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

Beyond the Game: The Power of Mental Vigilance in Overcoming Challenges

When we witness the likes of LeBron James compete at highest level of play, when we watch in awe at the power behind one of Serena Williams’ serves, or when we behold the command of Clayton Kershaw’s fastball: what factors do we immediately contribute their success to?

As fans (or haters) we can speculate advantages or debate statistics, but few would dare to argue that these dominating athletes have not worked tirelessly to achieve success. What is less often considered, is the work these athletes have done within the confines of their own mind. As anyone who has competed in any arena can attest to; change, improvement, and success take hard work. If we were able to work as hard on our minds as we do in our work, sports, and relationships, we would see big change in many facets of life.

Healthy Adjustment to Career-Ending Injury or Health Condition Part 2: Finding Your Voice in the Aftermath

Receiving the news of forced sport discontinuation can be devastating to an athlete. The reality of being permanently-sidelined from the sport you love may force you to confront many new challenges you may not have faced before.

This article is here to help break down and assess your situation as a permanently-sidelined athlete and help you find your voice to get the support you need.

Healthy AdjustmentChristine PinaltoSeptember 2, 2019sidelined athletes, parents sidelined athletes, helping sidelined athletes, permanently sidelined, sidelined athlete, career ending injury, repeat concussions, end to sports career, mental health athletes

7 Keys to Supporting a Sidelined Athlete Battling Depression

What can you do as a supporter if you know a sidelined athlete in your life is dealing with depression and needs continued support? Sidelined USA has compiled this list of seven essential considerations to help get you started.

KEY 1: FIGHT THE STIGMA. Mental health is just like physical health. If someone has an injury, they get treatment; the same applies to mental health concerns and

Meaningful SupportChristine PinaltoAugust 1, 2019Sidelined athletes, sidelined athlete, sidelined athletes, sidelined, coaches sidelined athletes, parents sidelined athletes, parents athletes, helping sidelined athletes, permanently sidelined, Recommendations Permanently Sidelined Athletes, athletic trainers sidelined athletes, depression, identifying depression, mental health athletes, depression athletes

Suicide Prevention and Awareness for Supporters of Sidelined Athletes

If you are aware of a sidelined athlete experiencing depression, it is essential to continuously monitor for potential suicidal tendencies. Nothing can be taken for granted. The signs of suicide risk are similar to the signs of depression so it is of utmost importance to be on the front end with suicide prevention awareness and pay close attention to a deepening depression.

Sidelined USA wishes to equip all members of the athlete’s support network to understand the signs that may indicate additional help and intervention are necessary. To that end, we have compiled the following information and

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

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

contact@sidelinedusa.org

EIN #: 83-2147421

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

contact@sidelinedusa.org

EIN #: 83-2147421