I have lost a passion for college sports.

So I am currently going to enter my senior year at a D2 College. I am involved in two sports here which are football and track. I was a starter last year on my team and competed at a high level in track. Due to the COVID 19, my season got cancelled and I had this weird amount of joy and didn’t know why. I felt as if I was finally free from something.

I sat down and really thought about it and I realized that my passion for both of these sports has been slowly slipping year after year and that the only reason I was doing them was because of the athletic scholarship and I convinced myself that this is what I was made too do. I have been doing both of these sports since I could walk, and they were my identity, they defined who I was because I was good at them.

It is now about to be my senior year after summer and I have no passion to do them.
This quarantine has made me realize that there is so much more to life than being roped into college sports for 5 years of my life with a 1 week break between each sport.
I always found myself never wanting to go to practices, it always felt like I was going to a job I hated.
The old coach who recruited me once asked me my freshman year, “what is your why for playing”? And to this day I honestly cannot answer that question.

Yes, I would miss my teammates because they are the soul reason I have stuck it out for so long. But it comes to a time where I need to be happy with my life.

I feel burned out, I don’t know what to think anymore. It’s my senior season I should be excited to get back, but I’m actually dreading it. Maybe it’s time to be a normal kid and get my life together for the real world.

Can your family afford the college without the athletic scholarship?

Do you think your feelings might change once you get back to campus and see your teammates?

@happy1

Yes, my family is good with helping me pay half of next years school bill, I would obviously get a job and pay the rest.

I also still live in the same town in which the university is located in, so I still see a lot of the guys.

Playing two sports for that long in college is just burning me out at this point.

Congratulations! You are maturing and realizing your own personal goals and identity. Listen to your inner voice and follow your gut.

Sports are great but our culture turns them into a job for many which sucks the life out of playing a game for fun. Tap out, enjoy your senior year and find other passions!

Can you just play one of the sports? Maybe you just need a break to recharge.

I wasn’t a college athelete but I played in HS. I had academic scholarships and knew that I would never be a pro so I went that route. I missed playing a little but what I missed most was the camaraderie. I played in summer leagues and it was more about the fun than competition which made it fun again. That’s what I miss most.

I’m much older and don’t live in the past but I still have fond memories of all the friendships and bonds of teammates. You’re only young once. Good luck.

Make sure you can handle it financially. Don’t drop yet. There is a better then good chance your season isn’t going to happen for football. Why not take the money for college? See how it plays out first. If it does go forward you might find out once your there with your peeps that you have that drive again. A year of college can get expensive. If they cancel the season then you have some schooling paid for. If it looks like they are going forward then you can always drop out then.

Lots of people are going through the Covid blues now. Your view might change but it sounds like as stated your maturing and know what you want. I assume your school should know by July if there is a season. I would wait and see. Much better to have to pay for a half year of college then a complete year.

Here is my perspective as I went through much the same thing many years ago.

My senior year in high school I was ready to be done competing, I had achieved my goal of state champ and All-American. The scholarship offers were there but I announced I was done. I sat with my parents and when the scholarship from my #1 school choice came through we decided it was worth giving it a year and seeing what would happen.

Granted I was only in one sport however it was a sport that practice began the second week of school, NCAA champs were in April and then a week or two before training started again for the senior circuit season, so essentially year round.

My first year was awesome, I loved it and my closest friends were my teammates. My second year we lost a couple teammates from my class and it started to become a grind but I was seeing success. My third year was a real grind but my teammates kept me involved.

My final year I was burnt out. We had a great recruiting class coming in that was pushing me down the depth chart. I stuck it out for a couple of reasons. My first was that although I was no longer #1 I was able to become a leader/mentor to the outstanding freshman class. I was also able to letter 4 years as a resume item, and I was able to finish things out with my friends and teammates.

Years later I still think this was a great decision. I look back on that year more fondly than any other year of competition. I use this year in professional interviews to this day to demonstrate leadership, perseverance, personal growth, etc.

In the end it was not the final year I had envisioned but by that time it was not so much about the sport but more about personal accomplishment and development. Everyone is different but I would take a look at some of the non-competition areas of being on a team(s) to see if there is something more you can get out of it your last year.

My suggestions would be:

  1. Don’t drop the sport yet. There may not be a season and you could get kept on scholarship without playing the sport (at least the fall sport).
  2. Is the scholarship for one or both sports? If it is for one sport consider dropping down to that one sport.
  3. Wait until you get on campus before dropping any sport. See if your desire/interest returns when you are with your teammates.
  4. In the meantime create a financial plan with your parents to pay for your last year of college in the event you give up your athletic scholarship.

This is a life skill, so don’t brush it off as some adolescent stage. At some point you’ll be in a job you don’t like but you’re getting paid too well to quit, or it’s the only job in town, or you have to ride it out to get to the next level where things get better. Sometimes it is best to quit and other times you just have to suck it up.

Circumstances matter a lot, so take time to do the right thing for the right reasons. I’d take another look if you’re burned out or just feeling exhausted. If you dread it then it’s not worthwhile. Maybe talk to a close friend or two on the team and see what they think. After that make sure you have your next steps mapped out. Does your housing depend on being on the team? Can you afford the scholarship loss? Then talk to the coach. He might be able to shake things up a little if you think a position change or a move into more of a coaching role might help. A friend of mine did a ton of stopwatch work for the track coach at meets and in practice. You never know, so take it in steps and see where each one leads before blowing everything up.

Thanks to you all for the replies, it means a lot. Financially I will be okay with or without sports. That isn’t an issue really. I think I do need to wait it out for a couple of months and see if my feelings change and see if we do have a season or not.

The biggest thing I know is that I haven’t been very happy with either sport the last couple of years and the work I put into both, I’m just not getting the gratification from them like I thought I would.

To play D2 sports, you’ve really got to have a love for the game and really have to enjoy it to keep you invested. Which is something I’ve been lacking. I couldn’t wait for the season to be over.

It’s a weird feeling and time right now, but all the replies help a lot.

That seems like a logical response. All I am saying is if your season doesn’t go off but you still get the scholarship then why not. That is at least what they can do for you for all your hard work. If not then drop out and continue your life. Good luck to you.

Could be that you are growing & maturing and developing other interests.

Could be that you are burnt out & need time to pursue other interests.

If your heart is not into football, then the risk of injury may not be worth further effort in that area.

What if you did literally tray it like a job? Do you get a better hourly “rate” To pay tuition by doing the Athletics versus working at McDonald’s?