Group work
Honest conversations with other athletes: some recently cut, some preparing for it, some years out and still working through it. A room where you don't have to mask, perform or explain. People who get it without needing the long version.
A fully funded, five-day retreat for athletes navigating the end of their sporting career, all working out the same thing: "who am I after sport?"
Maybe you turn the sport off when it's on TV. Or you watch and something bothers you that you can't explain. Maybe you took the first thing that came after retirement and it doesn't feel like yours. Maybe people keep telling you how exciting this is, and you keep nodding.
That isn't weakness. It's something almost every retired athlete experiences, and almost no one talks about openly.
The retreat is a gathering of athletes. Some retired through injury. Some by choice. Some still aren't sure which it was. Some are weeks out; some are years on and still working through it.
You don't have to have it figured out. You just have to be willing to slow down and look at it, with people who don't need it explained.
You just need to recognise yourself in some of this, and be ready to spend five days with athletes doing the same work.
It doesn't matter how the sport ended. It doesn't matter what level you competed at. What you lost is similar enough that everyone on the retreat will recognise it, and understand.
You arrive on a Wednesday afternoon at 42 Acres, a working farm and retreat space in Frome, Somerset. You drop your bags. For the first time in a long time, you're not on a schedule built by someone else for performance. The pace is slower than anything you knew in sport. The programme is structured, but that structure serves the work, not the timetable.
Honest conversations with other athletes: some recently cut, some preparing for it, some years out and still working through it. A room where you don't have to mask, perform or explain. People who get it without needing the long version.
Breath and meditation work that quiets a nervous system trained to stay amped up. Practices like the connected breath, that let you process things you didn't know you were still carrying. Tools you take home: ten minutes before work, before bed, in the moments you'd usually push through.
Being fully present in your body. Not to achieve an outcome, not for a performance. A chance to experience non-linear movement, to listen and learn from your body. Reconnecting to a sense of freedom and play, coming alive without judgement or competition.
There are things you won't say in a group. Facilitators are available throughout the week, one at a time, at the pace the conversation needs. They've lived this transition themselves and aren't there to fix you or coach you towards an outcome. And the access doesn't end on the Sunday. Most attendees stay in contact with a facilitator long after the retreat ends.
I've stopped running from the sadness of retirement.
This space offers the graduation to the most powerful, loving and incredible version of what you are.
My needs were never considered this well when I was competing in my paralympic sport.
I've never felt as free as I have felt in these days.
Designed and led by Rick Cotgreave, founder of Human First Athlete Transitions. The team are trained in multiple modalities, drawing their expertise from coaching, therapeutic and contemplative practices. Each brings first-hand experience of retirement from elite sport.
Applications are reviewed individually and places are limited. The sooner you apply, the sooner we can find out if the timing is right for you.
Complete the short application form below. A member of our team will then get in touch to organise a call.
The call is part of the application. It's how we make sure the timing's right for you, and how you decide whether the retreat is right for you. There's no cost, and no pressure. Questions before you start? Email us at contact@humanfirst-at.com.
A few short questions. It takes a few minutes, and you don't need to have anything figured out.
A member of the team arranges a relaxed call to talk it through with you.
You and the team work out whether July 2026 is the right time for you.
The form has its own Submit button at the end. If the form doesn't load above, open the application form in a new tab, or email your application to contact@humanfirst-at.com.