Changing Sports: What Are Your Options?

THE CREATIVE ATHLETE

Issue 21 -- Changing Sports: What Are Your Options?

The last issue of The Creative Athlete discussed switching sports. If you have reached this point, you have a number of options to consider. You can:

1. Switch to a different version of the same sport.

Many sports offer a variety of ways to compete. Someone who has trained for one version of a sport can often take those skills and successfully apply them to another version. Examples:

Cathy Turner quit speed skating in 1980 when she failed to make the Olympic team. In 1988 she returned, focusing on short track skating. Not only was this version of the sport less grueling for her than long track, but it became an Olympic sport in 1992, thus giving her another chance to make the team. Turner went on to win two medals, a silver and a gold, in Albertville in 1992, and also a gold and a bronze at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics.
Eric Flaim is another long track speed skater who switched to short track. He won a silver medal in the long track 1,500 meter event at the 1988 Calgary Olympics and then in 1993 set a world record in the short track 1,500 meters. At the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics he won a silver medal in the 5,000 short track relay. He is the only man to have won Olympic medals in both long track and short track speedskating.
BrIan Mullen played ice hockey in the NHL for eleven years (including the 1989 All-Star game); he retired in 1994. In 1997 he returned to competitive sports as a member of the USA Hockey InLine national team.
Shaun Creighton was ranked 10th in the world for the 3000 meter steeplechase in 1993. An injury took him out of competition in 1994. The following year, rather than returning to steepchase, he began running 5,000 and 10,000 meter races, which were easier on his body. By 1996 he was ranked 11th in the world in 10,000 meters and set a new Australian record. He has recently taken up the marathon and will focus on that event for the 2000 Olympics.

2. Switch to a sport with fewer competitors.

Some sports draw upon a much larger pool of athletes than others. Generally this means the competition will be tougher and some talented athletes will be shut out of the top levels. But in another sport they might be among the best. Examples:

In 1990 Bobby Knight offered Lloy Ball a basketball scholarship to Indiana University. But Ball turned it down to play volleyball for his father (a coach at Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne). "Some people's dream is to play for the NBA, but my dream has always been winning the Olympic gold medal. I chose volleyball over basketball because I thought it was the sport that gave me the greatest chance to win that medal." (1) He made the U.S. team in 1994 and went to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Jan Bucher went from ice skating to freestyle ballet skiing (now called acro skiing). A year after taking up the sport, she won the national championship. Before retiring in 1991, she had won the world ballet championships twice, the World Cup championships eight times, and a silver medal in the 1988 Calgary Olympics.
Matt Ghaffari, a wrestler, was always shut out of the freestyle heavyweight title by teammate Bruce Baumgartner. So Ghaffari switched to Greco-Roman wrestling and won the 1990, 1991, and 1994 World Cup competitions. And at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, he won a silver medal.
Bobby Friedman was a professional volleyball player and skateboarder. Then he took up tandem surfing, which he performs with his partner, Anna Shisler. "I've been an athlete all my life, and I've never been number one. As I got older -- 32-33 years old -- I watched my sports deteriorate and all my other sports -- younger kids jumping higher or running faster, and I had just to deal with it, and it was very hard to deal with. I started tandem surfing and I said, 'Oh, my God. This doesn't take a 22-year-old young buck.'" (2) Neither Friedman nor Shisler could surf when they took up the sport; within a year they had won all the major tandem events and now have a very successful pro career.

Some of the less-well known Olympic sports such as luge and the modern pentathlon have even actively recruited athletes from other sports. Example:

Because there are only about three dozen modern pentathlon competitors in the entire country, the United States Modern Pentathlon Association "is forced to look for swimmers or runners and teach them the nuances of equestrian riding, fencing and shooting. Many of those athletes become instant stars." (3)

Vanessa Richey, a former swimmer at the University of Texas who was good enough try out for both the 1984 and 1988 Olympics in the 200 and 400 individual medleys, was encouraged by her swimming coach to try the modern pentathlon. In less than two years she rose to the top of her new sport, finishing third at the National Championships. In 1993 she became the U.S. National Champion and also earned the silver medal at the World Cup.

3. Compete against a different group of people.

Many sports divide competitors into different skill, age, and gender groups to create level playing fields. This gives more athletes the opportunity to win. Examples:

In golf the Senior PGA Tour has completely revitalized the careers of many golfers now that they play against their peers instead of younger players. Dave Stockton earns more in one year on the senior tour than he did during all of his 27 years on the regular PGA Tour. Hale Irwin, another senior player, became the first golfer (on any tour) to earn $2 million in prize money in one season.
In figure skating, professional competitions have provided outlets for those who are no longer able or choose not to qualify for the Olympics and world championships.
The World Football League has provided pro opportunities to a number of athletes. According to a 1992 New York Times article, "For players like [Mike Jones, a running back converted to linebacker on loan to the World League from the Los Angeles Raiders], it is a place to get some experience before he goes back to the N.F.L. For players like [Sacramento Surge quarterback David] Archer, it is a place to show that they still have something left. And for players like [Surge receiver Eddie] Brown, it is a place to be noticed for the next level. For other players, it might be the only league they will ever be able to play in and win a world championship." (4)
Manon Rheaume (the first woman to play in a NHL exhibition game) has played minor league ice hockey and professional roller hockey with men in addition to being a member of the Canadian women's national ice hockey team.

