student athletes: the importance of creating an identity outside of your sport
Note: the content of this post was originally published as part of my Master’s thesis. The wording has been adjusted to remove quotes/insights from other academic journals/publications. Enjoy!
Sport has proven to be a major contributing factor to positive youth development. Lessons involving socialization, work ethic, and social cohesion are among the many skills that are developed through participation and involvement in sports. However, a factor that is often overlooked is the impact that it has in identity creation within the individual. People who enter into sports often take on a different identity within themselves as an athlete, so it is important to understand how this identity evolves and changes as one develops through life. Sport is a cultural phenomenon and has a high impact within American society specifically, with some of the most impactful people in society coming from a background in athletics. However, sport plays different roles within the scope of people’s lives, so the main question I am posing is at what point does sport’s role in development shift from beneficial to detrimental?
Early Development
In order to understand the way in which this development evolves, it’s important to note how sport is rooted in the early development of athletes. At a younger age, it is emphasized that sport is something that children and younger individuals do, rather than something that they are. It is an aspect of their identity, but not the singular identifying factor of who they are. That being said, involvement in sport has overwhelmingly positive effects on youth development. Social aspects have proven to be an important aspect of sport involvement, especially in the case of girls. Coaches, along with parents, play a major role in the way that these children view sport early on. Parents are an instrumental part of any child’s development and they have the ability to shape a child’s viewpoint and alter the formation of their identity. At this early age, parents hold a tremendous responsibility in shaping their child’s viewpoint on sport in a positive or negative way. Early exposure to pressure can alter a child’s enjoyment of athletic participation as well as their desire to continue in sport.
A tremendous amount of positive effects emerge from a young girl’s involvement in sport. Many of these aspects encapsulate life skills and social aspects that extend far beyond the court. Establishing a good, healthy team culture is impactful in imparting knowledge and skills that translate beyond sport. Respect, accountability, and responsibility are among those important skills that many athletes possess because of their involvement in team sports. Another positive aspect is the formation of strong relationships within a team setting. Not only do these relationships contribute to the enjoyment of the sport, but in the ability of these players to socialize and establish lasting relationships with others. One positive aspect that comes directly from a child’s involvement in team sports specifically, is the ability to apply social cohesion and teamwork to a variety of situations.
Especially in the case of young girls, the importance of feeling included within a social setting is not to be overlooked. A sense of belonging is impactful in a girl’s ability to develop a positive self-image and identity. Sport has also proven to be dramatically impactful in the establishment and maintenance of motivation; building up competitiveness and motivation allows for them to find more success on the court, which can translate to success in various other aspects of life outside of basketball.
Another key factor of development is the role that coaches serve in the perception of and value placed on sport within one’s life. For many athletes, it is a coach that makes or breaks the experience of playing sports, as they have the power to transform an athlete’s entire playing circumstances. It is important, as a coach, to develop the complete person, imparting life skills and moral values, rather than just viewing their players from a one-dimensional plane as an athlete. With a growing understanding of the mental toll that athletics has on children and young adults, the ability to be open and understood by a coach is tremendously impactful in breaking down the stigmas of mental health issues and illnesses. Coaches are key parts of developing athletes into well-rounded individuals, and have the ability to make or break an athletic career.
Division One Experience
The transition into college sports represents not only a major shift in one’s life, but in an athlete’s overall identity as well. Their sport becomes their identifying factor and often trumps the rest of the aspects of their personality as they become synonymous with their involvement with sport. This is a major transition in not only taking their sport more seriously, but in identifying as an athlete. In order to understand how this change and transition occurs, it’s important to note the strong role that sport culture plays in the identity of athletes. This culture views individuals as athletes rather than human beings, supporting toughness over healing and awareness. This mindset and culture is detrimental to development because of its disregard to athlete’s mental processes and feelings, but even more so at the collegiate level because of the higher expectations and pressures faced by athletes. When an athlete reaches this higher level of competition, their ideologies surrounding sport shift from a culture centering around enjoyment and fun, to a business centered around performance and winning. Their identity is rooted in what they can provide to the team in order to achieve success, often finding their value in their skill set and ability to produce rather than who they are at their core.
While there are many positive aspects of development that occur as a result of a female’s involvement in sport, it is important to note many negative factors that can also result from sport participation. These negative factors often occur later on in a female’s athletic career: burnout, a sense of entrapment, and an excessive pressure to perform and win are some of these factors. Especially in the case of female participation, girls and women are often faced with social stigmas because of their identification as both an athlete and a female. Having an assertive, competitive personality should not be condemned within the social context of a team.
Another factor that contributes to harmful development is the role that injuries play in an athlete’s career. Injuries go beyond just disrupting an athlete’s ability to train, they often have damaging effects on an athlete’s mental health. Injuries have a lasting impact on an athlete, especially when they are playing at an elite level and their sport makes up their primary identity. Depression is a major overlooked consequence of playing at the collegiate level. Increasing amounts of depression and anxiety may have to do with the combined pressures and stresses faced by these athletes, as well as the overtraining that many division one schools put their athletes through. Finding a balance within training is nearly impossible at the division one level, because athletes are working on the team’s schedule. These excessive pressures can also lead to the development of eating disorders. This is a growing problem especially in female athletes, because of the constant scrutiny that is placed on them from coaches and others.
There are tremendous amounts of positive development that come from sport participation, but it is also evident that there is a clear evolution of sport’s role in the development of females. In early development, sport is used as an avenue of socialization and the development of life skills. But this role shifts as girls get older, and I believe that this transition is rooted in identity politics. There comes a turning point in many girls’ lives where they face a crossroads of either walking away from sport or it becoming their primary identity. When it does become that all-encompassing identity, there are many detrimental effects on positive development, many of which surround different aspects of mental health. The next step is understanding not only why this shift occurs, but also how to prevent these problems from happening in the future.
