In an exclusive Q&A, Jack responds to questions posed by PhysioUpdate editor Ian A McMillan. Now enjoying his second year of a physiotherapy degree, Jack reflects on his footballing career and how he grabbed the opportunity to switch to physiotherapy.

Tell us about your career in football. Was it tough to move on?

I laughed when I was asked to summarise my career in football. Having to compress such a substantial portion of my life into a few hundred words was both challenging and rewarding. Who do I mention? So many to thank: my family, friends, team-mates, fans, coaches … the list could go on forever. Additionally, I realised I never reflected on all the things I had done. Two days later after I retired, I started my undergraduate degree in physiotherapy at York St John University.

So, a brief history: I spent 14 years playing professional football in five European countries for several clubs. I played in stadiums full of 20,000-plus fans and empty stadiums during the pandemic of 2019-2020.

‘In my late twenties I started thinking about life after the “final whistle”. After a lot of research and reflection, physiotherapy aligned with both my desire to work with people and the possibility to continue in elite sports but as physiotherapist’

Highlights include

• a 14-year professional career
• eight trophies (six major)
• 150 league goals (176 in all competitions)
• 7 Golden Boots
• 1 Kuriren Bollen 2018 (best player in the north of Sweden)  

Many of my playing years were in Sweden, nine seasons in total as a centre forward. I could write a book about the highlights, experiences and amazing people I have met around the world. But the most life-changing time was the two years playing for Boden BK in Sweden. We won the league in dramatic fashion on the last day of the first season to go up to the first division and I scored my best personal return with more than 50 goals in my time at the club. I met my partner Frida who I honestly believe I could not have done all this without. I made some lifelong friends. For those reasons I must say it was my best time in football – both on and off the pitch. Although small, Boden is still one of my favourite places to visit.

Why the switch to physiotherapy and why did you choose York St John?

I was always interested in people, stories, health and fitness/sports. I was one of the lucky ones to make it as a professional footballer, so I got to live my boyhood dream. I always knew football was a short career, a chapter that would close with a lot of life left to live afterwards. In my late twenties I started thinking about life after the ‘final whistle’. After a lot of research and reflection, physiotherapy aligned with both my desire to work with people and the possibility to continue in elite sports but as physiotherapist.

For anyone out there either transitioning from another profession or changing jobs, there is a lot of fear, and that is normal! My challenge, I have been playing professional football since I was 17 years old.

My fears included

• that I could I go into higher education when the last formal education I had was at high school
• that I would I miss football and think I’d made a huge mistake by retiring early
• that I would I feel imposter syndrome if I did start studying and found I was far behind everyone else

Choosing York St John University was not that difficult. The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) – the union for professional footballers –  offers various development schemes to help players during and after their careers. These include academic courses, coaching courses and media courses. The offer for a physiotherapy degree was either studying part time at the University of Salford or full time at York St John, both partially funded through the union. I wanted to study full time (three years). However, York is a beautiful city and I had been there before so that was a bonus!

‘My journey in physiotherapy is just beginning; I have so much to learn and cannot wait to see where this career takes me!’

How are your studies going and have you had any surprises?

I am now into the second year on my course, which has gone by in a flash. I am not alone: there are PFA and military students from remarkably similar professions. Naturally, the consensus is that I would be a sports physiotherapist, but respiratory and neurology of physiotherapy are fascinating and have opened my mind to the possibilities. Neurology and musculoskeletal are jobs I can see suiting me.

I really am enjoying this course and the profession excites me as my understanding grows. To those that are considering a change of job or career, I implore you to take a chance on yourself. I gave up four extra years as a professional footballer to go back to school to pursue a new profession and found out the things that had me succeed in football are the same things that are making me succeed in physiotherapy: hard work, discipline, teamwork and the ability to perform under pressure. The same traits that shaped me as an athlete are now shaping me as a physiotherapist.

I have made a huge transition from professional sport back into full time education, but I have enjoyed the challenge and answered my ‘fear questions’

• I have done better than I could imagine academically.
• I miss the social aspects of football and playing big games as you can imagine. It is hard to replicate fighting with your team-mates to score the winning goal in the last kick of the game. Respiratory physiotherapists might have you believe sputum clearance is better! (I am yet to experience this in practice, maybe someone has a comment reading this?)
• I did feel like an imposter initially but the support system around me gave me the confidence to trust in the process. My results at the end of the first year confirmed to me I could be great at more than just football

Final thoughts

It was an honour to be asked to this Q&A, thank you Ian for inviting me to tell my story. Another thing I never thought I could do! My journey in physiotherapy is just beginning. I have so much to learn and cannot wait to see where this career takes me!

For readers who are deciding whether they should go back to study, changing career path or try something new, I encourage you to push yourself.

I would like to wish all the readers of this great outlet the best and keep exploring the possibilities.

Email: jackhgreen@hotmail.co.uk