4. Play in or for a different country.

Many sports in this country don't extend beyond the amateur level but do exist professionally in Europe and Asia, Before pro leagues developed in America, top volleyball and women's basketball players often went overseas. Even water polo players can earn $40,000 to $50,000 a year plus all living expenses playing in France, Italy, or Spain.

Competing oversees is also an option for athletes who aren't good enough to compete in the Olympics for their home teams, but do qualify to represent other countries. Examples:

Steve Lescas, whose grandparents came to the United States from Albania, approached the Albanian Olympic Committee about representing it in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. He was a member of the La Salle University swim team, specializing in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle and the 100-meter breast stroke. Although he was not nationally ranked in the United States, he was good enough to become the Albanian men's swim team.
Joe Almasian (who had been a middle distance runner at the University of Rhode Island) and Ken Topalian (who had been a hurdler in high school) regularly participated in the Armenian Olympics, an annual event held primarily for Armenian-Americans. They were approached by one of the event's directors (who was also a former member of the United States Bobsled Federation) about representing Armenia in the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics as bobsledders. Since their grandparents had been born in Armenia, they were able to obtain dual citizenship. They financed everything themselves (about $20,000), became two-thirds of the Armenian team (there was also a skier who was a native of the country), and were able to finish 36th out of 43 teams. (5)
Luis Lopez qualified to represent Peru in the 1995 Pan American Games while he was a high student in Colorado (and a state swim champion). Lopez holds dual citizenship (he was born in the United States, but his grandparents and other relatives still live in Peru). At the Games he didn't win a medal, but he did set a Peruvian record in the 100-meter freestyle.
Missy Martinez, who played shortstop for the University of South Florida, went on to play for the Puerto Rican national softball team. Even though Martinez did not speak any Spanish, she qualified because her father was born in Puerto Rico. An added bonus: the national team agreed to pay her tuition to medical school if she attended the University of Puerto Rico. (6)
Marion Clignet was born in the United States to French parents. She won gold medals at the 1989 and 1990 U.S. National Cycling Championships in the team 50-kilometer time trials, but was not selected to go to the 1990 World Championships. Feeling rebuffed, she moved to France and joined its national team. Representing France, she and her teammates won the women's team time trial at the 1991 world championships. She also earned a silver medal for France in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in the women's individual pursuit.

Similarly, we have used foreign-born players to represent the United States in sports where we lack talent. For example, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics there were 35 foreign-born athletes (born in 24 different countries) competing for the United States. (7)

More examples:

John Aalberg came from Norway to attend the University of Utah. He won the NCAA cross-country ski championship in 1984 and 1985. In 1992 he became an American citizen and two weeks later competed at the 1992 Albertville Olympics (and also at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics).
In anticipation of the 1994 World Cup, the U.S. national soccer team used two foreign-born players: a German (Thomas Dooley) who was kept off the German national team because of injury but qualified for the American team because his father was American; and a South African who played professionally in England and qualified because he was married to an American.
Foreign-born players have been a major component of the U.S. table tennis team. In 1995, out of the top ten men, only three were born in America; out of the top ten women, only two were born in America. (8)
The 1996 U.S. men's field hockey team had a player from Egypt, one from Vietnam, one from Australia, and four from the Netherlands.

For anyone contemplating playing in the Olympics for another country, the rule is that an athlete who has competed internationally for one country (even at the junior level) is supposed to wait three years before competing for another. "However, if the athlete's former national Olympic committee and the relevant international sports federation grant permission, the International Olympic Committee can waive the three-year requirement. (Some sports, like soccer, do not permit players to change national teams.)" (9)

For the 1992 Olympics, 47 athletes petitioned the IOC for permission to change national teams without waiting three years. For the 1996 Olympics, approximately 90 had done so.

