We guide professional track and field athletes as they transition from sport to business.
We provide athletes with career coaching and access to paid internships or meaningful work opportunities with industry leading companies. And we provide our business partners with one of the largest groups of untapped, diverse potential in business.
"I was a professional track & field athlete and marathoner representing Nike for over a decade. As my athletic career entered its final chapter, it became clear that I needed to start thinking about my future. Chris O'Donnell helped guide me through some of these conversations and introduced me to several project-work opportunities. This allowed me to make connections with experts in the industry, provide real value to the company I worked for, and come away with relevant experience that helped me land my first post athletic-career job. His help with resume building and networking were a big value add, but the opportunity to work on multiple project teams, producing real-world results, made the biggest difference for me."
"College-educated, professional track athletes are perhaps the most untapped source of quality employees in America. We have seized the opportunity to work part-time and fully remote with really smart athletes who are also interested in business or real estate, and will offer full-time employment to the best of them just like we do with our college intern program. In return, they get the opportunity to build their resume and rest their legs while earning a living and hopefully bringing home the gold for America."
From John Burns Real Estate
The Bell Lap was a truly transformative experience, equipping me with the tools to confidently transition from the track to the corporate world. The process allowed me to look introspectively to discover where my passions lie and where I want to my career to go. It can honestly be a daunting task, trying to articulate to how such a seemly specialized and nontraditional career like being a professional athlete can be an asset to a company. But the Bell Lap help me cultivate language that marketed my athletic skills and experiences to make me a viable and attractive candidate.
They helped me connect the dots for myself and others. I was able to bolster my resume, leverage LinkedIn, and interview with confidence and poise. This was an invaluable process of self-discovery and preparation that gave me vital skills I know I will use for years to come.
"I have competed in track and field for more than half of my life and the skills that I have adopted are nothing short of extraordinary: Adaptability, creativity, relentless work ethic, compartmentalization, performance under pressure are just a view of the traits I have not only learned but mastered while competing. But, putting on those skills on paper in a corporate setting is another task all on its own. The Bell Lap helped me to leverage my attributes in the workforce and provided me with opportunities to showcase my strengths in a corporate setting. The job roles that I was able to work through the Bell Lap allowed me to get real world experience while still training and competing at a high level. The issue with athletes is not that we don’t have the experience to be successful in this roles but that we don’t always have the opportunities to showcase our traits. The Bell Lap bridges that gap. I love this program and am excited because it can only get better."
Whether you are a professional athlete or a business person, you should enjoy this conversation between Kyle Merber and Ashton Eaton on their personal transitions from a career in sport, to a career in business.
