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The Athletes' Conundrum

Video, 20 seconds · 1 minute read

Why so many athletes hit a crisis in their late 20s or early 30s, and why the years before it matter most.

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Athletes retire twice

Athletes have unique careers. People often say they retire twice: once from sport, and again from whatever job they take on after sport.

The impact point

Over the years I've seen many athletes reach a crisis point in their lives. I call it the athletes' conundrum.

It often comes in their late 20s or early 30s, when they've been at the peak of their career. Then an injury, a team decision, a change in their personal life or any number of other things changes their circumstances completely. They can go from performing at a very high level, with a good income and high self-esteem, to losing all three, sometimes overnight.

At the same time, this is the age when responsibilities grow: perhaps a partner, children or a new business. If they aren't prepared, the impact can hit them very hard.

The game plan action zone

I call the four to five years before that point the game plan action zone. It's the time for athletes to think about what happens when they reach the impact point, and to put a plan in place.

Watch the video

This short video shows the idea in 20 seconds. I hope you enjoy it.

No sound. Use the controls to pause or replay.

What the video shows

The chart follows an athlete from age 15. Performance, income and self-esteem climb through their early 20s and stay high. Around 32, they hit the impact point: all three fall sharply, just as responsibilities rise to their peak.

The second chart shows the same athlete with a game plan. They start building their next career in their early 20s, so when the impact comes, their income and self-esteem hold up and their career keeps climbing for the rest of their working life. Your next chapter starts before your last game.

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More on this: Don't go from hero to zero, on what I learned watching talented athletes leave sport with no plan for what came next.