5. Create new forms of competition for your sport.

As sports increase in popularity, both among participants and fans, new variations evolve which offer new challenges and/or more entertainment value. Examples:

Sport climbing is a relatively new, popular, and more lucrative form of rock climbing. The sport grew out of a need for indoor practice walls for serious climbers. Now there are clubs, clothing, equipment, and competitions designed exclusively for this activity. Because artificial climbing walls can be erected in a variety of indoor and outdoor locations and can even be moved from city to city for demonstrations and competitions, the sport has attracted fans, participants, and sponsors.
Beach volleyball has opened up many professional opportunities. While volleyball has always been a popular sport in this country, there was virtually no effort to capitalize on it commercially until the 1980s. Then people began to realize fans all over the country would come out to watch two-person teams compete against each other--especially when the atmosphere is right (i.e., having sand hauled in and having the competitors wear attractive beach attire rather than gym suits). The Heublein corporation decided that the sport's image was just what it wanted for its Cuervo Gold Tequila and has been underwriting the event ever since.
Cyclo-cross is bicycle racing on a closed course a mile or less long, involving paved sections; dirt roads, trails, and pathways; and barriers forcing dismounts. It developed in the 1950s in Europe as an off-season training sport for road cyclists. Like sport climbing and beach volleyball, it appeals to spectators. "The entire course can usually be seen from one vantage point, meaning spectators get much more than a single glimpse of the racers as they whiz by [unlike road or mountain bike racing]. Plus, because running is involved and the speeds are slower, it's much easier to keep an eye on the competitors." (10)
3-D archery is a sport that has witnessed phenomenal growth in recent years. It was created to bridge the gap between target shooters and bow hunters. Competitors shoot at three-dimensional animal targets in natural settings and are judged by whether their shots would have resulted in a lethal, humane hit on a live animal. The sport now offers a pro-am tour with price money.

6. Switch to a sport with more commercial appeal.

Some athletes begin their competitive careers in one sport, and then realize that there is limited opportunity to earn a living in it. Examples:

Some roller skaters have switched to ice skating because the financial rewards are much higher. It paid off for pairs skaters Wayne and Natalie Seybold, who switched from roller skating to ice skating, became national silver medalists, went to the 1988 Calgary Olympics, and then toured the country in professional ice shows.
Aaron Vincent has been both a professional skateboarder and snowboarder. "I've always loved skateboarding, but snowboarding just developed into something that people are more willing to invest money in me to do." (11)

7. Switch to another sport for a new challenge.

When athletes achieve everything they can in one sport, they often look elsewhere for new opportunities. Example:

When gymnast Phoebe Mills won a bronze medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, she ended her gymnastics career. She went to high school full-time, got bored, and joined her high school diving team. She attended a diving camp in Florida, decided to stay, finish high school there, and train for a spot on the 1996 Olympic diving team. She competed for the University of Miami, but decided to retire from the sport at the end of her senior year in 1995.

8. Create an entirely different sport.

This is a particularly creative time in sports. Many young athletes are developing new outlets for their recreational and competitive energies. Examples:

In just a few years street luge has gone from daredevil guys riding skateboards down mountain roads to a legitimate sport complete with special equipment (essentially an 8-foot skateboard that riders ride, luge-style), a sanctioning body (RAIL--Road Racing Association for International Luge), about 600 "pro" riders, and media and corporate attention (a Mountain Dew commercial, features on several network television sports anthology shows, and the Extreme Games).
Carmela Weber is making a name for herself combining dance with climbing. Her athletic training began when she took up gymnastics at four. But by 15 her knees were giving out and she quit the sport. She took up dance and majored in it at college. A friend who made climbing holds helped her build a climbing wall on which she could stage performances. As one reviewer put it, "... her work is the only approach to successfully integrate climbing techniques into dance ..." (12)

9. Think recreation and fitness.

Translate your sports background into mass market concepts. Example:

Greg Carelli was on his high school track, gymnastics, tennis, and football teams. But he didn't embark on a sports career after graduation; instead he worked in the family restaurant.

Then he took a few aerobics classes from a girlfriend who taught them. After five years, he was training six to eight hours a day and working with four coaches.

The hard work paid off when he won the 1989 national aerobics championships in the singles category. This led to a world tour to promote aerobics as a sport. (13)


1 The Washington Post, March 14, 1995.
2 CNN Today, December 26, 1996.
3 Mike Spence, "Pentathlon seeking new blood," (Colorado Springs) Gazette Telegraph, July 18, 1991.
4 Timothy W. Smith, The New York Times, June 8, 1992.
5 The New York Times, February 21, 1994.
6 USA Today, May 17, 1994.
7 The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 28, 1996.
8 The New York Times, August 18, 1995.
9 Christopher Clarey, "When a Change of Address Comes With a New Anthem," The New York Times, July 14, 1996.
10 Neill Woelk, "Gladiator & Ballet," Boulder Daily Camera, October 26, 1995.
11 Transworld SNOWboarding, February 1996.
12 Janine Gastineau, "Against the wall," Boulder Weekly, September 14, 1995.
13 Rocky Mountain News, July 3, 1989.

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