was nice to have a bit of stability because that extended schoolboy year I wasn't getting paid at all, so I'd be getting the bus in to training an hour early and I was cleaning. I was the boot boy, so I was cleaning the pro's boots, so I'd have five players boots that I was cleaning every single day just to earn a little bit of money, so I could catch the buzz in and stuff like that. So that offer of stability and a full-time position was something that I'd never really experienced before. So it was nice to have that as well.

Speaker 2: 19:26

So continuing down, then, your journey, this technical skills coach offer. What did it make you? Well, how was that for you as an experience? It never happened.

Speaker 1: 19:37

So, as luck would have it the same weekend, so I got released on Friday. That weekend I get a phone call from my old high school P teacher and he said what's the situation? So I told him. I said I got released yesterday. He goes Interesting I've got.

Speaker 1: 19:55

He did a summer camp out in America one year and he got connected with a coach. And he said my friend out in America who's the assistant coach at Siena College, a university in New York, once a sentiment field player, he interested. So I'm like, yeah, I'm interested, I've been offered this technical skills coach. I'm definitely interested in what he's got to say. So that next week we set up a Skype session and with my parents Steve was the guy that he's speaking about, he was the assistant coach. He's like look, there's an opportunity of a degree here, an opportunity to play at a good level, obviously the experience of coming out to America.

Speaker 1: 20:33

So I went and told Paul Vale and I said look, this is the predicament I'm in. You know. I verbally accepted your offer. What would you do in my situation? And he said you've got to go. If you can go, go because you know it's the experience of a lifetime.

Speaker 1: 20:47

So they were really, really understanding and I really admire them for that, because obviously I like to think they thought well of me to not only offer me the technical skills coach keeping me within the club, but also to have the foresight to say look, you've got to go here. I thought that was really good. From then, yeah, what made you ask them their opinion? Because I valued them. You know, I'd known them for three years and working with them every day for three years. I even though it is a cutthroat business, I felt as though they did have my best intentions at heart, so their advice was good. It wasn't something that I was a hundred percent, you know, relying on, but again, I had given my verbal commitment and I do honour my words, so I just wanted to get their opinion too.

Speaker 2: 21:37

And it is great that you were given that opportunity and I think something will continue to delve into as we go through your story, because you know, obviously you did make that move and you did find yourself overseas and enjoying that experience. Now it was a shift in the strategy to achieve your dream of being a professional football player. It wasn't the plan in fact, we're now on plan D as I'm keeping count but where you ended up? How did your dream shift or change? Did you get on that plane with a different sense of do I want to be a professional footballer? Where were you, you know, mentally at that time?

Speaker 1: 22:11

I still wanted to be a pro. Going on that plane I still wanted to be a pro and I thought this will keep me in the game for four years. There's opportunities out in the States to play professionally, so I'm gonna give it my all to play pro. Getting there to America, the way in which the season works is very different than back home. So, landed in August, the middle of August, straight into pre-season for a week and then games start.

Speaker 1: 22:41

At the end of August you're playing Friday night at seven o'clock a 90 minute game, and then Sunday at one o'clock, which I couldn't wrap my head around. I was like how is the body meant to recover? And then you'd play 18 games. So your season's done by early November. If you don't make the playoffs, then from November to January you're off, no training. January to April is training three or four times a week, and then you've got your summers off. So I quickly realized I'm not getting the volume and frequency of training that I need to in order to really give this a go as a pro in the college system, because the lads back home you're training every day, you probably off one day a week. But the sheer frequency of training and the quality of training was higher back home so I was like, okay, it might have to be a plan E we're now doing a disservice.

Speaker 2: 23:45

We'll have to change our counting.

Speaker 1: 23:47

We're doing a disservice to where you're at we're gonna run out of letters soon, mate alphabets done.

Speaker 2: 23:52

I mean it's fascinating you. You realize that because you know there's a lot of things we talk about as professional athletes where it is getting the hours and getting in that intentional, purposeful practice, and for you to start to recognize very early on that if you did only that system or that approach you would not attain well, the level you knew you needed to attain to become a professional footballer. What change? You know you had this plan. You know having a plan is important. What did you change?

