Former A-Leagues player Daniel Stynes graduated with a Bachelor of Laws earlier this year, completing a nine-year journey where he balanced his studies with a career in professional football. This National Careers Week, Stynes spoke to pfa.net.au about completing the degree, how he managed his studies and his advice for those juggling study and playing professionally.
Completing a law degree is no walk in the park, let alone completing it while being a professional footballer.
Daniel Stynes can certainly attest to that.
The former Perth Glory and Newcastle Jets midfielder completed his Bachelor of Laws degree at Murdoch University this year, almost ten years after commencing his studies following his graduation from high school.
Stynes’ journey has seen him travel from his hometown of Perth to Newcastle and as far as the Republic of Ireland and Finland to pursue his dreams as a professional footballer, all while still studying to become a lawyer.
And in his own words, it has been a whirlwind.
His plans were initially to go ‘all-in’ on football as he was spending time in and around the first-team at Perth Glory, but some advice from his mum – who is also a lawyer – helped him keep his options open.
“I graduated from high school in 2016 and I got the mark I wanted. I wanted to go all in on football the following year, and really pushed for that,” Stynes told pfa.net.au.
“I was with the first team [at Perth Glory] for that year and my mum said to me: ‘just do your degree on the side and chip away at it’.
“I initially had enrolled full time, and then I dropped down to part time. I then got signed by Glory to the first team, and then from there, I was basically doing one or two units a semester for the next 10 years.
Stynes enjoyed the distraction of his degree which fit in perfectly with the spare time he had when he wasn’t training or playing.
“Overall, it was a very enjoyable thing to do alongside playing because it gives you a certain stimulus that football doesn’t,” he said.
“Especially when football is not going well, at least you have something else to challenge your brain and think about other things.
“I’m not saying that it was easy, but you have a lot of time to dedicate to it, and I think you just have to be diligent and disciplined in allocating time and putting time aside for doing units and doing your work.”
But study didn’t come without its challenges, especially as Stynes moved from his home-town of Perth to play for Newcastle Jets.
The support of PFA Player Development Manager Emily Figueroa and Student Advisor at Murdoch University Steffi Langer-Kool proved vital during this transition, helping to alleviate the pressure associated with completing his degree.
This was also coupled by accessing PFA Education Grants which helped Stynes subsidise his tuition.
“A lot of the challenges were because you have to do a law degree in person,” he said.
“So when I moved to Newcastle, Emily [Figueroa] was there and we had a few issues taking my exam in Newcastle.
“Luckily, Emily and Steffi [Langer-Kool] from Murdoch University were great. They really helped me with that and pushed for me to do exams because otherwise it’s in mid-season, and I would have had togo back to Perth and miss training and a game. So they were really, really helpful with that.
“The PFA was massive… You add in the Education Grants because a law degree is not cheap, it can be around 50, 60 thousand dollars. That was a massive help.”
The 27-year-old Stynes has only just returned home to Perth and is playing semi-professionally with NPL Western Australia side Bayswater City after a year away plying his trade in Europe.
Stynes hasn’t given up the pursuit of playing professionally, and is still well and truly open to playing anywhere in order to see the world and experience different cultures, but for now is happy being back in Perth working and playing.
Stynes is now married to partner Katie and is currently interning at Forbes Kirby Lawyers but will then go full time on his Practical Legal Training (PLT) in order to be admitted by the Supreme Court of Western Australia as soon as possible, which is a mandatory further study of 3-6 months.
Despite having plenty of football still ahead of him, Stynes provides an important perspective when it comes to having plans for after playing professionally.
“Unfortunately in Australia, A-League players aren’t on enough money [to just retire], unless you’re in the one per-cent,” Stynes said.
“It’s not like the Premier League or other top leagues where you can retire after football. Even then you see a lot of times where players once they lose that identity in football, they don’t know how to adjust to the real world.
“I think you’re in a very privileged position as a footballer but you are in a bubble. It’s not the real world and you need that alternative because things can change very quickly in football.
“That is the biggest thing and it comes back to that point of identity as well. I’ve always tried to separate myself and being a footballer, because if you become all consumed by it, then you’re never going to enjoy anything else and once that’s gone, it’s very, very hard.
“That was a big thing for me that I also did work experience as well while I was playing. I went and worked with my sister, who was a criminal lawyer. I tried to go to university as much as I could and get that full experience as well because I knew from day one that I was going to probably end up in this position.
“I think having that while I was playing footy, that was the best thing for me because I’d kind of already had a little bit of experience in the working world and it wasn’t such a big shock to transition.”
And Stynes has some advice for the next generation of players coming through.
“My biggest piece of advice is just start something. Just start it, and then you never know what comes next,” he said.
“I had a lot of teammates and still speak to a lot of the lads in teams I’ve played in, and they always tell me: ‘oh, I want to do this. I want to do that. I’m going to speak to the PFA’ and then they never actually do it.
“It’s always the hardest thing to just start. My biggest thing when I advise players, not just younger players, all players, is just start something, and then you never know what it can lead to after. The networks you might open up by doing something, whether it’s doing a real estate course or starting a psychology degree.
“It’s great learning as well. That’s what I think about it. You’re also improving yourself and challenging yourself in other ways.”
