Shawn Hindy, Field Hockey
Shawn Hindy first saw field hockey played during the ’84 Olympics and was inspired to try the sport. Since then, he has always been involved — whether playing for Team USA for 16 years, coaching at the high school and collegiate levels, sitting on the board for the USA Field Hockey Association and local leagues, owning his own club, and more. His experience as an athlete and coach prepped him for his current career as a financial planner, as he coaches people on their futures and recruits for the competitive business.
Name: Shawn Hindy
Hometown: Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, CA
Sport: Field Hockey
Career Duration: 16 years
Level: Team USA
Retirement: 2011
Current Occupation: Financial Advisor for Northwestern Mutual
Location: Moorpark, CA
Interests: My son is probably my main interest – I spend my free time with him and my wife. She is into horses, so I go watch her ride. I’m on the board of directors, coach, and play for our local field hockey league. I also still represent the USA as Captain of the Team USA Masters Field Hockey.
Where are you from, and how did you get into field hockey?
I grew up in Southern California in Westlake Village/Thousand Oaks. I first saw field hockey when I was watching the 1984 Olympics, and wondered, what is this crazy sport? Pakistan was playing and everyone was going bonkers. Then someone came and did a field hockey demonstration in my school, and after that I stopped playing baseball and started playing field hockey. My dad had helped volunteer for the ’84 Olympics (Los Angeles) and he knew there were a lot of field hockey players in the area. I started playing in seventh grade with a goal of making the ’96 Olympic Team. I made it as the first alternate. After that I kept playing, lived in Australia, Spain, and played on the National Team until 2011.
Was there a field hockey team at your school?
There are no men’s field hockey played in high school or college in the U.S., like there is in other countries. It’s the third most popular team sport in the world. I played basketball and tennis in high school and then field hockey with my club team.
Did you play on a club or national team when you started?
We were local league players and had probably six teams in our local league for the U16 level. We just played and had fun and didn’t realize the opportunity with the sport. One of my coaches was Dave Wisner, who was on the Senior National Team, and he really trained us and motivated us to be the best. That was the good thing about playing in my area, as guys on the National Team or who played internationally coached us. For field hockey it’s more about how long you’ve played, as it takes time to figure out the sport.
Where did you play since they didn’t offer field hockey for men in college?
When I was 14 I tried out for the Junior National Team but didn’t make it. I kept trying out and eventually made it. When I was 19, I moved to San Diego to train at the Olympic Training Center. I wasn’t on the squad, but we were down there to train for the ‘96 Olympics. We started at the residency center, training two to three times per day and doing everything to get better. When I made the Olympic squad it was also the first time I made the Senior National Team.
Did you take college classes at the same time?
I went to University of California, Davis my first year knowing I was going to leave to go to San Diego. Honestly I didn’t do that well in school — I was just focused on training and getting fit. When I was in San Diego I took a couple classes at a junior college, but I couldn’t go all the time because of practices. Nowadays it’s a little easier because you can take classes online.
How long did you play for the National Team?
I was on the outdoor national team from 1996 to 2007, and indoor national team from 2002 to 2011. Indoor is a little less demanding on your body, so I played a little longer. I wasn’t as fit as I should have been later on, as I was also working full time as an Athletic Director. Indoor season is in the winter, and I was also an athletic director and coach at a school in Pennsylvania. I was having meetings and working remotely while I was in Poland for the Indoor World Cup in 2011, which was not easy.
That sounds like a lot to take on! What was it like balancing it all?
Being an athletic director is hard because almost everyone dislikes you at some point, and it made it more difficult being the field hockey coach as well. Our team was really good. We were number one in the nation and we won a state championship in 2009, and were back in the state finals in 2010. No one else had been close to making the state finals. Also being the A.D., they thought I must be giving them special treatment. At first I was still playing on the outdoor team and that was harder. I missed out on the Pan Am Games because I wasn’t training full time.
What were the highlights from your career?
Being the first alternate on the ‘96 Olympic team was a highlight, but also a lowlight because I wanted to make the team. I lived in Australia in ‘98 and played in local league in Perth, which is one of the best leagues in the world. In 2000 I played in Spain, and they gave me an “athletic scholarship” that paid for my Spanish classes and a place to live. Those were fun times. The Pan American Games in 1999 and 2003 were really fun, but the best were the 2003 and 2011 Indoor World Cups playing against the best team sin the world and qualifying on our own to get there.
When did you decide to officially retire?
After the Indoor World Cup in 2011. I was old and it was harder to stay fit at 36. The outdoor team was doing more and it was harder to stay involved. I needed to move on and concentrate on my career. There is no money in field hockey, so it wasn’t like I was getting paid. For indoor we had to pay to go on our trips.
I still like to give back to the sport. I’m still playing and coaching in a local league, am on the athlete advisory committee for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and was on the USA Field Hockey board for six years, including two years as President of USA Field Hockey.
Wow, since you weren’t paid you must have had to also work your entire career?
I was lucky to have supportive parents, and they helped me out. In San Diego, I was 19 and would deliver pizza on the side. I was also lucky to get some money from my grandparents. I used some of that to go to Australia. In Spain most of my stuff was paid for, but I worked a little. I didn’t have rent, as I would stay with my parents when I would come home. I didn’t have a place of my own and wasn’t making money — I was just trying to survive and continue playing.
What do you do now?
