How athletes regain identity after giving up their sport

 If you're like me, you have been playing sports since you were a young kid and loved them. When I was small, I played just about every sport from recreational baseball and basketball leagues to junior tennis and even a little bit of Ice Hockey. When it came to playing sports competitively, I decided to play both tennis and football, one because I was good at them and two because I loved to compete. But there always comes a day where you need to hang up the cleats or sneakers and not play competitively anymore. For me that was after my college football experience at Lafayette College; I was so sick of football I even transferred to a school that didn't have a football team. I decided to enjoy my last few years of college not playing competitive sports and just being a regular student, hardly ever playing anything. Well actually I played pickup basketball at NYU's gym after lifts, but those were my cardio workouts, I was not tied to the outcome of our games. My athletic identity was in question, and I didn't get it back until I picked tennis back up in 2021.

That summer I also picked up golf as a second sport, but my competition arena was tennis. I started playing in UTR leagues (still wish I played more of them) and joined USTA. My rating was always around a 4.0 and my UTR started as a 3. Since, my UTR has raised to a 6 as I've thrived in singles match play but am always looking for stronger competition. Where my game is at today, I feel like an 8 UTR and a 4.5 UTSA player, but my fitness is more like a 4 UTR and a 3.5 USTA player. I know if I tidied this part of my game up, I would raise my rankings mightily. This arc in my athletic story is more recreational as no one is making me play and I am playing for nothing more than pride, but it gives me part of my athletic identity back. I used to play both football and tennis at a high level, and my drive to excel in these sports hasn't died, they have evolved to where I am in life today. Obviously as a 30-year-old in graduate school and an old knee and back injury I am not looking to play high level football anymore but stay involved by watching the NFL and giving out advice to young football players looking to play at their highest potential. This gives me purpose athletically and honestly after losing my athletic identity at a relatively young age (20) I started to get it back at 25 and feel like an athlete again at 30.

If you're a former athlete who feels that they have lost a part of their identity with their sport, I would implore you to try keeping yourself involved in the sport. This means if you're a runner, coach track or join a run club, if you're a football player try your hand at coaching, or if you're a basketball player play in pickup leagues. You can also try other sports if you feel burnt out in your sport you have played competitively for a long time. I tried golf for the first time at 25, and no this was not me just messing around at the driving range with my friends, I tried to play 9 holes on a legitimate golf course. After going to the range about 10 times and hitting every club in the bag there, I played Amsterdam Municipal Golf Course in Amsterdam NY trying my hand at an actual round. I played with my dad and one of his friends and even though I could barely keep the ball in play I was instantly hooked. If I played that full round, I probably would've shot a 130 but stopped after 9 because I hadn't built up the endurance to play a full 18. Since then, I have grinded the past 6 years in my golf game and currently hold a 15.5 handicap, but to save myself embarrassment when I play bad, I tell people I'm a bogey golfer (18.0 handicap). This has given me another outlet for my sports fix, because although I do not compete formally, I play friendly matches with my friends, and it gives me that competition fix. I would say after 3 years of averaging 10 rounds per year and the next 3 averaging 25 rounds per year I finally feel like a golfer.

These are few ways an athlete can regain their athletic identity after losing it. Athletes lose their identity in various different ways, from discontinuing competition to letting themselves go a little bit or just walking away from the sport entirely. I would implore these people, if they miss it try to get involved in other ways. From coaching, to watching, to playing or just getting back in shape. I have lost my athletic identity before and as someone who was always in touch with their athletic side, I can know how demoralizing it can be. So, get out there, play once again, turn on that sport on tv again or get involved with your local rec leagues!