While few athletes like to think about sport retirement, the reality is that every athlete will inevitably face the day where he or she must face sport retirement and transition to the next chapter in life. For some, the transition is smooth and seamless, but for other kids sport retirement can include a host of difficulties — including depression, anxiety, poor career planning, and difficulties with daily, non-sport life challenges.
Parents of young athletes need to begin thinking about sport retirement early in their child’s sports career, as sport retirement often occurs quickly and unexpectedly (like when a kid gets unexpectedly cut from a team). Unfortunately, many kids are left unprepared and caught off-guard when they learn that their sports career is ending, and often do not feel equipped to successfully transition from their sport to a future that no longer includes sport participation. The good news is that potentially difficult sport transitions can be successfully managed by parents willing to learn about sport retirement and help their kids to prepare for the inevitable adjustment.
Warning signs for increased risks sport retirement transition difficulties:
- Not understanding the realities. Only about 5% of all high school athletes will play at the college level, but an even smaller percent of these athletes will receive partial or full-ride athletic scholarships. Knowing this data will help parents better guide their children toward safer, more realistic career paths.
- Exclusive athletic identity. When a young athlete exclusively sees him- or herself as “athlete” rather then the many parts of his identity (i.e. math student, part-time employee, brother, church member, etc), he may be setting himself up for future problems. Research has shown that the more exclusive an athletic identity, the less ready athletes are to make mature, realistic future career decisions.
- Poor future planning. Parents should also take note when their kids do not appear to be making any efforts to think about life without sports. In these instances, it is important that parents talk about the realities and help plan out other, more realistic future plans that include future college majors and/or vocational future ideas.
- Level of achievement satisfaction. Studies have shown that the degree in which athletes feel satisfied with their athletic career has been associated with level of readiness to retire from sports. What this means is that kids who do not feel their goals were reached in sports may be at-risk for more difficulties when coping with the loss of sport and their athletic identity.
For more information about sport retirement please visit www.drstankovich.com
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