National Career Week: Setting yourself up on and off the bike

National Careers Week is an initiative of the Career Industry Council of Australia that celebrates careers, career development, career development services, and career development practitioners and promotes the economic, social, and personal benefits of career development.

AusCycling strives to support the holistic development of our athletes both on and off the bike by fostering career and education pathways while representing Australia to ensure they thrive in their career beyond the Australian Cycling Team.

Within the Australian Cycling Team, riders pursue personal and professional career development activities that align with high-performance cycling careers. Many are engaged in formal or informal education, and others may be at various stages of their career focus alongside their sporting endeavours.

Darren Hicks and Meg Lemon are just two of many examples of athletes within the Australian Cycling Team who are proactively engaged in pursuing careers alongside training and competitions.

After graduating from University with a Nutrition and Dietetics bachelor's degree, Adelaide's Meg Lemon moved to the Northern Territory to promote public health nutrition and reduce chronic health conditions in remote Indigenous communities. While commuting in 2014, Meg was hit by a truck suffered a traumatic brain injury which left her with memory and processing issues, and she was unable to work for several years.

In 2014, Adelaide's Darren Hicks, while performing his job as a truck driver, was involved in a crash, and because of the incident, he was forced to have his leg amputated.

Needing social connection, fitness, coordination rehabilitation and personal challenge, both Meg and Darren used cycling as an essential part of their rehabilitation.

Cycling became more than just rehab for the pair as they joined an AusCycling club and quickly moved through the ranks of competitive cycling, becoming part of the SASI and Australian Cycling Team's para-cycling squads.

Within a few years, the pair made their Australian Team debuts. Darren's growing resume now boasting world titles on the road and track, while Meg has appeared on the World Championship podium nine times in the past four years.

For Meg, her off-bike career aspirations continued alongside her career in the green and gold bands via volunteer work through Sports Dietitians Australia. And as her work capacity increased, she began coaching in a cycling studio. She began consulting at a PT business (Life PT) as a sports dietitian working with a range of athletes and the general population with chronic health conditions.

With her coach working to fit her training schedule around work, Meg's cycling has positively influenced her career. Through cycling, she has gained knowledge and first-hand experience and can better empathise about sport, training and living with a disability that she now uses in her professional life.

"Cycling has allowed me to rebuild my life, overcome obstacles and develop my personal and professional skills that I am now able to adapt and leverage to re-establishing my dietetic and nutrition career," said Lemon.

"Although cycling is a major part of my life as I prepare for Paralympic Games selection, and it will always be a part of my life, I am aware I won't be an elite athlete forever. Thus, the two need to work together as it's essential to develop my professional development and transfer my skillset to the workforce.

"This helps to build my identity, self-worth outside of sport and subsequently my wellbeing when things aren't always going well on the bike or when I transition away from elite sport."

Like Meg, Adelaide's Hicks was keen to build a career away from the bike and found a calling in public speaking. AusCycling supported his participation in a speaking course, with his coach Cam Jennings rearranging his training schedule to complete the course. Speakers Studio also tailored a program to his individual needs.

Like he does on the bike on the track and road, Darren now spends many hours practising his speaking and building experience in the area.

Recently he completed a presentation to AusCycling coaches and staff while also speaking to the Podium Potential Academy group as part of the holistic development sessions about his journey, his experiences on and off the bike and how he is developing himself beyond his sporting performances.

AusCycling's coordination of the holistic development of our athletes both on and off the bike comes through key staff in the Athlete Wellbeing & Engagement (AW&E) space who support athletes striving for sustained excellence in high performance and other significant aspects of their lives.

"Evidence shows that engagement in meaningful activities outside of sport can positively impact on wellbeing," said Chris Lynch, AW&E Lead, Australian Cycling Team. "There is also more emerging evidence that engaging in career and transition planning can support performance and enables a longer career in sport.

"The development of people in high-performance sport should not be limited to the skillset to win at major games but also to thrive outside the sporting environment. We are committed to providing an environment that allows our riders to thrive on and off the bike and in future careers."

Similarly, Keren Faulkner, Head of Performance Solutions and AW&E Manager Para‑cycling, Australian Cycling Team, is proud to be part of the supportive team around the athletes.

"Meg and Darren are great examples of athletes aiming to harmonise the commitments of high-performance sport and career progression," said Faulkner. "It is important that athletes have the safe space to explore themselves and their options, to develop and progress, and have access to resources that help them achieve their goals."