As my 16th year of coaching soccer at Concordia University comes towards its end, I think about our final home game of the season where we will honor and say goodbye to our graduating players. It's always an emotional time for them as for many, it can represent the end of the competitive sports careers. While they might continue to play the sport, the reality is that it will probably will not be in the structured, competitive and atmosphere that they have experience while play at the varsity level.
Adjustment for anyone finishing school and starting their work careers is tough, but what happens student-athletes when their careers come to a close? No matter how good they are, an athletic career is eventually going to come to an end. Many student-athletes struggle with the “pivot,” or transition from athlete to non-athlete. In this pivotal moment, student-athletes can either wallow over the end of their playing career or reinvent themselves. Going from a strict regimen of workouts, practices, games and classes to a less structured life leaves many former student-athletes without a purpose or direction. This culture shock can seem extreme at first, but it’s difficult for everyone to transition to the “real world.” Life presents a series of challenges; however, sports give student-athletes the tools to succeed. Think about it, sports teach about time management, teamwork and work ethic. All these skills are critical in the working world. Student-athletes should first be encouraged to enjoy their athletic career because it goes by in the blink of an eye. Secondly, effort is essential to success and athletes prepare is an indicator of how you will perform when it counts. This is true whether in sport of a career. Finally, the best way to transition to a post-athletic career is to find a new passion in life and apply themselves with the same commitment and passion. After years and years of defining themselves as a student-athlete, it is difficult to contemplate life without sports. Rather than focus on the end, they should remember that they’re starting a new beginning and have all the skills to succeed in the real world. Many student-athletes can struggle with the emotional and physical transition from a life centered on athletics. Sports psychologists say that even though many student-athletes initially feel relief after finishing their athletic career, some can suffer from varying degrees of depression, questioning of self worth or identity crisis. While, many student-athletes might feel a certain amount of relief immediately after the sport is over as the pressure of wanting to excel and the time commitment required to train is lifted, many will feel a void as they look for something to provide them with the same sensations that they got via sport. Even when athletes are happy about moving on and starting the next phase of their life and excited about that possibility they’re also simultaneously experiencing the sense of loss. Student-athletes not only experience emotional changes, but physical injuries can also linger after their career ends. Also, often, after spending years training 5 and 6 days per week up to 10 months a year, the fact that they no longer have a reason to keep training can see them face physical changes as the body is no longer maintained to the level it has been. The key to how an athlete feels about his or her departure from sports is how much perceived control they have over that decision. The difference between choosing to stop playing versus being cut or becoming injured and then that taking you out of the sport, so the way in which that determination occurs and how much control the athlete has over that decision making process really does impact how they do next with the transition. When student-athletes no longer compete, some lose their sense of “sports self-esteem, when a person’s value is mirrored by their success in sports. When you take that away, the very core of their importance, remove that activity which has been at the center of the daily lives and has influenced many of the decisions they have made up until that point in time, you might in essence be taking away that thing that dictates how they view themselves. Many athletes reach a point of being ready to put away the sport, some because of a nagging injury, some because of realize they were not as successful as they would have hoped, and some just to see where life takes them next. However, even if they are able to find happiness in other parts of life, some athletes find it hard to clean out the locker for the last time. The feeling of void might usually be felt the hardest after a few months when they would normally start their preseason training or when the usually start date of training camp arrives and they know their former teammates are kicking off a new season. How a student-athlete well adapt to live after the game ends is often in tune with the support structure around them. Being able to cope with it, can greatly be influenced but having people around them that don't constantly remind them about what they are missing but can help them see that there is more to life than sports. As always, I will miss those athletes that graduate, but when training camp comes around, a new dynamic will take shape, as new leaders emerge, rookies become veterans and a new crop of 1st year athletes fight to make their spots. When you think about, as a coach, I am going to live through many of the same emotions that the athletes do. Crap, really not looking forward to them.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorAfter many years of coaching at various levels and with different teams, I thought I would share some of my experiences and thoughts about coaching. Archives
January 2023
Categories
All
|