In a span of 10 days in March 2022, the top QB in the world, Tom Brady, un-retired at age 44, and the top tennis player in the world, Ash Barty, retired (again) at age 25.
Both were shocking in their own way. Maybe one more than the other.
The sports world had anticipated Tom Brady’s retirement for years. Once he turned 40, despite winning two Super Bowls and continuing to perform like one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, everyone assumed it would happen sooner rather than later. As they say, “Father Time is undefeated,” and eventually, it would catch up to Brady too.
When he finally announced in 2022 what everyone had been preparing for, it was a surprise only because it finally happened. The reality of Brady retiring hit differently than the idea of Brady retiring.
Even in the early days of his retirement, though, pundits wondered if he was truly committed to it. They read between the lines of every vague answer he gave to reporters and dug for sources that could confirm the truth one way or the other. Most considered the speculation just sports media clickbait. In their minds, this drama was finally resolved.
Until it wasn’t.
Forty days after retiring, Brady announced he was returning.
Surprise, surprise.
Ash Barty’s retirement was perhaps the bigger shock. Like Brady, she was at the top of her game. She had been ranked No. 1 in the world for over two straight years, won Wimbledon in 2021, and was fresh off becoming the first Aussie in over 40 years to win the Australian Open. Unlike Brady, she was just beginning the prime of her career. She was only 25 years old.
The people who knew Ash the best say they weren’t surprised by her announcement. They say she had always expressed interests outside of tennis and was never captured by the allure of celebrity. For them, her decision wasn’t too surprising, but was still shocking. The idea of her being more than just a tennis player hit differently than the reality of her not playing tennis anymore.
Every athlete experiences this reality at some point. Some fall off the competitive ladder early on because they just aren’t good enough to continue. Some meet an expected end after their high school or college seasons. Some are forced out due to injuries. Whether expected or unexpected, chosen by you or for you, the ending and subsequent transition is never easy.
What exactly, though, makes it so difficult?
It begins at an early age with a term from psychology called “identity foreclosure”. It’s when we make a premature commitment to a narrow identity like “tennis player” or “quarterback”. We accept that as the primary label for how others see us and, as a result, how we see ourselves. We use this identity to build relationships and find our community.
The further we progress in sports, the more competitive it becomes to stay on the team. So, to remain a part of the group, we have to improve at our sport. This leads to a purpose and a mission. For those who improve quickly, it’s interpreted as a calling. “I was meant to be an athlete. I was made for this.”
Eventually, though, every athlete and coach has to exchange that identity for a new one.
The people closest to Ash Barty weren’t surprised when she left tennis because they knew she never saw herself as just a tennis player. Reading between the lines of her retirement announcement, it’s clear that was true.
“It’s important that I get to enjoy the next phase of my life as Ash Barty the person, not Ash Barty the athlete.”
But how do you know when it’s time to leave?
For Ash, two pivotal realizations led to her decision.
The first was a perspective shift. It came in 2021 after she won Wimbledon, the most prestigious tournament in profession tennis.
“To be able to win Wimbledon, which was my dream, the one true dream that I wanted in tennis...There was a little part of me that wasn’t quite satisfied, wasn’t quite fulfilled.”
In her retirement announcement, she went on to talk about the challenge of winning the Australian Open. That led most people to assume winning her hometown grand slam was the fulfillment she was looking for, but her satisfaction had nothing to do with winning another major. The perspective shift came after realizing that not even her “one true dream” in tennis was enough to satisfy her.
“There was a perspective shift in me in this second phase of my career that my happiness wasn’t dependent on the results.”
Everything to that point for Ash was about winning Wimbledon. Once she accomplished that, then her vision focused on more than a trophy. Her perspective turned to being the best version of herself.
The second realization had to do with the demands necessary to compete among the best in the world at tennis. To do so, she would have to be someone she didn’t want to be.
“Ash Barty the person has so many dreams that she wants to chase after that don’t necessarily involve traveling the world, being away from my family, being away from my home, which is where I’ve always wanted to be. It’s where I’ve grown up.”
She realized she was no longer willing to pay the price necessary to excel in the role of professional athlete.
“I know how much work it takes to bring the best out of yourself…and I don’t have that in me anymore. I don’t have the physical drive, the emotional want, and everything it takes to challenge yourself at the very top of the level anymore. I am spent. I know physically I have nothing more to give.”
Winning Wimbledon demanded a certain level of discipline, commitment and sacrifice. Sustaining a No. 1 world ranking beyond her streak of 113 consecutive weeks would require a different level of being. Ultimately, it was a price she wasn’t willing to pay.
That doesn’t make her a failure. It doesn’t make her too weak to be elite. It doesn’t make her less than great. It’s a choice. It’s a choice about the challenges you are willing to take on. She took on that challenge once already and proved she was able to conquer it. She’s just not willing to take it on again.
“I’m fulfilled. I’m happy. I’ve given absolutely everything I can to this beautiful sport of tennis. I’m really happy with that. For me, that is my success.”
Tom Brady, on the other hand, has won seven championships and his list of professional accolades rival anyone considered the Greatest Of All Time. So, is he not satisfied either? Is he more driven than Ash Barty? Has he just not had his perspective shift yet? Or does he realize the same truth Ash does and just made a different choice?
It’s possible Tom Brady did have his perspective shift after winning the Super Bowl. It’s possible he realized winning a championship didn’t fulfill him like he expected. It’s possible he was left unsatisfied and unfulfilled, but even after his perspective shift he was still willing to pay the price to sustain at the top of his game. It’s possible he decided he would be satisfied with who he would become in that process.
Only Brady knows exactly why he returned to football. Certainly, thinking about retiring and actually retiring are different realities. It hits different when you finally say the words.
Perhaps he’s not yet willing to pay the price necessary to be great at his new role outside of football. Or perhaps he does have a solid grasp on who he is outside of football and he just truly enjoys the game and everything that is involved with it. Perhaps he returned simply because he is still physically capable. Perhaps he believes he has more to give and can use his skills to elevate others around him. If so, why not continue to play?
Tom Brady the football player won’t last forever, though. Eventually, he will have to exchange the helmet and pads for a new role and a new mission. Eventually, something will capture him next, but he will likely have to make space for it to emerge (and it will probably take longer than 40 days to do so). If not, he may become just another curmudgeon legend who ages out and fades out. If he only sees himself as a football player, then there will always be a gaping hole that will never be satisfied.
You might be looking at your own career.
Have you had your perspective shift? Do you know who you are outside of the work you are doing?
If not, then choosing to leave your sport is choosing to quit your mission and lose your community. And if you build your identity around those things, you risk losing yourself too. You’ll create a gaping hole that will never be satisfied.
If you have experienced that perspective shift, then you realize the true mission is to become world-class at being you and discovering an identity that can be expressed in many different roles. It’s an identity that transcends just winning games, even if you are still competing in the arena.
The truth is, you are more than an athlete. You are more than a coach.
That’s truth most people will agree with, but experiencing the reality of that truth hits deeper than just agreeing with it.
Have you experienced it?
There’s a better way to compete, a better way to win, and a better way to live.
Come experience your perspective shift at ChampionShift.com.