Much of the general population looks enviously upon elite athletes. Their lifestyles are put upon a pedestal due to perceptions about being in the spotlight and wealth. Even those who enjoy a competitive career outside of the big leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, PGA, ATP, etc.) such as sponsored Olympians and action sports stars are admired for being able to clock-in each day to do something that they love to do.
Conversely, people have also come to realize that elite athletes face a number of mental health concerns. This recognition comes courtesy of those who have opened up about their struggles through recent years. However, public knowledge on the matter is often limited to the anxiety, stress, and potential for burnout that athletes feel when preparing for and engaged in intense competition. While this most certainly contributes to the mental health struggles they commonly face, there is another concern that weighs heavy on the mind and piles on to athlete anxiety – insecurity about career longevity and what it means for them beyond the court, arena, track, or field.
Elite athletes who have attained great success in their sport and developed a mainstream persona are generally able to leverage their status and transition their professional sports career into success in adjacent industries. You could wipe out a soon-to-be-retired Lebron James’ financial assets today and he could bounce back (relatively speaking) by doing a slate of paid appearances and endorsement contracts tomorrow. This is not the case for most career athletes. Instead, their income earning capabilities are directly tethered to active participation in competitive sport. Things are even more problematic when one considers that both trait and momentary anxiety about one’s career longevity can compromise performance and subsequently end one’s career sooner than may have been without anxiety. Further, there are also gender implications. One analysis revealed a discrepancy between male and female athletes, with males experiencing greater benefits from professional sports, beyond competition, than females. How many retired women athletes can you count that have had the opportunity to extend their careers as round-table commentators, spokespersons, and figureheads for athletic brands?
Athlete anxiety and insecurity over career longevity and what life looks like after hanging up the jersey is real. Are there any interventions that can be applied today, even at an amateur or collegiate level? Absolutely. Some of these interventions extend beyond the scope of what we do here at Kindbridge Behavioral Health and others are directly tied to our services. In either case, it is important for athletes to understand what is required to alleviate this anxiety. Below is a succinct and practical look at these effective interventions.
Practical Yet Powerful Interventions to Ease Elite Athlete Anxiety About Competitive Career Longevity
I. Career Training and Support
Post-secondary education intends to prepare athletes for careers beyond competitive sport. However, the shortcomings of many programs are well documented, and in some cases elite athletes do not complete a diploma or degree.
To help alleviate athlete insecurity about life after competitive sports, they require dedicated support from a career program that can help them identify and prepare for a desired career. The program should includes assessments to help players match their skills, experience, and passions to professional opportunities. Kindbridge partner, the NFL Players Association’s Professional Athletes Foundation (PAF), has a program in place to develop athlete skills and brand through one-on-one advising and e-learning courses. Their Career Experiences program may serve as a working model for other athletic organizations who want to invest in their athletes’ overall wellness.
II. Financial Planning
The most often quoted statistic about post-career athlete finances is that 80% of professional athletes become bankrupt. This may or may not be hyperbole, but it is true that a significant number of retired elite athletes struggle to stay out of debt. This debt may be accumulated from gambling behavior and excessive spending on luxuries, but also due to the burden of having to financially support immediate and extended family in addition to an entourage of friends. Having heard the statistics and stories, athletes are well aware of this future risk, which can add to the insecurity they feel in present day. To mitigate the financially related anxieties, athletes should be provided with the opportunity to work with certified financial planners to build financial plans and learn how to grow any level of wealth that have attained thus far in their competitive careers.
III. Ongoing Mental Health Support
Anxiety is a term used by the public to describe an emotion related to stress. While it can be described by the general population this way without consequence, anxiety disorder is a type of mental health condition that elite athletes exhibit a potential predisposition to. It can cause them to respond to certain things and situations with fear and dread, which in this case relates to career longevity. And as a mental health condition, intervention in the form of ongoing professional counseling services is required. More importantly, therapy should come from a resource with expertise in working specifically with elite athletes in treating anxiety disorder and cooccurring conditions. View more on Kindbridge Behavioral Health Mental Health Services for Athletes.
IV. Mindset Support
Mindset training is a term used to describe a form of coaching that helps athletes identify the blocks and behaviors that stop them from being the ultimate version of themselves. The intent is to help them improve their performance, but there are lessons that can be applied in the future beyond competition. As America’s preeminent online counseling support platform for athletes, Kindbridge has entered into a partnership with Momentum Labs to expand towards a more holistic offering. The Momentum Labs sports performance coaching platform that will help athletes of all-ages improve their mindset and mental health, with support from Kindbridge on the issues such as athlete anxiety. Reach out via the contacts provided below to discuss a customized mental health strategy.
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