As a former sidelined athlete I can tell you that guilt and shame were very specific feelings I experienced when I medically-retired. At the time, I really didn’t feel like I had the right to grieve and I was ashamed of how depressed I had become. I didn’t realize that it was normal - more importantly - that it was OKAY to be mourning the end of my athletic career. Changing the narrative starts with understanding where the guilt and shame behind medical retirement comes from.

An athlete’s natural mindset in performing is to overcome and defeat opponents. To win. But what happens when you can’t even compete?

Adjusting Your Gameplan: Transitioning from One Dream to Your Next Play

As a child, you never expect your biggest dreams to come to an end so suddenly. As an athlete, you hope that you’re able to control your own destiny. Unfortunately, the reality is that for many of us, these hopes and expectations take a U-turn when we’re least expecting it, and force our hand in life a bit earlier than we had planned for.

Grasping the reality of an early end to your athletic career is certainly a tough pill to swallow.

For some it may be all they have ever known and loved.

Beyond The GameChristine PinaltoOctober 19, 2019Sidelined athletes, sidelined athlete, sidelined athletes, sidelined, coaches sidelined athletes, sport retirement, permanently sidelined, helping sidelined athletes, post-retirement, post sports days, career ending injury, Career Ending Injuries, career ending injuries, end to sports career, athlete for life, athlete transition, athletes, gameplan, grit, mental health athletes, mental vigilance, early retirement sports, sports psychologist, sports psychology, loss of sport, competitive spirit, sports coping strategies, transition sports, sport retirement concussion, coping mechanisms sports, athlete, athletic identity, athletic injury, athletic trainers, Athletes Forced Retirement, medical disqualification, medically disqualified athlete, coping strategies, rebuilding, competitive edge, MDQ athlete, emotional recovery, identity crisis, Help Athletes Career Ending Injuries, retired athletes, Recommendations Permanently Sidelined Athletes, life beyond the game

Life Beyond Sports: Shedding Our Athletic Armor

Sports do indeed offer valuable life experiences. We learn incredible skills such as persistence, work ethic, and how to set and work towards goals. We push our limits and learn about our own physical and mental strength. We learn how to sacrifice and discipline ourselves as we work through challenges. Ultimately, we experience a deep sense of passion and purpose as we try to attain our highest potential in sport.

Unfortunately, we also realize that in order to succeed in such a competitive world, we need to protect ourselves. So, we start to grow thick skin and a type of protective outer armor.

Beyond The GameChristine PinaltoOctober 16, 2019life beyond the game, athlete for life, Athletes Forced Retirement, medically disqualified athlete, medical disqualification, Sidelined athletes, sidelined, sidelined athletes, sidelined athlete, parents sidelined athletes, coaches sidelined athletes, forever sidelined, helping sidelined athletes, permanently sidelined, sport retirement, sport retirement concussion, loss of sport, post sports days, transition sports, end to sports career, coping mechanisms sports, sports psychology, sports psychologist, athlete transition, athletic identity, athletic armor, athlete, athletes, life after sport, life after sports, athletic injury, career ending injury, Career Ending Injuries, career ending injuries, Help Athletes Career Ending Injuries, athletic trainers, athletic trainers sidelined athletes, early retirement sports, internal coping mechanisms sports, sports coping strategies, internal healing sports injury, adjustment life after sport

Beyond the Game: Harnessing Your Competitive Edge for Life

The room is so very bland. That icky not-quite-beige, not-quite-white color. My heart is racing. Tiny beads of sweat are starting to form on my forehead. I can’t sit still, my legs bouncing in nervous anticipation. The doctor walks in, his face as bland as the walls. I try to make a read on what’s coming next, but can’t. File folder in hand, he sits down.

“Well, it is not good news. Your MRI shows a full thickness tear in your meniscus. I think we can fix it, but it would be my recommendation that you never skate again.”

Wait, what?! What did he just say?

Becoming Sidelined: Understanding the Grief Process

Permanently sidelined athletes can expect to go through a grieving process as they adjust to their new reality of life beyond their sport. Research shows that most sidelined athletes experience the same stages of grief. Understanding what an athlete can expect to experience when coping with the loss of his/her sport can be a powerful piece of knowledge, both for the athlete and his/her family.

Becoming Sidelined, Meaningful SupportChristine PinaltoSeptember 20, 2019grief loss of sport, loss of sport, career-ending injury, sidelined, medical retirement, medical disqualification, grief athletes, loss athletes, end of sports career

Becoming Sidelined: The Loss of Athletic Identity

For athletes forced to discontinue their sport due to injury or health condition, the mental journey towards acceptance and internal healing can be confusing, complicated, and flat out brutal.

Permanently-sidelined athletes have described their grief as feeling as though a part of them has died. Sports psychologists refer to this as “losing the athletic identity”. One of the hardest parts of processing the loss of ability to compete in sport is feeling like you don’t know who you are without your sport.

