MBA with Kaplan Business School the “Next Piece of the Puzzle” for Henry Thornton’s Off-Field Development

On his way to becoming a regular for the Adelaide Strikers and South Australia One-Day team, as well as a key part of their Shield squad, Henry Thornton has experienced plenty, both on and off the field.

Growing up in New South Wales, Henry was a part of the U/17 and U/19 state teams and was offered a rookie contract by NSW while he was still at school, as an 18-year-old.

After a couple of years on the books with the Blues, a BBL debut for the Sixers and List A debut for Cricket Australia XI, Henry found himself off-contract. He decided to get a job completely away from cricket and ply his trade in Sydney Grade Cricket on weekends, which he says was great for opening his eyes to day-to-day life outside of cricket.

Henry then decided to make the move down to Melbourne for cricket opportunities, which eventually came his way in the form of a couple of white ball games for Victoria and a replacement player opportunity with the Strikers in the Big Bash. South Australia then came knocking with a contract offer, and Henry took the opportunity to move to Adelaide, where he has thrived.

“It's been awesome. I wouldn't see myself playing anywhere else, to be honest. We had a great year last year in both formats and I'm just so lucky that they gave me that contract opportunity and the opportunity to progress my cricket.”

Henry says his experiences both as an 18-year-old professional cricketer and in the workforce in between contracts provided him with a great perspective and were terrific learning experiences for him.

“Looking back on it now, I was pretty young and naive, I probably wasn't ready for professional cricket.” Henry said.

“Great exposure from a cricketing point of view, but also probably the exposure that I needed, and just to have that confidence that when my career's finished, it's not as bad as it seems.”

“I probably wasn't ready for it at all, even though I thought I was. It was a great experience for me, one of the things that I learned, rightly or wrongly, I didn't have a choice, but I think the world isn't as scary as what it can seem.”

This perspective has no doubt played a part in Henry's interest in developing his life alongside cricket, and he’s doing this with the help of the ACA and the partnership with Kaplan Australia, as he studies a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with Kaplan Business School (KBS).

Having already completed a Bachelor of Communications, majoring in PR and Journalism, Henry was looking at where he can upskill next, and felt like this was “the next piece of the puzzle” that he needed.

"I thought, with where I want to go post my career on the corporate side of things, I'm probably going to have to at some stage do an MBA, to progress and learn the skills that I need.

"I just thought it was a great opportunity to knock it off while I was still playing."

Throughout his studies and experience in the workforce, Henry had some valuable learnings and takeaways.

“As a player, I would say it's vital to have something from a study point of view. But I would also say that I think it's invaluable to actually get out in the workplace somehow. In my experience, as a 21–22-year-old, I had no idea about half the stuff, but I would say that a lot of players would have the same perspective.”

Henry described what’s available to ACA Members through the partnership with Kaplan Australia as “a really good opportunity,” particularly for current players.

“I think it's a great opportunity to do some form of study while you're playing. As players, yes, we're busy, but we do have a lot of free time to be able to knock something off. I'm not saying you have to knock your degree off in two years, you can take five years to do it.”

Another ACA resource Henry has been able to tap into throughout his studies are Education Grants. Henry spoke highly of the impact they had on his studies, saying:

“They’re really beneficial and
I think you'd be silly not to access them.”

Aside from developing his life alongside cricket, Henry has also enjoyed plenty of success on-field, particularly last season with South Australia as they won the domestic double. Henry was named Player of the Match in the One-Day Cup Final.

“To win both, it was pretty amazing. Lots of people play lots of cricket, whether that be at grade level or first-class level, and don’t win anything. So, for us to win both, it's pretty surreal.”

ACA Members interested in learning more about opportunities with Kaplan Australia or education grants can reach out to their PDM or the ACA directly via aca@auscricket.com.au