Speaker 1: 24:22

I think, just enjoying the experience. I think when you're a player, it's very easy to get caught up on what's next, what's next, what's next? I'm not really enjoying the present. So I think I had a bit of a mindset shift where I was just focused on the now, like this game, really enjoying myself on the field, enjoying aspects off the field to that comes with an American college, you know, because in terms of discipline, you have to be very disciplined if you want to reach it to the top of the game, and a lot of players we only hear, you know, the success stories, the. I was so disciplined, I did this, I missed this for this. Some of the unsuccessful stories are you know, I sacrificed this and I didn't achieve my goal. So I didn't want that to be my case. I wanted to enjoy every experience that I had part of in the present moment and again adapt to whatever thing came next and trying to make the best situation out of that yeah, that's so interesting to hear is how you took.

Speaker 2: 25:29

You got the stream, you've got this plan of what you want to achieve. In essence, what you shifted was that mindset. You shifted your mindset in enjoying the journey, enjoying the path that you're on right now and it does sound like, by putting your best intentions into what you're doing in the moment, that will actually achieve your best outcome yeah, definitely, and I think just that, controlling the controllables, I can't decide if I'm gonna get picked up by an MLS team, the games full of opinions.

Speaker 1: 25:58

What I can control is the environment that I'm in currently and how I can control factors to manipulate that to the best of my ability. So in training, can I turn up, you know, before everyone else? Can I control that? Yeah, so I can do that. Can I stay after everyone else? Yes, can I make sure I approach everything with discipline and professionalism, as I would have back home? Yes, don't let the standards slip. So I think, for the younger athletes that are listening who haven't transitioned out of the game yet, it's making sure that discipline and that professionalism is never lost, whatever environment that you're currently in.

Speaker 2: 26:40

Yeah, I think that's wonderful. It's beautifully said, in fact, because it is taking control of what you can and it's focusing on essentially the small bits. It's breaking that process down. You know you talk there about, be it punctuality, be it effort put in, be it. You know, the discipline around maintaining those standards, and that's something, as you've just said, is really important to maintain in sport and in your life after sport as well, as that certainly continues. And so for you, coming out of that college experience, you started enjoying the journey, you started making sure you're doing those steps right. As you were then exiting college, what was success supposed to be for you?

Speaker 1: 27:20

There's a couple of options Go on trial at some American teams, so professional teams, not MLS. I wasn't up to that standard, I think, having the foresight to be realistic, optimistic but realistic at the same time. So it'd be going to lower league American teams, but the issue is obviously the visa. So am I good enough player where teams will pay to have me stay on a visa? Yeah, I wouldn't be in a stable position. I'd probably have a year contract and then I'd have to move on. Would I be, you know, moving across the country? So for me it was more so. What can I control here in terms of visa situations and a job that has the potential for sustainability and stability too? So hence setting up Bistera.

Speaker 1: 28:14

Originally it was Beast and Soccer training, so originally it was just me, but Mike Matera, the American co-founder of Bistera, came on board as well, and just having him was a massive, massive positive for not only myself but the business too. While we were teammates at college, he was undecided about what he was gonna do after, after graduating. So we were living together and just kind of trying to figure things out one day at a time. So initially it was can we earn enough money through private sessions where we can have bananas and peanut butter this is the running joke. So, like that was what I would eat just bananas and peanut butter. You know, we were sleeping each on a mattress.

Speaker 1: 29:00

It was great because it was very exciting. We felt as though we were always in control of our environment, we weren't relying on anyone else. But also it is, like I said, quite daunting where what if no one signs up? What if we don't bring this in then? But just having him collaborative throughout the whole journey has been huge, Just for the traits and the skillset that he brings to the business too.

Speaker 2: 29:26

So before we step into that bit, I just wanna take you back to again that's one of the words you mentioned. There was stability, and a phrase I use a lot is, I guess, the sustained success. So a sustainable success and there, as I was asking you what is success and you were really looking about, well, if you play football, you could get moved loads of different places. You wouldn't be necessarily in as much control as you wanted, so you look for something that would give you more stability. And then you start talking about setting up your own business. And help me understand here you're saying being a footballer in a one year contract is less stable than actually setting up your own business.

Speaker 1: 30:06

I think we have to look at the long term picture of this. So for a professional footballer, it's not only unstable, the career span, the lifespan of a professional footballer. If you play to late 30s, you've had a very good career. If you're not playing in the top league, you're playing in the bottom leagues, then you're gonna be scrapping when you hit 40, 50, 60. There's no longevity in that. So I think myself and Mike, we didn't mind that instability initially, knowing that we could build something that is more sustainable and stable in the long run.

