What Experts Want You to Know About Sports, Injuries, and identity

Q: We have seen many pro athletes cling to their athletic identities. Why is it so hard to move on from sports?

“In order to become professional athletes, it is often necessary to build one’s entire world around the sport. This means that nearly all things the athlete does… are in the service of their sport, and most of the people in their lives will be somehow associated with their sport. So, when they leave their sport, whether by choice or not, they are not just letting go of something that has consumed much of their life, they also lose their social support. Since most athletes do not give much time and attention to life after sport, they may feel lost without their sport and therefore ‘cling’ to the athlete identity for as long as possible.” 

• Christine L. B. Selby, PhD, CEDS, CMPC-E, Associate Professor of Psychology | Director, Athletic Counseling Program, Springfield College

“Fully embracing the athlete’s identity (and foreclosing on other identities) is one factor that may contribute to elite athletes’ success; they fully immerse themselves in their sport and make many sacrifices to be successful. It is always hard for athletes, or anyone else, to stop doing something that has made them successful for years. When the time invariably comes for athletes to transition away from sport, it is hard to let go of the identity they have clung to and the identity that has made them successful. Many elite athletes have held onto sport identities since they were young children and have had some of their most meaningful life experiences in sport. Sport is much or all of what they have known, so the uncertainty and unknowns concerning life after sport can be anxiety provoking (who am I if not an athlete)?”

• Angel Brutus, PsyD, LPCC, ACS, BC-TMH, CMPC, Professional Standards Division Head of the Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP); also credit Dr. Jim Doorley, PhD for assisting with this response

Our protagonist in our latest episode, Mark, had to leave behind Ultimate Frisbee due to disc degeneration (adjacent segment disease) following a full spinal fusion. This led to a bit of research on spinal fusion in the U.S…

 Q: What are the potential downsides for competitive child and high school athletes?

“There are obviously many benefits to sports participation at a young age. We also know that there are an increasing number of risks to children, particularly when they specialize in one sport too early and as they increase the number of hours spent per week on sports. By ‘specialize’, I mean focus on one sport for at least nine months out of the year at the expense of playing other sports. The data is pretty clear that if you spend more than one hour per year of life per week deliberately practicing one sport (for example, a 12 year old spending more than 12 hours per week) or you spend more than 9 months of the year playing one sport, the risk of injury begins to increase.”

• Brian Daniels, MD, Sports Medicine, Nemours Children’s Hospital, Orlando

 “The positive aspect is that athletes have the ability to become elite at a very young age… A drawback is if there is an injury, if there is a problem… they have this foreclosed identity because they did not explore other areas of life.”

Dr. Michele Kerulis

“When we think about when kids start specializing in sports when they’re adolescents, [that’s] when we want them to explore many different identities, looking at what it’s like to be a student, to be maybe a teenager, to be an athlete, to look at what they like to do in school, outside of school, volunteer work, and maybe starting to think about what kind of careers are interesting to them. So we have this whole area of interesting identities and things that kids should be exploring. But, when they explore only athletics, they form a very narrow identity within that sports field. .. The positive aspect of that is that athletes have the ability to become elite at a very young age, so they can absolutely excel and make a career out of their sport. A drawback is if there is an injury, if there is a problem… they have this foreclosed identity because they did not explore other areas of life.”

• Michele Kerulis, EdD, LCPC, CMPC, Director of Community Engagement and Faculty at the Family Institute at Northwestern University

Q: Are there unhealthy aspects to Keeping an athletic community in adulthood?

“It is not so much bringing a sport community into adulthood that is inherently problematic, but whether or not the person has a community outside of sport. Although participating in sport well into older adulthood is possible, and some athletes engage in sport competitions into their 80’s and 90’s, this is not possible for everyone. Many of us will physically lose our ability to engage in sport in the way we’d like to, or will lose that ability altogether. If we only have a sport-related community, then when we have to leave that community because we can no longer participate, we will also lose our entire social support system, which can be devastating.”

• Christine L. B. Selby, PhD, CEDS, CMPC-E, Associate Professor of Psychology | Director, Athletic Counseling Program, Springfield College

 “If we only have a sport-related community, then when we have to leave that community because we can no longer participate, we will also lose our entire social support system, which can be devastating.”