Becoming Sidelined, Meaningful SupportChristine PinaltoSeptember 1, 2019Sidelined athletes, sidelined athlete, parents sidelined athletes, coaches sidelined athletes, athletic trainers sidelined athletes, athletic identity, loss of sport, sports psychology, end to sports career, career ending injury, Career Ending Injuries, identity crisis, athletes identity

Healthy Adjustment to Career-Ending Injury or Health Condition Part 4: The Rebuilding Phase

Sometimes difficult transitions can make treating yourself kindly even more challenging. Evaluating emotional responses and internal dialogues while proceeding to implement change can be a tiresome task, as discussed in our previous articles here and here. Despite its potential difficulty, the exercise of evaluating internal dialogues can impact powerful change. Once you have learned to “mind your mind” and create more healthy internal dialogues, you are ready to start rebuilding what was lost.

Healthy Adjustment to Career-Ending Injury or Health Condition Part 5: Retaining Physicality

The reality is, for many athletes, the peak performance era in competitive sports is sometimes ended sooner than expected. Whether that be a career-ending injury, repeat injuries that eventually make a comeback next to impossible, a new medical diagnosis, or a series of concussions that threaten to impact long-term brain health, being forced out of a competitive sport due to medical reasons can be devastating. More than “losing your sport” at this point, you may feel like you’ve also been stripped of your identity. Somehow, you need to make a mental shift and create a new identity. Granted, this can be extremely difficult and can take years. However, there are many ways to make this transition easier. One specific way is to retain your physicality.

Healthy AdjustmentChristine PinaltoJune 20, 2019sidelined athlete, Sidelined athletes, sidelined athletes, sidelined, coaches sidelined athletes, parents sidelined athletes, helping sidelined athletes, forever sidelined, permanently sidelined, athletic trainers sidelined athletes, career ending injury, Career Ending Injuries, career ending injuries, cardiomyopathy athletes, end to sports career, Help Athletes Career Ending Injuries, medically disqualified athlete, medical disqualification, life beyond the game, post sports days, athletes, athletic injury, Athletes Forced Retirement, Athletes Heart Conditions, athletes with depression, mental health athletes, mental vigilance, sports psychology, sports coping strategies, sport retirement concussion, loss of sport, transition sports, coping mechanisms sports, early retirement sports, sport retirement, internal coping mechanisms sports

Becoming Sidelined: Managing Negative Self-Talk

Being forced to retire from competing in a sport that you love is objectively heartbreaking. You’re allowed (even encouraged) to let yourself feel every negative emotion that comes with grieving the loss of a really important aspect of your life and identity. What remains important throughout this process though, is that you treat yourself with kindness and patience. You owe it to yourself to alter any internal-dialogues which threaten to convince you that these circumstances are more disastrous than you are strong.

As we begin to analyze our internal dialogues, we should be wary of unhelpful thought patterns that have manifested themselves so deeply that they impact our entire perception of the world, our experiences, and ourselves. These thoughts are not reality-based and overtime they are reinforced, resulting in biases, irrational thoughts, and groundless beliefs.

Becoming SidelinedChristine PinaltoJune 20, 2019Sidelined athletes, sidelined athlete, sidelined athletes, sidelined, coaches sidelined athletes, parents sidelined athletes, helping sidelined athletes, forever sidelined, permanently sidelined, athletic trainers sidelined athletes, career ending injury, Career Ending Injuries, career ending injuries, cardiomyopathy athletes, end to sports career, early retirement sports, emotional recovery, self-talk, depression athletes, teen athletes, retired athletes, healing athletes, sports psychologist, sports psychology, sport retirement, sport retirement concussion, sports coping strategies, loss of sport, transition sports, coping mechanisms sports, internal healing sports injury, internal coping mechanisms sports, negative self talk, cognitive distortions, athletes identity, athletic injury, athletic trainers, Athletes Heart Conditions, brain health risk, TBI sports, concussions athletes, connective tissue disorders athletes, coping strategies, mental health athletes, heart conditions athletes, Athletes Forced Retirement, internal coping strategies, internal coping skills, internal coping mechanisms, life beyond the game, mental vigilance, Recommendations Permanently Sidelined Athletes, repeat concussions

6 Factors to Consider in Possible Sport Retirement Due to Brain Health Concerns

The decision to recommend athlete retirement due to concerns for brain health is not one to be taken lightly. Several factors must be considered, as the removal from sport itself may lead to its own issues down the line, especially if the decision is made for the athlete instead of by or with the athlete. Most athletes, especially one-sport athletes or those playing at an elite level, identify themselves heavily with their sport. For this reason, forced retirement can have a significant impact on their overall wellbeing.

As outlined below, there are several factors to consider when discussing possible retirement from sport due to brain health concerns.

Insightful articles for helping permanently-sidelined athletes find a meaningful way forward.

contact@sidelinedusa.org

EIN #: 83-2147421

Resources

Insightful articles for helping permanently-sidelined athletes find a meaningful way forward.

contact@sidelinedusa.org

EIN #: 83-2147421