Many students at Seattle Prep devote time, energy and money into sports. Sports are awesome- they create goals for you, center you, provide competition, keep you in check but also provide feelings of excitement and exhilaration. But what happens when those long-lasting passions fade? When nothing feels the same anymore and you realize this is not something worth continuing?
Participating in athletics and dealing with the pressures of sports and school can only be manageable for so long. Some can manage it longer than others which carry them to the collegiate level, but some athletes don’t see themselves happy in a future where they continue to focus on sports.
Alec Greenwood, ‘25, was a football and lacrosse athlete, who was part of the Boys lacrosse 3-peat dynasty. Alec contributed to great successes on both the football and lacrosse teams and was built to play beyond the high school level, although he decided to explore college in different ways. He now attends UCSB where sports and academics at Prep prepared him for academic excellence beyond high school.
“I knew in the back of my mind during my senior seasons I would not continue into college. This made me cherish my seasons more. I cared less about individual performance for recruiting purposes and mainly on team success, especially as a captain” Said Alec ‘25.
The pressures that athletes put on themselves along with pressures from coaches, parents, and teammates is harsh and gets old. We are our own biggest critics, and the added comments and stress doesn’t help, but when you arrive at some of your “lasts” in the classroom or on the field, it changes a perspective and way of handling pressure. Alec shared how when we know we are in an environment that we won’t be in forever, we take more inventory on the present and execute with more freedom and heart. We have more gratitude for moments that once seemed terrifying or draining. Team success feels greater than personal success.
“Looking back on the football recruiting process, I think I struggled with a ‘D1 or nothing’ mindset, as a lot of other kids today do as well. When I realized a lot of the programs, I had my eyes set on wouldn’t work out, I simply moved on. I love football, but the reality is football and sports don’t last forever. There’s a point in every athlete’s life when they have to leave it in the past and continue on” Alec added.
One of the hardest parts of that transition from high school academic-athletic life to academic-college life is separating your identity from the sport itself. Being an athlete can feel like the defining label. It is not only how others see you, but how you see yourself. Stepping away can leave a weird gap but also creates space and opportunities to dive into new interests, hobbies, passions, relationships, and goals that may have taken a backseat. Letting go doesn’t mean experience loses its value; the discipline, resilience, and perspective gained through sports to translate into whatever comes next in life. Battling the dreams that don’t work out aren’t all about rejection, but redirection. Athletics at any level can prepare you for a deeper level of passion to carry over in other aspects of life. Ex-athletes know how to act in stressful situations, move on from hardship, bounce back stronger, and get the job done. In many ways, leaving the game behind isn’t an ending; it’s an adjustment to a new chapter of life.