I’m a financial planner now. Knowing what I know, I would have worked and saved more money if I could do it all again. But that’s not what I was thinking about back then. I didn’t graduate college until I was 28 in 2004 from San Diego State. Because I was in Australia and Spain, and then would go on tour for a month, I couldn’t really go to school. I was taking classes here and there, but when we were training back up in Southern California, I would stay in San Diego during the week for school and drive back on the weekends to train. Friends make fun of me that it took me 10 years to graduate, but I wouldn’t change my path. I learned so much and experienced the world.
It’s a little different for men, since NCAA field hockey is for women only. For men it’s hard. We delay our graduation time or don’t graduate because we have a lot of other things to do and not much guidance along the way. They are getting better now, like prioritizing study time. When I retired from field hockey I had also worked for five years as an athletic director and a coach, which was my first real work experience.
Was it a difficult transition for you?
I’ve been around field hockey since I’ve started, so I transitioned basically from playing on the National Team to doing it as a career as a high school coach, then at Michigan State, University of Virginia, and Texas. I didn’t necessarily leave the sport, just what I was doing with it. Looking back now, working with Northwestern Mutual is the career I studied for in school, and I wouldn’t say I was taking the “easy road” by immediately going into coaching. You are maybe paid $50,000 and you get to coach, travel around, and take some time off, so it was cool for a while. But I never thought about going into my career. I think former athletes fall into that trap because it’s an easy next step, and what you know. They would say, “Hey, come coach, we want you.” But overall, was it the best? I don’t regret it, but I could have gotten into the corporate world sooner to help achieve my financial goals.
How did you decide to give up coaching and get into financial planning?
I was flat lining. I had coached field hockey for over 15 years at every level. My wife and I had moved to Texas because we got married, were having a son, and wanted to be closer to her family. There was some field hockey in Texas so it was an easy transition down there. I was also teaching Spanish, which I learned in Spain and was my minor in college, at a private school. If I was the best field hockey coach in the world it wouldn’t have mattered. I still would have made the same amount of money. As an athlete and competitor I wanted to do better and be rewarded for it. I couldn’t move forward if I continued to be a teacher and coach there. So, I always thought about working at Northwestern Mutual because my uncle has been with them for many years. Finally I asked him about it and decided to do something different. We wanted to move back to California as well, so I did some interviews there and started in August of 2018. I really love it and have been successful. I feel like I’m still a coach, but a financial coach. I’m still teaching people things, just not field hockey; rather real life goals, their finances, retirement, and literally life changing decisions.
Would you say a career in financial planning is a good fit for former athletes?
Definitely, yes. It’s a great place for athletes and competitive people. There are a lot of similarities with what we do here and the sports world. You make goals, put time in, work hard, and you have to want to win and be competitive to stay in the business. You must have accountability for what you are doing, and there are lots of transitions. It’s a lot of fun. One of my jobs is to be a recruiter for my office, so I like to talk to other athletes about this opportunity. There have been a lot of people who have come in from NCAA or national sports and have been successful at this business. It’s changed their lives.
Don’t you also own a field hockey club?
I have since I lived in Pennsylvania. As a high school coach, it’s typical to start a club team for the girls who want to play in the off season. We would go to tournaments in California and Florida, as well as indoor tournaments in winter. I continued it for a little when I was in Virginia and Texas. I’m still technically the owner, but only for the indoor team, and we have combined with my friend who runs another club here. I don’t really do it to make money, but more to get the kids playing out of season, teach them the sport, and try to get them recruited. In Pennsylvania, we had a lot of kids continue on to Division I schools.
Are you still playing field hockey?
Where I live, there is a turf field (which you need for field hockey) five minutes away. I play in a local league and also as captain of the USA Master’s Team for those over 35. It’s been fun to stay involved. I went to Spain to play in the Master’s World Cup, and traveled in last February to Hong Kong for the Master’s Indoor World Cup. I need to get in better shape, but there are a lot of opportunities to play still. I don’t think I could ever fully get out of it, I would miss it too much. It’s just not my full time job now — I do it just for fun and to give back to the sport.
Do you feel you would have done anything differently?
Yeah, I probably would have tried to take more classes when training or when I was in transition to get more school knocked out of the way sooner. I had gone to junior college and taken some classes, but because I didn’t take the right classes or enough, I had 2.5 more years to go at San Diego State by the time I got there. I also would have looked to transition into this career earlier. I didn’t mind coaching, but for my goals and what I wanted, it would have benefitted me to transition sooner. But overall, I’m happy that I chased my dream. I represented my country in over 200 matches, which was really fun. I don’t think life ever works out perfectly, but I’ve made the most of it and will continue to improve myself as a person and financial advisor.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
Now that I know and have been in with the United States Olympic Committee and Athlete’s Advisory Council, there is a need for education on what to expect in the real world. You aren’t in the real world as an athlete. Your focus is to be the best athlete you can and reach your goals. But if you can spend a little time and focus on a couple other things to help your career outside of your sport, it would help.
Everyone is so entrenched and focused that they don’t know what to do when they stop. It’s not too late if you haven’t prepared by the time you retire, but it helps if there is some education while you are an athlete. It’s similar to financial planning – people who don’t have any planning may not think it’s important, but all the sudden you want them to think about it and make it a priority because it will change their lives for the better. If we can all plan, whether it’s your career in sports or beyond, it definitely makes things easier long term.