Speaker 2: 30:44

And that's something that being your business is something you feel you'd be able to have some control over. We speak about sport, or football in this instance being full of opinions and that perspective. It's as much as we bring data into it. It's still quite a subjective approach and what you're saying is, by setting your business, by creating your own environment, you felt you had a bit more control in your destiny and that path.

Speaker 1: 31:09

Yeah. And so alongside Bistera we also went to do college coaching. So we were assistants at the College of St Rose, still in the same area, but we both wanted to coach. We didn't realize. Again there's this shiny thing that comes with being a university a college coach. There's the glitz and the glam of that. But again we saw the ins and outs of what it means to be a college coach. So after one year in New York as a college coach my visa was up for renewal. So I actually made a little trip down to Alabama for three years to get a master's degree. So I stayed on a student visa.

Speaker 1: 31:49

I was still a college coach down in Alabama as an assistant and again I got to saw the ins and outs of what it means to be a college coach. And I remember speaking to the head coach, which was Steve Ozorick, the guy who originally bought me to America, and we got talking one day and he's like what do you like about this job? And I'm like I like being on the field, I like being on the pitch and coaching. I said what about you? He goes, I just love recruiting players and a huge part of being a college coach out in the States is the recruitment of players. So that's not just going to watch a couple of games, getting to sign them and then that's it it's.

Speaker 1: 32:24

Do they speak English as a second language? So if so, they've got to take, you know, a foreign language exam to pass. What are their grades like? Are they able to get into the college? Are they able to provide the right amount of tuition to get into the college? Financial aid and all of that stuff was just. It just didn't wet my appetite for staying in the game. So it could have been any form of coaching that I would be interested in, but just seeing that college coaching aspect just kind of put me off it and I was like it's not for me. This.

Speaker 2: 32:57

Right, and that's understanding. Sounds like that would have been a conversation I'd love to have been part of, because you're asking about yourselves what do you love about the job you're doing, and do you feel he was asking you that question because he saw where your natural energy, or where your energy came from whilst you were doing the role, and that had both of you thinking about, well, what does come next?

Speaker 1: 33:18

It's funny to say that because my main responsibility as the assistant coach is to recruit players. So, head of recruitment, honestly couldn't think of anything worse. So we basically, from that conversation, he's like, well, do you want to lead the sessions and I'll do the recruitment. And I'm like, yeah, absolutely. And that was massively important for him to do and for him to say no ego here, you do my job, I'll do yours, because that's what our skill sets are better suited to. So I love leading the sessions and being out on the pitch with the boys and putting them through good sessions and how we're going to set up tactically, stuff like that. Now, that's not to say he neglected all of that. He still had final say with everything. But I'd go, we could do this, this and this, and I'd be a little bit more vocal on the pitch as well.

Speaker 2: 34:05

I mean, you've described working as a team. You've described an authentic, high-performing team where the two of you work together, playing to your strengths, quite simply. Very much what we do on a football field or many team sports is you identify what works for someone, what works for yourself, and if you both bring in your natural energy, you find success in it. It sounds that, at least for you was that really started to work.

Speaker 1: 34:30

Yeah, it's huge. And if you look at Beast Air and now with myself, mike, who's the other co-founder, and Matt, who came on and is this three owners myself, mike and Matt we each possess certain skill sets that are very complementary of each other. So for me, I love the one-to-one, the small group sessions, the education, the coaching, education, and I also love the marketing and the social media aspects. For Mike, he loves camps, he loves the soccer camps. For Matt, he loves numbers and finances. So, just, I think, for anyone listening, a lot of the times we're told to work on our weaknesses, but I also think it's so important sometimes to double down on your strengths because, like you said, energy is one thing. You're not going to have the same energy working on a weakness as you are trying to double down on a strength and really perfect that. So that's been a huge learning process for the three others as well.

Speaker 2: 35:28

And I think it's a wise step to take. That energy comes when you feel like you're building yourself up and often, if you can get that balance right, some of the bits that are in your shadow, those weaknesses, those areas that develop, they're going to rise up with you as well. So really is focusing on, like you say, doubling down on those strengths makes that impact and for you, it's therefore started to help you to well build a successful business alongside your co-owners as well.

Speaker 1: 35:56

Yeah, and it's constantly having that. The more that we expand, it's constantly refining those skill sets too. So something that we weren't well versed in is man management, because, you know, before it was just us and we just have to take care of ourselves and making sure the business is okay with those three. Now that we've bought on large staff members like in the summer might deal in with, you know, 50 to 60 coaches. Some of them are high school ages too. So just being able to manage people is a skill set that we're all currently working on every day, and that's all part of the learning experience and growing as a business and as people too.

