The final career transition
The final chapter of any athletic career is retirement, most athletes don’t even think about retirement at the start of, or even during their career. But just how do athletes successfully transition from athlete, to former athlete? We’ll look at some of the experiences of athletes who both successfully and unsuccessfully transition, and what helped or hindered them in their departure from professional sports.
Former Brighton, Chelsea & Fulham midfielder Steve Sidwell announced his retirement from professional football in the summer of 2018. Unable to recover from a back injury he was forced out of the game he loved, despite this he has now fully transitioned with the aid of Brighton & Hove Albion, from a player to a coach. Speaking to ‘soccer am’ presenter Tubes, Steve said
“I’ve been absolutely rushed off my feet, which you know what, has been a blessing in disguise really, because in some ways it helped me in that transition. I can really see how footballers go into dark places when they go out of the game and they go into retirement. I’ve been fortunate enough Brighton gave me an opportunity to do [coach] the 16’s, which is superb and I love that side of it, and obviously all the tv, media, radio side of it as well, just plugs up all the week as well. I’m busier than ever and I wouldn’t change it because as I say that’s helped the transition, 100%”.
This highlights just how important it is to remain busy throughout the transition and during the time away from the sport. It’s been found that finding worthwhile and important replacements for the sport and keeping yourself busy are beneficial strategies following retirement.
Not every athlete however transitions quite so easily. In a recent interview Dame Kelly Holmes discusses her initial difficulty adapting to life away from the sport and life she had known for many years, despite leaving on the high of an Olympic gold medal in 2004. Kelly said
“When you retire, you go, ‘Who actually am I?’ because all you know is the athlete who wakes up in the morning, knows what’s expected of them. Then you leave.”
This potentially highlights the strong athletic identity that Kelly had developed whilst in elite sport which had now suddenly vanished, leaving her wondering what was next, who was she now, if not a runner? Research has found that high athletic identity relates to a poor reaction to retirement and more issues when trying to adapt to life away from the sport. Additionally, research found strong athletic identities can cause issues in many aspects of life, personally, psycho-socially and professionally. This research and athletes’ experiences demonstrate the reality of the situation for professional sports people who know nothing else other than sport. Although, it must be noted that an athlete who has time to prepare for retirement and begin the transition out of their athletic identity and into another, often suffer less of the negative consequences associated with retirement.
In conclusion, this short article demonstrates retirement from two very different perspectives. Two elite athletes retiring at the highest level of their sport, but with varying experiences of the process. This article tells us that we must be cautious when working with those who are looking to retire in an attempt to make the process as smooth as possible and prevent disruption where possible.
Article by Luke Vidler