athletes in transition initiative

ACI’s Athletes in Transition Initiative is a movement to begin spreading awareness and education to athletes after their playing career. We want to provide current and former college and professional athletes with education and on the job experience in the rapidly growing cyber security world. Our goal is to give them direction in order to grow and succeed in a new profession.

Each year, athletes across the US eventually leave the sport to which they dedicated a large portion of their lives. Reasons for leaving vary from injury, to being released from the team, to a desire to pursue another career path. Whatever the reason, often times this shift in career leaves them feeling left in the dark, confused, and hopeless. Recently, BBC reported that retired athletes feel that they “lose their identity when they finish playing sport, experiencing loss, regret and devastation.”

ACI will dedicate a percentage of all investments and profits to hire and train athletes for both internships and career advancement.

It all started when…

…the end of TS Reed’s playing career began. TS played college baseball as an All-American at California State University Northridge, and went on to play professional baseball for a season before walking away from the game to obtain his Master’s degree. Although he thought he had a plan in place for life after baseball, he almost immediately felt that nothing could replace the sense of purpose and solidarity that the game had provided him for as long as he could remember. While struggling with rediscovering that new sense of purpose and belonging, he was fortunately given the chance to get back into the baseball world by way of coaching college baseball. He joined the University of San Diego baseball staff and then would go on to coach at a Division 2 college program in Arkansas. In between these stints he also coached collegiate summer baseball for 2 summers in Arkansas. During this time, he saw a number of former teammates and/or players he coached that were nearing the end of their career or had already hung up their cleats, going through the same struggles that he had gone through. He knew these players needed support, and there was a way he could help.

After coaching in Arkansas, TS put full-time coaching on hold to join a cyber security company in San Diego to put his Master’s degree to use. He maintained contact with his baseball network and stayed involved with the game as much as possible, while trying to find a way to give back to the community that had given him so much his entire life. Utilizing the skills and knowledge he gained in the cyber security and technology fields, he started Archangel Cyber Intelligence knowing that it could become a hub for providing the resources and support that former athletes, like him, would have jumped at the opportunity to explore.

The Athletes in Transition program is available to all former collegiate and professional athletes, and provides a pipeline for them to learn the skills they need to transition more efficiently into life after their playing career. They will obtain these skills by traversing through a challenging and exciting cybersecurity curriculum, through on the job training with a paid internships, and all while surrounded by former athletes who have gone through or are going through the same life experiences as they are. Through this program we can show these former athletes that the sense of camaraderie, teamwork, and purpose they once had can be recreated, even after their playing careers have ended.

How it Works

Our dedicated team will provide a 3-month curriculum focused in cyber security or various other fields within Information Technology. This curriculum will focus on the foundations and fundamentals of the chosen area, including an overview of certifications and positions within the industry.

During the online learning path, ACI will provide a part time internship to give hands-on training in various facets of cyber security. Concepts learned within the internship will reflect various topics within IT, security, and business management as well.

The journey will end with one of various certifications that are widely respected within the technology industry. It will ensure that the intern has learned the basics required of for entry level roles in their field, and opens the door to several jobs in the sector. ACI will also provide connections to various technology companies and technology recruiting firms to launch the athlete in transition into a new career path.