Speaker 2: 36:36

So, like you say, you're running a business, you're learning as a team. How do you look at, do you supplement? To what extent do you supplement your learning in terms of that man, management and as the business grows? Is it try and have a little test and learn, or do you do structured things to get that inside your culture?

Speaker 1: 36:55

So listening to podcasts. So the office and where we're located for sessions is a 30 minute drive for me, so when I drive down every morning I'll put on something an educational podcast. It can be a mixture of everything, but I want to understand how to manage people better. That's one. Two is just being in the office now, having our finger on the pulse of what the environment needs. For example, a staff member came in late to a meeting yesterday and it's the first time it's happened. So it's, how do you deal with that?

Speaker 1: 37:29

I think myself, matt and Mike all have our own styles of dealing with that. So for me, I like to put it out in the open for everyone to hear, just so that they know. But I'll do it in a jokey way. So I'll say something like was that I hope that coffee is nice enough because you came in late? Or something like that I hope the coffee was worth it, or something. Where again, it's borderline, I think, in if we didn't have a sporting background or the staff members, it may come across as a little bit too forward, but for me I think, just with the staff that we've got on board and their experience back in sport, saying that it's kind of tongue in cheek yeah that is a very, that's a changing room mentality.

Speaker 2: 38:15

Changing room, just yes, exactly, should be fine in them as well.

Speaker 1: 38:19

For yes, well that the shout did come out for fine in them. Yeah, but HR Matt's in charge of HR is like no, we're not doing that.

Speaker 2: 38:28

Some things that are left behind. And look, I suppose you know, coming sort of starting to wrap up a little bit, you know I'd love to ask you then, from your experiences as a you know, I guess, as a footballing experience, what are the types of things that you feel you've had to leave behind as you run your own business?

Speaker 1: 38:46

I think for people who get involved into sports from a younger age, their sport is their identity for a large part of it, and football has always been a part of my identity. But I don't want when everyone thinks of me I don't want them to think, oh yeah, football. So for me now I think it's going to be more so how do I come away from that and not have an identity tied to just the sport? It's all coach or leader or something like that, rather than all football. And I think for the listeners who have gone through sporting experiences and that with rejection, the reason it hurts so much the rejection is because you lose that identity.

Speaker 1: 39:29

So for me, when I got released from Port Vale, I've lost that identity of being a Port Vale player. So all of my school friends are how's Port Vale going? I lost that, which is very hard hitting at the time. So for those people who can work on other skill sets to promote themselves as human beings and better skill sets in that area, it's going to help them out to not be as hard hitting when the rug does get pulled under their feet, because it will. The rug will get pulled at certain times and it's how you identify and add depth to that. So James.

Speaker 2: 40:03

I think that's great and just in there you're giving some of those tips to anyone listening. I think it's really important that separation from what you do and who you are and that sounds like a journey that you continue to be on and you recognize that and, as now, as a leader in a team where you're physically in the office, you're looking at how big or how far you can go as a company, you're starting to recognize that who you are will shift and adjust as you move along that path as well. So listen, james, I want to thank you for certainly sharing your story and bringing your perspective to the Second Win the Academy podcast. I love to. You know we've got certainly listeners who are going to be new to you and what you do. Just share with me what's the best way for them to get in contact with you or follow what you do, so social media channels are on Instagram, youtube, tiktok.

Speaker 1: 40:52

Tiktok is one that we're adapting to, but it's at B-Sterisocca Training, so B-E-E-S-T-E-R-A soccer training. If they want to check out our website as well, it's wwwbsterisocca-trainingcom. And yeah, so we put up all of our coaching techniques, certain exercises that we're doing, all on our social media platforms and it's all free content.

Speaker 2: 41:14

So, james, thanks very much for joining me today. Thanks, Ryan, Appreciate it. Thank you for listening to the Second Win podcast. We hope you enjoyed hearing insights from today's athlete on transitioning out of competitive careers. If you're looking for career clarity for your next step, make sure you check out secondwinio for more information or to book a consultation with me. I'd like to thank Claire from Betty Book Design, Nancy from Savvy Podcast Solutions and Serice from Copying Content by Lola for their help in putting this podcast together. That's all from me. Take it easy Until next time.