Athletic Identity & Social Isolation

This article speaks to this current pandemic and the effect of self-isolation to athletes. Athletic identity can often be described as “the degree to which an individual identifies with an athletic role.” No matter if professional or amateur, adult or youth, athletes often identify with their role in their given sport.

Examples:

“I am a runner.”

“I am a soccer player.”

“I am a golfer.”

“I am a hockey player.”

When an athlete is unable to engage in their goals and activities related to their sport, this can make them vulnerable. This comes up frequently when an athlete faces a major injury or retirement. However, in the current environment where we are self-isolating and facing an unexpected global pandemic like we have never seen before, athletes are vulnerable. Athletes are being taken away from their goals, not competing in their sport, they are self-isolating which could mean time away from teammates, staff, fan base or supporters, etc. With many athletes’ identity so engulfed in their athletic role, this can be additionally challenging to adapt to this new virtual world of Zoom games and happy hours.

This is an opportunity for athletes to build mental resilience and adapt, while also spending their time in isolation developing on their physical and technical skills within their sport.