4 Ways to Make Your Transition Out of College Sport Easier

For many college athletes, graduation marks the end of their career as competitive athletes and for some the transition does not come easily. As a Masters student studying Sport Psychology, I have gained a lot of understanding as to what an athlete can do to best facilitate this inevitable transition. To ensure a smooth transition, here are four tips you should follow

1. Balance Your College Experience.

College teams demand a lot of your time, but there is so much more that you can get out of your college experience. Looking back, former athletes that were able to transition seamlessly upon graduation placed a lot of importance on not only on academics and getting the most out of class, but also the benefits of attending professional development seminars.

2. Take the Time to Plan for Life After Sports.

The great part about graduation for the college athlete is that this transition is foreseeable. For many athletes, the end of their days competing at a high level is a result of injury, which leads to a different and often more difficult transition. Unfortunately many athletes generally do not have as strong of an idea of what they plan to do after college as students who do not play sports.1 It is not surprising that putting thought into a post-graduation action-plan for is helpful in ensuring a healthy transition. With all of this in mind, the last two tips will serve athletes well regardless of how their college athletic career ends.

3. Lean on Your Friends and Family

Athletes have placed social support as one of the most important totems in transitioning out of sport regardless of the reason for retirement. If you are a parent of a college athlete, this is where you come in and can make a difference by providing encouragement and as little pressure as possible. Former athletes have also praised the benefits of leaning on teammates who are also going through the transition and others around them that already have.(1)

4. Remain Flexible and Open to Alternatives

No matter how much planning you put in, the transition will never go exactly how you thought it would. It is crucial for athletes to remain flexible and explore alternatives.(2) Not only does this exploration often produce quicker career maturation, but it has also been linked with the development of greater life skills and building higher levels of self-esteem.(3)

References

(1) Cummins, P. & O'Boyle, I. (2015). Psychosocial factors involved in transitions from college to postcollege careers for male NCAA division-1 basketball players. Journal of Career Development, 42(1), 33-47.

(2) Webb, W., Nasco, S., Riley, S., & Headrick, B. (1998). Athlete Identity and Reactions to Retirement from Sports. Journal of Sport Behavior, 21(3), 338.

(3) Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York, NY: Norton.