the playbook:
a life design course
for athletes
wanting clarity on and
off the pitch
“everyone has a plan until
they get punched in the face”
- MIKE TYSON
WHOSE GAME ARE YOU PLAYING AND WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING FOR?
The medals, the accolades, the post-match celebration with the squad, the two-year comeback, the story you’ll tell your kids one day. Sounds good, right? Don't worry, I know it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. It’s the injuries, the constant unknown between contracts, paying the bills, balancing work and training, deciding to whether to stick out another season or move teams? And the creme de la creme... I've hung the boots up, what do I do now?
Piggyback exists to help you zoom out and design your life with intention, so you have clarity on and off the pitch. We’re not just talking sport, but about the life you’re building alongside it.
If any of the below resonates, Piggyback is built for you
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Sport has taken up a lot of space in your life. Without it front and centre, you’re not sure what defines you anymore.
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A contracts ending, a seasons finished, priorities change. You’re in between what was and what’s next.
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Nothing is “wrong,” but something isn’t settled. You keep thinking there’s more to your life than what you’re currently living.
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You don’t want vague motivation. You want clearer thinking, better tools, and a way to move forward that actually makes sense.
piggyback principles
Play your cards
Start where you are. Use what you have. You didn’t choose the hand you were dealt, but you do choose how you play it.
No one rides alone
You weren’t meant to do this by yourself. Build on what came before you and take people with you when you move forward.
You’re allowed to change. In fact, you’re supposed to. Life moves in seasons, and so should you.
reinvent yourself often
follow the whisper
Pay attention. Once you hear it, trust it. There’s more waiting on the other side.
what you’ll learn
How to apply the Design Thinking framework to your life to align who you are, what you do, and what you believe. So, when you sense that there’s more for you out there in the world, or when life punches you in the face (Mike Tyson said it, not me), you’ll have the tools to adapt, move forward, and create a juicy life worth writing home about.
WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER
** Funding may be available from your Player’s Association.
ATHLETES
the playbook
A 6-week life design course including 5 60-min 1:1 sessions, 4 modules, 20+ exercises and accountability throughout. Designed for current and retired athletes, or anyone wired like one.
TEAMS | ACADEMIES | SCHOOLS
CLUBS+orgs
The Playbook + mentoring, delivered across 5 sessions over a term/season. We give your athletes the tools to tackle life off the field, so you can focus on getting them ready on it.
EVENTS | PRIZE GIVINGS | CONFERENCES
SPEAKING
Two codes, five countries and a few too many comebacks. An honest, interactive talk on the highs, the lows, and what the true win really is.
MEET THE
founder
After some highly motivating parental bribery ($2 a goal), football became my first love. I played for New Zealand at three FIFA Youth World Cups and earned a Division 1 scholarship in Texas - Go Frogs! What followed was a bit of a whirlwind - burnout that led to a retirement at 23, coming out of retirement (in Spain???), a pro contract in a country where no one spoke English, a move to Australia, a championship, a code switch to AFLW, a torn calf, a Grand Final, and learning to juggle two sports at once.
Along the way I volunteered in Nepal, worked with some amazing women’s organisations in Indonesia, dehorned rhinos in South Africa and surfed in Morocco. Plenty of juicy, eye-opening “wtf am I doing, how did I get here” moments. Somewhere in all that, I learned what most athletes eventually do: identity doesn’t fit neatly into one role, and sport alone can’t carry a whole life.
Piggyback came from living the questions athletes ask all the time. Who am I without sport? What’s next? How do I build something alongside this, not after it? I don’t have all the answers, but I’ve spent 10+ years working through the messy bits of athlete life, and I’ve been lucky to lean on some amazing people (much smarter than me) along the way. Piggyback is my way of passing that on. If you’re even a little bit curious, I have a feeling this might be for you - let’s chat!!
“Loved it wow, i feel like there is so much more here that i need.”
— Erin mckinnon, aflw
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I bring lived experience from elite sport and entrepreneurship, backed by formal study and a long-standing curiosity about how people design meaningful lives.
I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, with a background in graphic design and sustainability, and a Master’s in Business Leadership. Outside of sport, I’ve worked across multiple industries and lived in eight cities across four countries. I understand transition, identity shifts, reinvention, and what it takes to start again.
As a current high-performance athlete across two codes, I deeply understand the complexity, pressure, and nuance of building a life alongside sport. I’ve represented New Zealand in football, competed in Division I College in the U.S., played professionally in Spain, and later transitioned into AFL — navigating new systems, cultures, and identities along the way.
I’m not a psychologist, and I don’t claim to be. Piggyback blends lived experience, academic grounding, and practical design thinking tools.
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Piggyback is for athletes or anyone wired like one who wants clarity and ownership over their life, in sport and beyond it. If you’re feeling stuck, questioning what’s next, or don’t want to live on autopilot, you’re in the right place.
Your age, sports and level is not as important as your desire to understand yourself and the life you want to build. -
Yes! In fact, this work is most powerful before you’re forced into change. Piggyback helps you build a full life alongside your sport so you’re excited about life beyond sport and what happens when you eventually hang up the boots.
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You’re probably already feeling the effects of the post sport transition. Uncertainty, financial hardship, no idea what you want to do with your career, comparison creeping in and not to mention the complete change of your social circle.
To answer your question, yes! I have worked with athletes who are years on (40+) from their sporting career and they’ve still found immense value. These design thinking tools are meant to be reused throughout your life and every transition to come! (there will be many more beyond sport).
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We always start with a pre course questionnaire so I get an understanding of who you are and where you're at in your life. Every athlete is different so that step is crucial. Then we get to work!
We will cover 4 modules across 5 1:1 60 minute sessions - who are you , what’s holding you back, where do you want to be and what are you going to do about it. we will work through 20+ 'field notes' (design thinking exercises). You’ll zoom out, ask better questions, and use practical life design tools to get clear on what matters and what’s next.This is your life and we will take it seriously, but there will be plenty of laughs along the way. I understand the wildly complex and nuanced life that athlete lives and found one of the most effective way to navigate that is with a dose of humour. I'll be there right by your side through the whole thing.
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Not at all. Piggyback is built for the in-between. When you don’t have clear answers yet, but you know something needs attention. You don’t need a plan or a five-year vision. Just a willingness to zoom out, reflect honestly, and start asking better questions.
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All Piggyback sessions are designed to run online, so we can work together no matter where you’re based as long - whether that’s interstate, in NZ, or anywhere else in the world - good wifi helps!
If you’d prefer face-to-face, I’m based on the Gold Coast, Australia. I’m open to discussing travel if it makes sense for both of us.
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Let’s have a chat! Reach out for a free 30 minute discovery call.
Taylajeanchristensen@gmail.com
+61493674489