"Only 10% make it to the pros. How do the remaining 90% live their lives?" Why did an Olympic gold medalist personally visit a girls' middle school basketball team?

*This content was translated by AI.

"There are more than approximately 70,000 student-athletes nationwide, but only one in ten of them joins a professional or semi-professional team to earn a living through sports. The moment will eventually come when you have to stop playing. That is why you must start preparing now."

In a classroom at Sookmyung Girls' Middle School in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 14th of last month, the voice of an Olympic gold medalist standing before about a dozen student basketball players was calm yet powerful. It was Commissioner An Sang-mi (47), a former short track speed skating gold medalist at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics who has been widely loved as an international referee and broadcast commentator since her retirement. On that day, she took the stage as a lecturer and mentor for the Korea Sports Council's career education program for young athletes.

The first question Commissioner An posed to the players was, "What are your dreams?"

In that moment, the eyes of the student-athletes began to sparkle. However, they could not easily open their mouths at first. Commissioner An said, "You may still feel awkward and shy with each other, but once you get used to it, words will start to come out," adding, "Practice is also needed for speaking. Just as you train every day to play basketball well, speaking actually requires training as well. I found it difficult at first, but by doing it a lot continuously, I gradually got better," easing the atmosphere as she began her lecture.

Commissioner An stated, "Currently, there are approximately 74,000 student-athletes active across 57 sports domestically. However, only 10% of them will be able to join a professional league or semi-professional team upon reaching adulthood and earn money as athletes in the true sense." She continued, "So what should the remaining 90% do? I conducted a survey on what the biggest concern is for student-athletes recently. The results showed that more than 60% of respondents are more concerned about their career path after graduation or retirement than about immediate improvement in performance. However, only 27% answered that they were actually preparing something for that time. Seven out of ten are playing sports with a vague sense of anxiety because they do not know how to prepare."

She then candidly shared her experience of early retirement. Commissioner An recalled, "In my third year of middle school, I wore the national team badge at the youngest age and lived solely in the Taerung Sports Village for seven years until my fourth year of university. Although I experienced the pinnacle moment of winning an Olympic gold medal, after graduating from university, I reached a point where I had no choice but to stop playing. This was because there were no semi-professional teams in short track speed skating at the time. Ultimately, I had to leave the ice rink at the young age of 23."

The second question Commissioner An posed was, "Are you also preparing for your career path right now?"

Commissioner An said, "I guess not, because you probably do not know how to prepare," adding, "In the case of basketball, which is your sport, there are professional and semi-professional teams, but there are not many players who play as starters and remain active for a long time. It is a reality that retirement comes to everyone without exception, to the extent that 'National Treasure Center' Seo Jang-hoon confessed, 'I thought my life was over when I retired.'"

Commissioner An then brought up vivid success stories of career transitions by various athletes. Examples included a police special recruitment case for a former mixed martial arts fighter, a transformation from a cricket player to a firefighter, and cases of basketball players living another life as show hosts and broadcasters. Commissioner An emphasized, "Your strength is that you possess physical stamina that does not lose to anyone," adding, "The social skills developed through group living in boarding training and the competitive spirit become your most powerful weapons when you enter society."

The third question Commissioner An raised was, "What jobs can one have as an athlete?"

Then, the students who had been listening attentively to Commissioner An's lecture began to focus even more. Various job categories such as "coach, commentator, team trainer, physical therapist, and physical education teacher" came out of the students' mouths. Commissioner An smiled brightly, saying, "I have given lectures at many schools so far, but you students at Sookmyung Girls' Middle School gave the most answers today."

Commissioner An introduced, "Job categories that former athletes can challenge are not limited to coaches or trainers. According to the Korea Employment Information Service, more than 85 specialized occupations are open, including sports marketers, performance analysts, skill coaches, physical education teachers, sports administrators, and journalists." She then advised, "Also, each sports institutional investor requires various administrative personnel. With the recent increase in interest in health, there are also many lifestyle sports instructors. Specialized exercise therapists for maintaining the health of the elderly have also emerged. In addition to the Korea Sports Council and the 17th provincial and metropolitan sports councils, there are sport-specific federations as well as international organizations. If you add just one foreign language ability to the athletic expertise and knowledge you currently possess, opportunities to be active on the global stage are boundless."

So what should be prepared to achieve that? Commissioner An listed obtaining qualifications for lifestyle sports instructors and specialized sports instructors, which can be acquired after high school graduation, as essential tasks. She said, "Unlike in the past, you cannot enter a sports club or school as an instructor without a qualification now. You also cannot apply for national team instructor positions or sports council development program instructor competitions. It is one of the qualifications that must be fundamentally equipped. Even if you decide not to become an instructor, human affairs are unpredictable. I have seen many seniors and juniors who missed opportunities because they did not have the qualification when an instructor offer came. So I hope you will definitely obtain it," conveying a message of caution.

Furthermore, Commissioner An emphasized the importance of studying. She said, "Of course, it may be a bit difficult, but nowadays, when advancing to university, school grades are also being considered," adding, "In the past, I could hardly attend school classes because I was in the sports village, but now it is an era where one must pursue both sports and academics. It is not about getting perfect scores in Korean, English, and math immediately. You must maintain a minimum level of basic learning ability so that you have the strength to acquire specialized knowledge on your own when you want to challenge other fields later. In university admissions, if practical skills are equal, internal grades ultimately determine acceptance or rejection."

Finally, Commissioner An said, "The current training where you sweat toward your goal is precious, but please remember that the court is not everything in my life," adding, "The Korea Sports Council's Athlete Career Support Center provides various education for free. Since you can receive these benefits well, I hope you will utilize them effectively. I provided a lot of guidance because I think it would be really good if you could grow your capabilities through such education. If listening to my words today makes you think that you must change at least one thing, I would be truly satisfied. There is a saying that 'the moment you set a goal, you are already close to your dream and result.' I hope you will set goals well in each moment and continue your dreams well," cheering them on.

Kim Seo-yul (3rd year), a student who listened to the lecture that day, expressed her impressions, saying, "Until now, I had only thought of becoming a coach as my career path after retirement, but through this opportunity, I learned that there are much more diverse job categories. I became interested in jobs like sports agents, not just instructors. While it is most important to do my best on the court as a student-athlete right now, I felt that it would be good to prepare for the future in between while working hard at sports. I realized that even after retirement, it is not the end and there are many new paths I can challenge."

Commissioner An, met after finishing her lecture, stated, "When I face young students, I often recall memories of my athletic days. Starting from 2019, I began standing on the podium as an education mentor because I did not want juniors to feel alone and anxious about career issues. There are surprisingly many students who seriously consider their careers in the field, so I feel great fulfillment in being able to provide even a small help."

She continued, "During middle and high school days, it is not easy for anyone to think of paths other than sports. This education is a time to take a breath and make a 'change of thinking' in preparation for the moment of retirement that will eventually come. I hope you have an open perspective that there are boundless fields to challenge besides sports," adding, "Of course, right now, it is most important to do your best in the role inherent to student-athletes in the given environment. I hope you will challenge various experiences without hesitation, just as when entering a competition. The social skills of group living and strong physical stamina built through sports will become powerful weapons that cannot be exchanged for anything, whether entering any field of society beyond the sports industry," once again conveying a sincere message of support to her juniors.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.