All athletes sooner or later have to face the fact that one day their sports career will end and they will need to start a new chapter in life. For some, this transition occurs earlier than others - after all, New Zealand cavalry Julie Bruem competed in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro at the age of 62 - but sooner or later every athlete moves to a new career, profession or stage. life.

Coming to terms with this can be extremely difficult, especially when you consider that many athletes have little or no full-time work experience. Some of you have even sacrificed your college or university education for your athletic career.

But while the transition to post-sport life isn't always easy, you can prepare for it by learning about some of the challenges you may face.

UNIQUE SITUATION
After the end of a sports career, you may find yourself in a unique position. Due to the physical nature of the sport, most athletes retire at a relatively young age. According to some studies, it is very rare for a professional athlete's career to last more than 10 years; Athletes usually retire from big sport around the age of 34 1 ; but in sports such as gymnastics, this period comes much earlier. Thus, athletes have many productive years before reaching the traditional retirement age, so they have to start a new career.

However, a 2012 study showed that the average professional athlete trains for six hours a day, six days a week, 12 months a year 2 , leaving little or no time for work, school or career planning. As a result, most athletes have to leave their studies or alternative careers for the sport.

And by the time they retire from sports at age 34, they will be at least 10 years behind the average non-sports worker in professional development. 3

PREPARING FOR THE SURPRISES
A career change can be either planned (normative), such as when an athlete decides it's time to start a new life, or unplanned and sudden (abnormal), such as when an athlete is injured or withdrawn from a team. 4

Studies have shown that athletes who planned their retirement in advance demonstrate higher cognitive, emotional and behavioral readiness for a career change than those who were forced to leave the sport under the influence of circumstances.