When I was 15 years old, I went from having the best swim career of my life to the worst. I qualified for nationals in open water and was swimming my fastest times in the pool. Then one day, I developed tendonitis in my shoulders, lost mobility in my neck, and overall strength in my body. The doctors told me I had over trained and now had the flexibility of an 85-year-old. They sent me to receive treatment from multiple physical therapists and a chiropractor. Luckily, my health improved, but my body was never the same. I was forced to start rethinking my future with swimming.

I approached the situation realistically: Division I schools were out of the picture, old times no longer counted if I could no longer make them, and early retirement from competitive swimming could happen in the future. Those who did not understand the severity of my situation viewed my realistic mindset as negative. I needed to have a positive mindset and set goals that the doctors said were physically beyond my ability.

I chose to swim in college, but how I made that decision was a bit chaotic. After going on a recruiting trip to Hillsdale College and falling in love with the team, I committed to swim. A few months later, I experienced another health flare-up and decommitted. I still chose to attend Hillsdale for the academics.

But when I set foot on campus, I knew I was not ready to give up swimming. I felt like I hadn’t made the decision to quit, my shoulders had. Graciously, the coach allowed me to join the team.

Competitive swimming has been in my life since I was 2 years old. I grew up going to my older sisters’ swim practices and meets, and eventually joined the club team when I was 5. The world of swimming introduced me to life-long friendships and mentors, and instilled in me personal values such as perseverance, attentiveness, and respect. For that reason, swimming will always be a part of who I am. 

I spent the majority of my freshman year kicking in practice per doctors’ request. After making great progress on my shoulders, I was given permission to swim at the conference meet at the end of the season. My sophomore and junior year, I built up to swimming my specialty events: the mile, the 1000 yard freestyle, and the 500 yard freestyle. Despite my improvement, my shoulder pain returned. When I thought about my last year in college, I didn’t want to go to bed every night with throbbing shoulders, or take painkillers before every workout. So I decided to say goodbye to competitive swimming.

Athletes never truly feel ready to take a step back from their sport. For years, you live according to your sport, sacrificing nights out for practices and weekends for competitions. But there comes a point in everyone’s career when it must end, and for some, that end comes a bit sooner than anticipated.

One question when making my decision was how my team would react. I heard horror stories about athletes who quit their sport, only to then have their team turn its back on them. But true friends and your team will see and want what is in your best interest. I also wondered how I would keep in shape. What I quickly discovered, however, was that the question I should have been asking myself is how do I slow down to develop an alternative healthy lifestyle. I used to think working out for three hours a day, six days a week, was essential to being healthy because that was what I did when I was competing. I learned over time that it’s not actually always healthy for the human body to undergo that much intense exercise, particularly mine. 

When I quit, I was also nervous that I would be bored or more prone to procrastinating on schoolwork without a strict schedule to hold me accountable. Surprisingly, I found it easy to fill in my schedule. I now work for the school newspaper, The Collegian, film sports games for the Hillsdale Audio Visual department, and take walks with my friends every day.

If you are thinking about retiring early, I recommend sitting on your decision long enough to know it wasn’t a capricious one, as well as talking it through with people who know you and can provide sound advice without clouding your judgement. 

Every athlete’s decision to retire early is unique. Although they look similar on paper, people have their own story and their own reasons for quitting. But most athletes share the same questions and concerns about life in retirement. As someone who does not like change, I will say life after early retirement was a bit of an adjustment, but I am happier for it. The unknown is daunting, but if you are already unsure about the now, you might as well take a chance on the future.