Dr. Christine L. B. Selby

“Many athletes engage in interpersonal relationships within the context of sport. The skills necessary to thrive in such a culture help to fortify membership in other communities of diverse individuals with varied backgrounds and statuses. Sport community often contributes to the personal and professional development of athletes of all ages. As individuals matriculate through adulthood and other interpersonal relationships, it’s important to consider the impact or effects that historical experiences of intra-team competition may play in how one engages with loved ones, colleagues, and other stakeholders in the non-sport community.  The competitive drive may emerge in certain encounters that may not be necessary or appropriate.”

• Angel Brutus, PsyD, LPCC, ACS, BC-TMH, CMPC, Professional Standards Division Head of the Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP)

“There have been numerous studies on why people drop out of sports and the most common answer is that people drop out because it is no longer fun. Further exploring the reasons why people discontinue sports, we see that anxiety and nervousness due to excessive criticism, external pressure and loss of ownership, and feeling that play is too structured leading to a loss of ‘fun play’ are also common reasons. These same pressures can continue into adulthood if certain leagues or groups apply too much pressure on the participants keeping the sport from being fun.”

• Brian Daniels, MD, Sports Medicine, Nemours Children’s Hospital, Orlando

Design by Madelyn Foulger (source: The Daily Utah Chronicle)

Q: How would you advise someone who deeply loves a sport but who can no longer compete without injury?

“That is challenging for sure, since part of the answer depends on whether the person is willing to stay connected with the sport without directly participating as an athlete. For some, it may be too painful to see others participate when they cannot, and remaining connected with the sport community may not be a good fit. In that case, they would then need to mourn the loss of this community. Others may still need to mourn the loss of not being able to actively participate, but are able to remain connected by coaching, volunteering at competitions by being a judge, time keeper or scorer, or by cheering on their former teammates and fellow competitors. Figuring all of this out can be challenging on one’s own. If needed, consulting with a mental health professional who specializes in sport may be helpful for the athlete to determine what’s next.” 

• Christine L. B. Selby, PhD, CEDS, CMPC-E, Associate Professor of Psychology | Director, Athletic Counseling Program, Springfield College

“As athletes mature and develop through their sport career, it’s not uncommon to experience either chronic or acute injuries… When an athlete finds themselves contemplating sport-retirement due to injury, it’s imperative for support systems to coalesce around the athlete’s lived experiences and really create space and opportunity for exploration.  Many times, athletes considering transition are faced with questions pertaining to ‘what’s next’. This can perpetuate feeling the need to have the answers, when in reality, the more an individual is permitted to explore, the less likely they may face pressures to have it all figured out. With regard to the physical activity perspective, many athletes have been engaged in high-intensity, rigorous, regimented physical exertion experiences. As part of the potential transition out of sport experience, there is a need to reconcile with the possibility of the body evolving and changing in composition and capacity to maintain such levels of sport-competition levels.”

• Angel Brutus, PsyD, LPCC, ACS, BC-TMH, CMPC, Professional Standards Division Head of the Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP)

“I talk a lot with athletes who are in transition phases. That could be kids from high school going to college, college to pro college, to not playing anymore club team, not playing anymore at all, or even professionals who are deciding to retire… Sometimes they are not the person making that choice- somebody else is making that choice for them. If the athlete is making the decision, even though it still could be a painful decision, feeling more in control of that situation can help them find another area of life to go into …. I also talk to them about looking at something completely away from sport. What is something that you absolutely love about the group of people that you’re with? Now, I wouldn’t encourage them to stop being friends with these people. At the same time, trying to find another thing that’s going to fulfill them as much as that sport fulfilled them. Because if they don’t do that, they could find something that is maybe a really unhealthy habit to get into… So looking at what’s going on in your neighborhood, in your city, in your town, maybe ways that you can volunteer with other people who are in the sport where you might not be the athlete anymore, but you’re encouraging athletes.”

• Michele Kerulis, EdD, LCPC, CMPC, Director of Community Engagement and Faculty at the Family Institute at Northwestern University

Q: Are athletes of all ages risking serious injury and re-injury, not simply to win, but to belong?

“Having an injury can certainly be detrimental and many people are unable to return to their sport or their previous level of competition after an injury. Due to parental, peer, and societal pressures, we often place increasing value on winning and deemphasize personal development and fun. Oftentimes, athletes are looking at their peers who are spending more and more time training and focusing on success. Consequently, they feel obligated to overtrain and overuse their bodies to belong. We are unfortunately seeing these same trends across the globe.”

• Brian Daniels, MD, Sports Medicine, Nemours Children’s Hospital, Orlando

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