(reprinted from High School Today magazine, 2009)Research studies show that upwards of 30 million kids play youth sports each year, yet only an incredibly small percentage of these kids will ever go on to play organized sports in college or the professional ranks. More specifically, only about 5% of all high school student athletes will play collegiate sports, with an even smaller percentage receiving partial or full-ride athletic scholarships. Even more discouraging, looking at all the college student athletes playing today, only about 1.5% will go on to play professional sports. Needless to say, that’s quite an attrition rate – yet my experience has shown me that very few families are aware of this reality, and even fewer prepare for this inevitable transition. Consequently, far too many student athletes are left to deal with the disappointment of essentially “being firing from a job they loved,” essentially. Fortunately, coaches can play a major role in helping families understand, prepare for, and deal with the inevitable sport retirement transition most of the kids they coach will eventually face.While it is true that not every child aspires to play collegiate or professional sports, many do. The same is true for parents – while many understand that the odds of their child “making it” are very slim, it usually only takes one or two outstanding games before the “what ifs?” and “maybes” begin to get them emotionally charged, prompting them to ignore their rational, logical way of thinking. Sadly, when emotions take precedent over sound thinking, the sport retirement transition often gets overlooked. This common oversight results in more high school student athletes who are left to deal with the same emotional response patterns that college and professional athletes have dealt with for years. In short, kids today are following a grieving pattern very similar to that of college and professional athletes when it comes to sport retirement.Why younger athletes are facing the same emotional difficulties as college and professional athletes isn’t quite certain, but there are several plausible reasons to consider. First, today’s generation of kids begin playing organized sports very early in life, sometimes as young as 4 years old. In addition, many kids today also specialize in one sport very early – and in some cases play that particular sport year-round with few, if any, breaks (from sport participation). As a result of early sport specialization and year-round sport participation, it is quite common for kids to develop an identity around athletics. This is referred to by researchers as an “athletic identity.” This athletic identity can become very problematic when it becomes an exclusive identity. This means that the child begins to define all of his or her self-worth through athletic accomplishments, while simultaneously ignoring or overlooking other important aspects of his or her personality and identity (i.e. a successful student, a gifted artist or musician, etc.).Research studies have consistently shown the greater and more exclusive an athletic identity, the more likely a child will be at-risk for things like depression, anxiety, anger issues, substance abuse, low career maturity, poor future planning, and even suicidal ideation when faced with sport retirement. This makes sense when you think about it. If you only defined yourself by one thing in your life (which you loved doing), and you were forced to abruptly quit having no alternative plans, how would you feel about yourself? If you are like most people, it would be a difficult and challenging time re-establishing your personal identity and what you have to offer the world. For most young athletes, the recognition of the sport retirement transition is usually abrupt, unplanned for, and not typically welcomed.Coaches can play a vital role in helping kids successfully transition through sport retirement by considering the following tips:> Make sure you understand the realities of how few kids “make it,” and be sure your staff is aware of this, too. The sooner you commit to the notion that coaching is about the overall positive development of young people, and not just their preparation to become college/professional athletes, the better the overall experience will be for everyone.> At your pre-season meeting, be sure to discuss these realities with both parents and student athletes. Use your better judgment in balancing this realistic message with inspiration, letting them know that while making it to the pros may be very difficult, it still may be worth going after for kids who show exceptional talent. The key is to send a positive and upbeat message that also includes the realities of post-high school athletic participation.>When families are not aware of the odds of “making it” in sports, they often spend enormous amounts of time, energy, and money doing everything they can to help make the dream of playing professional sports a reality. When a young person is overly-involved in athletics, to the point that it is all he or she does, it is quite likely that the young person is not doing other things that might be more prudent with respect to future planning, including work, volunteer, and internship experiences. The result of this athletic lifestyle after competitive sports end is usually a young person left without much confidence, as the youngster has not experienced many vocational opportunities due to previous athletic commitments.> Another way coaches can help young athletes gain confidence and transition successfully from sport retirement is to help them identify and use their athletic transferable skills in other settings (i.e. school, career, etc.). Athletic transferable skills include, but are not limited to goal setting, communicating effectively with teammates, dealing with adversity, being a good decision maker, and rebounding from adversity.> Do not assume that your kids know about athletic transferable skills! In my work with thousands of college and professional athletes, I have consistently found that few of those athletes have identified and recognized the value of athletic transferable skills, leading me to suspect even fewer young athletes have made this discovery. The reason for this oversight has to do with two things: 1) Most athletes assume everyone else is learning the same skills that they are in sports, and 2) Most athletes undervalue the significance of athletic transferable skills because they do them so often they take them for granted! The point is, as a coach it is imperative that you discuss athletic transferable skills early and often with your student athletes.> Keep in mind that the number one variable that helps people heal in life, aside from medicinal procedures, is having a support system of people around to help keep feelings upbeat and optimistic. Interestingly, when it comes to sport retirement, the very first thing to go is the support system! In other words, it is a common, unfortunate occurrence in athletics that the “fans” who support the athlete when he or she is playing, are the very same people who are nowhere to be found when the games end. Compounding matters is that most athletic programs have no formal transition programs set up, and the reality is that the new recruits and upcoming stars will always garner more attention than the athletes exiting sports and going through retirement.> Sport retirement is something every student athlete, coach, and school program needs to acknowledge and discuss. Sport retirement is inevitable for every athlete, and even the star athletes who might have a chance to “make it” are only one career-ending injury away from having their dreams end.It is important as a coach that you normalize the sport retirement process as much as possible, beginning by having conversations with your student athletes early and often about the odds of “making it.” It is important that you help teach kids how the skills they are learning through sports (athletic transferable skills) will help with future success, even after they are no longer able to compete in high school, college, or professional athletics. Sport retirement can be one of the toughest experiences a young person goes through in life, but fortunately a caring, sensitive coach can make all the difference in the world and help make this transition one that leads to bigger and better accomplishments in life!Dr. Chris Stankovich is a sport science performance consultant and an advocate for positive youth sport development. For more information on educational products, seminars, or professional consultation please visitwww.drstankovich.com or email information@drstankovich.com
