By Dale Budge
Baden Kerr has served the footy fans of Counties Manukau Rugby with distinction over a long period of time and now he will serve locals in a different way – as a real estate agent.
Kerr has completed his studies and is now working in the Barfoot & Thompson Pukekohe office.
It wasn’t something he had always planned but the opportunity came up during the 2020 season while with the Counties Manukau Steelers.
As part of the time spent with the Union, players must take part in professional development to assist them with life after football.
It was during this time that Kerr found a new pathway for himself.
“It is a funny transition going from the bubble of professional sport because you obsess about it for so long and it becomes your identity in some regards,” he told Counties Sports Hub.
“I was always going to go down the teaching route. But I thought it would be nice to go through the process of buying a house, so I reached out to a couple of people during that professional development time that NZ Rugby is so good at.
“The curiosity became a bit more around a career. I was surprised how willing people were to talk to me.
“I signed up to the study and as I did that I talked to a few more people. I got more interested, and rugby looked like it was coming to an end.
“I didn’t think it would be a reality nine or 10 months ago but here I am.”
Kerr finished the professional part of his rugby career last year and has embarked on the real estate career in 2021, studying during the first half of the year.
“I am eight or nine weeks into working at Barfoot & Thompson – it has been a real learning curve,” he said.
“It is a profession that I think you never stop learning in.
“You have a preconceived idea of what a real estate agent is, which I always did to be honest. You think of a certain personality type.
“You think it is easy – you just sell a house and there you go but there are so many layers to it.”
While rugby took a bit of a back seat this season, he was able to play a bit for his beloved Karaka club and helped them earn their maiden McNamara Cup title as the champions of Counties Manukau.
“Karaka is the only club I have ever played for,” Kerr explained. “The great Craig Hill has been to five finals. That was my third and I think Jamie [Gilbert-Clark] was in his fourth.
“It was a really cool feeling helping someone like Craig Hill get that kind of joy because it is why you play – the people you are with and the relationships and to see what it meant to them was special.
“That was surprisingly up there as one of the things I wanted to tick off. It kinda reminded me of the Ranfurly Shield [Counties Manukau’s first ever Ranfurly Shield victory in 2013] – being the first team to do it feels so special. I still think of those kinds of memories most days.
“It helps let go of rugby too.”
You can reach Baden Kerr via b.kerr@barfoot.co.nz, facebook.com/bkerrrealestate or on Istagram @badenkerr_realestate.
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