“When I’m asked about my retirement, I like to correct people by provocatively saying, ‘I didn't retire, I just stopped swimming at a highly competitive level,’ to offer them an alternative perspective,” writes Dr. Shane Gould in her new book:

“Sports Career Transition - A Vital Guide for Athletes and Coaches to Mentally And Emotionally Prepare for Retirement".

The work is a gem, its guidance, as the title suggests, ‘vital’ and from the perspective of not only one of the greats of swimming but a swimmer whose life has been an incisive example of what can happen when there is neither awareness nor planning for career transition, the impact that can have and then the remedies that can be taken and the importance of resilience of the athlete and knowing where to turn to for expert advice and guidance to overcome and flow with the challenges of a watershed event. 

As Shane notes, no two stories are alike. The voyage of wisdom she navigates us through, however, is stacked with sound, sensible and professional advice and tips for athletes, families, friends and entourage when it comes to avoiding the traps and pitfalls of a process of moving on that can feel like bereavement. 

Planning is the key, she says. This review will not trawl through every aspect and line of Gould's excellent work - if only because I wholeheartedly recommend that you read the whole thing and digest it for yourself, your charge, offspring, sponsored athlete, and avoid reliance on my summary. Even so, worth quoting some of the words with which the triple Olympic champion and record five-solo-medal star of the women’s swimming at the Munich 1972 Games summarises ‘retirement’, or better still, what she calls "Athlete Career Transition”:

“The process of moving away from sports towards a different life - the transition time - requires thoughtful planning with support. It’s been identified among elite athletes that ending a sports career feels like a loss, akin to when someone dies. However, quite distinctively, sports retirement is not a bereavement death; it is a ‘living loss’, a non-death loss, like divorce or moving house. Retiring from work can also cause feelings of grief like a bereavement.  Retirement is an inevitable part of an athlete’s life. For some, it can be a bitter pill, making the reality harder. Avoiding the inescapable fact doesn’t help either. It has to be dealt with. It takes thoughtful planning as retirement is an ongoing procedure, a transition moving toward something else.

“The follow-on from thinking that retirement is from a peak in life, means that the only way out is downwards. The only direction from the peak of a career is metaphorically 'down', a difficult concept for young people who have their entire adult lives ahead of them. One way to reframe the idea of the 'peak' of a life could be seen not as a single mountain. Life ahead is more like a range of mountains with valleys in between. There are many more 'life mountains' to climb, with hidden valleys and mysterious forests along the way to get lost in, learn from, and explore.

"'Athlete Career Transition' is a wordier term than 'retire,' but it provides a more helpful and instructive description.”

Gould’s book a must for the iPad, tablet, Kindle or shelf of every swimming household.

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