THE CREATIVE ATHLETE

Issue 17 -- Timetables: When to Stop Competing

There comes a point in every athlete's life when it's time to either switch sports, drop to a lower competitive level, or stop competing altogether. This is often a very hard decision for an athlete to make. Do you go out on top, or do you wait until you're starting to fade? Do you quit while you still enjoy the sport but have the opportunity to pursue other interests, or do you stay in until you're burned out?

One reason it's such a difficult decision is the same reason people become full-time athletes in the first place: there's a tremendous sense of fulfillment in competing and an even bigger high in winning.

According to Dave Andersen, a sports columnist for The New York Times, "For marquee athletes, the most dangerous drug is not sold on street corners. For them, the most dangerous drug is what Sugar Ray Leonard has described as 'that arena,' alias that stage, alias that ego trip of triumph." (1)

Examples:

• Brian Noble (who was a linebacker for the NFL Green Bay Packers from 1985-93) said, "The goose bumps and the rush of adrenaline when those fans are roaring. It's like falling out of an airplane to go skydiving. It's like standing in front of a slot machine and pulling your numbers and realizing you smacked the big one, only you get to do it every single Sunday.

"Emotionally, the hardest part is saying goodbye; knowing that the team is moving on but you're not going with them. When you walk out those doors the last time and you know it's the end, it's very, very difficult." (2)

• Mark Spitz (winner of seven gold medals in swimming at the 1972 Munich Olympics) knows what it's like to fall out of the limelight. He was at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics doing some television commentary and thought he might be asked to do something in the opening ceremonies. "I kept thinking, hoping, that someone would come tell me what they wanted me to do. But I just sat there, hour after hour, watching the stands fill up, and then the opening ceremonies started, and I was still in my seat.

"It was kind of sad." (3)

There are those who would argue that we should all remain active until we die. But this isn't the same as competing and training full-time. There's a big difference in terms of time, commitment, and financing between recreational sports and elite-level sports.

The decision facing full-time athletes isn't whether or not they should continue to do sports, but whether or not they should do them as their primary activity.

A logical time to quit is when you've run out of the challenges which keep sports interesting. Examples:

• Mark Spitz quit after his amazing performance in Munich because, "There was nothing left for me to do in athletics. I mean, should I strive for eight medals in `76. That was ludicrous." (4)
  
  
• Tennis pro Kathleen Horvath (who turned pro at 14 and broke into the top 10 by 18) retired at 24 and began college. "When you're at the top you're like, 'O.K., I just have to maintain this.' So what's really the excitement? Basically, I did everything I wanted to do in tennis. I was in the top 10, one of the best players in the world, and I worked hard and played pro tournaments for almost 10 years. That's a pretty long career for a pro athlete. And unless you are 150 percent driven, you're not going to keep doing very well." (5)

Often younger athletes get out of sports because they want to have more normal lives. Examples:

• Swimmer George DiCarlo (who won a gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle and a silver in the 1,500-meter freestyle at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics) said that "... once you get out of college, you start looking at different things, different avenues, different distractions. All of a sudden, you're not getting that monthly check from the university. And that makes it difficult to go back, to train to that intensity for an additional four years." (6)
  
  
• Matt Swanson (who was a goalkeeper on UCLA's water polo team and 1995 NCAA Player of the Year) decided to retire from the sport and attend graduate school rather than try out for the U.S. national team. "A lot of people have asked me, 'Why?' It's hard to explain all the reasons. My coach is one of them who wants me to continue playing. I'm sure most people in the polo community don't understand it.

"Athletics aren't all there is. I would say I've grown out of them. I realized there is a lot more to life. When I was a freshman and sophomore, I thought that's all there was. But I've changed in the last two years. Experiencing things outside the pool deck, getting away from polo, have really opened my eyes." (7)

Often long-time pros, even when they are still playing well, choose to retire because they have other priorities in life. Examples:

• Tennis great Chris Evert explained why she decided to retire in order to focus on marriage and motherhood.

"I did everything I wanted to do in tennis. I got the tennis out of my system. I was ready.

"What I want to do for the rest of my life is rest. I've been doing this since I was 6 years old.

"There is life after tennis. I'd like to tell all the tennis pros out there. You play tennis for a living, you're going to have highs and lows. But this having a baby--this is a constant high." (8)

• Katarina Witt, who won gold medals for figure skating in the 1984 Saraevajo and the 1988 Calgary Olympics, also gained perspective as she grew older. "You realize so much as an athlete, you reached the top, you must also realize there's more to life than just the sport. You have to learn to set new goals, smaller goals, maybe, but new ones." (9) (As it turned out, Witt did return to competition for the 1994 Olympics. Comebacks will be discussed in the next issue of The Creative Athlete.)
  
  
• Gymnast Cathy Rigby (who became the first American woman to win a medal in an international gymnastics competition) used goal setting to help her made the transition from sport to acting. "Look, I spent 17 years learning my craft. I was offered things after the 1972 Olympics but decided to learn acting, singing, dance, and make a living doing commercials until I learned." (10) She has since gone on to a successful career in musical theater, with several appearances on Broadway to her credit.
  
  
• Joe Montana had this to say when he retired from professional football: "I'm still healthy and relatively in one piece considering the game and how it's played. Now it's time to pull out the golf clubs." (11) He said that football had become a job to him; it was time to move on.

Finally, many athletes quit because of age or injury. Examples:

• Skier Jimmie Heuga won a bronze medal at the 1964 Innsbruck Olympics. But by 1967 he was having problems and later found out he had multiple sclerosis. Here's what he had to say about his retirement from sports. "The most important day in my life is today, not yesterday or tomorrow. Sure, I love the memories I have. The ski career was wonderful and exciting, the source of my greatest friendships. I will never forget all that, but I don't hold on too tight." (12)
  
  
• Nolan Ryan, who spent 27 years in major league baseball, decided to retire after an elbow injury. Although he missed his teammates and the workouts, he found some pluses as well. "It enabled me to be a volunteer coach for the TCU (Texas Christian University) baseball team, which kind of took me back to the days I hadn't experienced for a long time in baseball. Baseball had gotten to be a very pressured and demanding situation, and now I am out doing something for the enjoyment of it." (13)
  
  
• Larry Bird decided to retire from a stellar career in pro basketball because of back problems. He missed playing the game, but he had this to say after a retirement ceremony in 1993. "When I walked off the floor, all of the pressure was off of me. I don't have to live up to anything as a basketball player anymore. I don't have to talk to reporters if I don't want to. I can just go on with my life. All I have to do is raise my family." (14)

 

1 Dave Anderson, The New York Times, April 4, 1991.

2 Newsday, January 12, 1997.

3 USA Today, April 12, 1991.

4 The New York Times, May 23, 1990.

5 Tennis, June, 1991.

6 The Denver Post, September 3, 1989.

7 The San Diego Union-Tribune, December 9, 1996.

8 Los Angeles Times, February 23, 1992.

9 San Francisco Examiner, February 23, 1992.

10 Parade Magazine, December 23, 1990.

11 USA Today, April 19, 1995.

12 Rocky Mountain News, Sunday Magazine, January 6, 1991.

13 USA Today, February 5, 1996.

14 Newsday, February 21, 1993.

Home | Newsletter List | Next Issue