If you are a parent of a young athlete, it’s likely (and normal) that you haven’t spent much time thinking about the eventual end of his or her sports career (Positive Transitions). Lets face it, it’s a lot more fun to think about your child making the winning goal or hitting the game-winning homerun, than it is to think about the eventual day when he or she will no longer be able to play competitive organized sports. Unfortunately, sport retirement is something every sports parent will experience with their child at some point, hence the reason for the importance of understanding this unique transition.
Unlike traditional career retirement that usually occurs when a person approaches their mid-sixties (and plans for the retirement), sport retirement is unique in that it is often unplanned for, and happens at a relatively young age. In fact, studies show that 93% of all high school athletes will end their athletic careers at the conclusion of their high school career – a figure that surprises many parents. What this means is that most kids will experience sport retirement by the end of high school, if not sooner.
Back in the mid-1990’s I researched the sport retirement transition of elite-level athletes, which lead to Positive Transitions, the nation’s first sport transition class for student athletes. Interestingly, I learned firsthand just how terribly difficult, isolating, and confusing this transition was to most college student athletes, prompting me to think about the ways we could better prepare young athletes for this inevitable transition. While it may seem premature to talk about sport retirement with your 12 year old, it may be a responsible thing to do when you consider how many athletes experience anxiety, depression, role confusion, identity confusion, and sometimes substance abuse and suicidal ideation during the sport retirement transition.
The advice here is not to paint a dreary picture of sport retirement for your child, but to instead have ongoing conversations about how challenging it is to play sports past high school – much less college or the pros. Prepare as a family for your child’s eventual exit from sports, and watch for warning signs that he or she might not be handling the transition so well. Kids who show the most trauma when dealing with sport retirement are those who over-identify (or only identify) themselves with being an athlete; who have no future plans beyond being an athlete; and who have an over-estimation of their odds of “making it” in sports. If your child fits into one of these categories, she may be more at-risk for a difficult transition.
For more information on sport retirement, and tips to help you with your child’s eventual exit from sports, check out Positive Transitions for Student Athletes
www.drstankovich.com
