To end up on top, or to tread your legacy? Why can’t sports stars quit?

To go out on top, or with the status of a playing legend, to gradually fade away from the sport to which you have sacrificed everything? That is the eternal question associated with the sporting world. Unfortunately, few stars are truly capable of not entering another season or ending their career with a Champions League trophy in their hands after winning the Stanley Cup for the last time. In the past, Formula 1 driver Nico Rosberg, tennis number one Ashleigh Barty, biathlete Martin Fourcade, legendary American football guard Ray Lewis said goodbye to winning the Super Bowl, and the most famous basketball player of all time Michael Jordan retired after his sixth NBA triumph. Before he came out of retirement three years later…

On the other side of those who managed to go out on top, achieved what they needed to achieve and will be remembered by the world as the ultimate winners, however, stand those whose performances faded at the end of their careers. There isn’t a sports fan who doesn’t know the name Cristiano Ronaldo.

The European champion, five-time Champions League winner and owner of five Ballons d’Or is without doubt one of the best, if not the best footballer ever. But after leaving Juventus back to Manchester United, his form has plummeted and there is speculation in the footballing world as to whether there is still a place for the legendary Portuguese at Europe’s top clubs.

Mixed martial arts, on the other hand, was made famous by Irishman Conor McGregor, who became the first UFC champion in two divisions at the same time and went undefeated in the UFC from 2013 to 2016. Since then, however, he has won only one fight, lost his titles, and is treading on his own legacy due to regular excesses. While he keeps saying he’ll be back soon to take back the title belts, many people no longer believe it.

The story of the biggest domestic legend Jaromir Jagr, who has had a truly spectacular career, is certainly putting wrinkles on the foreheads of Czech hockey fans. At the end of it, however, the former Penguins, Rangers and Capitals star has been struggling with injuries and has been playing irregularly for the Kladno Knights.

Serena Williams, the most successful tennis player of the new era, is also struggling with the most difficult decision of sports stars, the decision to end her professional career. At the age of forty, she has announced that the US Open, currently underway, will be her last tournament. Thus, with each new match of the owner of twenty-three Grand Slam titles, fans are preparing handkerchiefs for possible tears.

According to top athlete coach and strategist Vit Schlesinger, many athletes can’t find the right time to end their careers and only a handful can truly go out on top. “As a rule, they are the best, but even with them we see examples where it doesn’t quite work out and a legendary individual finishes his career in a somewhat ignominious way.

Most of the time, though, those who are in the average still believe that ‘someday’ they can win. That’s why many times they prolong their careers and don’t know how to leave in time. However, it is always about satisfaction, if such an athlete enjoys it, then one cannot fault it,” he says.

He helps his clients to start coming to terms with the subject of the end of their careers ahead of time. “Many of them are afraid of the subject, they avoid it. In this context, it’s all about self-knowledge. Top athletes often know only one activity for many years, namely their sport. But it’s important to understand that a tennis player is just a role that will end one day,” says Schlesinger, who approaches his clients in what he calls a holistic way, combining training, diet, recovery and mind work when working with athletes.

“In order to avoid the athlete leaving feeling empty and, in extreme cases, falling into depression, it is necessary to look for another role in life during the active career. Serena Williams has a new role, that of mother. Therefore, she may now lose her role as a tennis player and, although the parting may be painful and moving, it is better than if she had no new role and had to look for one after the last tournament. It’s always about knowing yourself,” reminds Vit Schlesinger.

Among his long-time clients was the successful Czech tennis player Tomáš Berdych, who was among the best for a significant part of his career. Berdych also discussed the topic of the end of his career with his coach. “Tomáš was at peace with the end of his career and had it set in advance that once he was unable to keep up with the elite in the long term, tennis would no longer make sense for him.

That happened when he had a back injury, he tried to play to his best, but it limited him so much that he could no longer compete with the top. He understood his nature, he gave his best to his role as a professional tennis player and when that role ended, he is still a fulfilled and happy person,” he believes in conclusion.

Source:: Ruik.cz