TIME-OUT graduates obtain Masters of Science in Leadership and Management

NEWCASTLE (United Kingdom) - Ten graduates of TIME-OUT, a program launched by FIBA Europe and its national federations in 2017, have also obtained a Masters of Science in Leadership and Management from the Business School of the Northumbria University.

The 10 current or former players that furthered their education are Anna Barthold, Kieron Achara, Raffaella Masciadri, Natasa Kovacevic, Pavel Pumprla, Rachel Vanderwal, Sandro Nicevic, Nadia Mossong, Tina Stein and Virgil Stanescu. 

Masciadri, who represented Italy's national team for many years and competed in the country's domestic league, the EuroLeague Women and the WNBA, put a lot of time and energy into the program and says it was worth it.

"Now I am the team manager of Schio (in Italy), the club where I played and, also the team director of the national team so I now have all the knowledge regarding leadership and management," she said. "It was amazing for me. In these last two years, in my transition of careers from being an athlete to now being a manager, it was really important because it gave me all the tools and basic knowledge that I'm putting into practice."

Barthold, Mossong, Stanescu and Achara attended the graduation ceremony last week in Newcastle. There are even more graduates from the original TIMEOUT program currently in the Masters program at Northumbria.

"MY CONFIDENCE FOR LIFE BEYOND SPORT HAS IMPROVED DRASTICALLY. I ACTUALLY COMPLETED MY MASTERS UNDERSTANDING THAT I CAN HAVE SUCCESS AFTER BASKETBALL JUST AS MUCH AS I DID ON THE COURT. THAT'S A REAL LESSON THAT I'VE LEARNED FROM THIS PROGRAM."- Kieron Achara

"First and foremost, I feel indebted to FIBA for coming up with the idea and allowing me the opportunity to further my education," said Achara, who represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics and also played at three FIBA EuroBasket tournaments. "The reality is, I've made friends that I never would have made, from all walks of life, from different countries and we still keep in touch and we share ideas for the future. That in itself is a credit to the program.

"Secondly, my confidence for life beyond sport has improved drastically. I actually completed my Masters understanding that I can have success after basketball just as much as I did on the court. That's a real lesson that I've learned from this program."

Barthold, the former captain of the Sweden women's national team and a long time pro that competed for clubs in Spain, Brazil and her own country, extolled the virtues of the program. She says she wants to use the knowledge gained as a tool to improve the overall situation for women in the sport.

"I did my Masters research piece on effective ways to enhance the marketing and management of the EuroLeague Women," she said. "I truly hope that both FIBA and the Swedish Basketball Federation use this opportunity to embrace the determination I have to improve conditions for female basketball players..."

"Apart from the knowledge it is also an amazing network where all individuals are driven and will most likely have an impact on basketball throughout Europe and the world."

TIME-OUT was launched at FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2017, with FIBA Europe and its national federations unveiling the initiative to assist elite basketball players at the end of their playing careers across Europe make the transition from sport into work. This came on the back of recommendations by the European Commission on dual careers and the reintegration of professional sportspersons into the labor market.

The project was such a big hit that it is being relaunched by FIBA Europe with financial support from the EU's Erasmus+ Sport program. TIME-OUT 2.0 will get underway on January 1, 2020, and run for 30 months until June 30, 2022. 

FIBA