Two-thirds of the way into a FIFA Masters, an International Master’s in Management, Law and Humanities of Sports, Phillip feels he’s found his future direction in sport management after several years pursuing a course in Sport and Exercise.
A member of the gold medal winning eight in Tokyo and the men’s pair in Paris, Phillip shared his thinking about taking a year away from the sport after Paris with his Performance Life Coach, Tina. But then there was the question of his years after sport.
While completing his Bachelor of Sport Science and Exercise from Massey, Phillip moved more into the management side of sport and took up a role on Rowing NZ’s Athlete Representative Group.
“This role really triggered my interest in sport management so I completed a Governance course using a PM’s Scholarship but it was when I sat down with Tina at the end of 2023 that I began to get a clearer picture of what life after rowing might look like.”
Because Phillip had already decided to take a year off after Paris, his conversations with Tina were focussed on his options to pursue his burgeoning interest in sport management.
Two of the options Tina flagged were the FIFA and IOC Masters, international programmes in sport management.
The FIFA programme has had a solid history with New Zealand sports people. Phillip is the fifth New Zealander to be part of the programme and first in the last decade since fellow rower, Emma Twigg.
“Emma was fantastically helpful sharing her experience of the programme – what she had learned, the people she had met, the speakers she had heard and places she’d visited.
“It sounded exactly like what I wanted to do.”
The FIFA Masters is a course overseen by the International Centre of Sports Studies (CIES), in partnership with the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland, SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milan and De Montfort University in Leicester, UK.
Phillip says one of the most powerful moments was the initial introduction at the start of the programme when women’s sport was only mentioned by five people in his cohort, all women.
“They were thought-provoking and inspirational and challenged my inherent way of viewing sports. It was quite frankly a significant learning moment how sport can and will grow by embracing women and the role they play both on and off the field. Women’s sport has grown rapidly and will continue to grow but in a different way to men’s sport.
“This might sound odd in this day and age but I have also learnt that New Zealand is probably further ahead in this area than many other countries around the world.”
While Phillip continues his studies, he is looking ahead at his goals for the future – both in and out of a rowing skiff.
“I’m still working out whether I will go to LA in 2028 and, if so, what that might look like.
“Looking further ahead, the FIFA Masters programme has shone a strong light on where I want to head in my professional life,” says Phillip.
“I’d love to work with athlete groups, for example, in the areas of athlete engagement, athlete pathways and the like.
“The FIFA programme is not only a wonderful learning experience but is also helping me build good networks. So many alumni have gone into various and varied roles around the world and have helped build an important mentor network globally.
“The Prime Minister’s Athlete Scholarship has not only been instrumental in enabling me to participate in the FIFA programme but was essential for completing my Bachelor of Sport and Exercise degree.”
