Gimel’s Corner - “Athletes Don’t Retire, They Hibernate”
Posted September 22, 2009 – 9:21 am in: Pegasus Internet Training Program
The news of Justine Henin’s possible comeback shouldn’t catch anyone by surprise. Athletes that prematurely retire, quickly realize nothing they do in the next phase of their lives can replace the void left behind; it’s that simple. Thus, they do the only thing they know, which is to comeback in an attempt to recapture what they had tried, and probably subconsciously hoped they could leave behind. Elite athletes are almost programmed from a young age to achieve. 
Every minute of their day, is someway connected to them squeezing every ounce of potential out of their bodies, and once they decide that they would prefer the “road more traveled”, it usually doesn’t take long for them to realize that what made them great in the first place was enjoying the effort and sacrifice aligned with high achievement.
When you factor in the adrenaline of competing, and the void of that no longer being a part of your life, all roads point right back to the field or court that gives you best the chance to recapture the “fix” you have grown addicted to. The sad reality is, very little in the “real world” can compare to what goes on between the lines of elite competition and whatever normalcy is sacrificed is quickly deemed a worthy sacrifice once that normalcy becomes commonplace.
Athletes have the cruelty of life’s greatest resource after their career’s end, time. For most that is a luxury, but when you are struggling to find meaning in your life, as most do, it is torturous. It is the aberration, not the norm for athletes to find peace in life after their playing careers, and those that do have most often been able to put their learned skill set and passion into another endeavor.
However, even the most successful 2nd career athletes, ie. Magic Johnson or Oscar De La Hoya, would most likely trade everything in just to be able to restart the cycle of competing. Thus hearing that Justine Henin might comeback, especially after her compatriot, Kim Clijsters just returned so triumphantly, is hardly surprising. However what would be unique would be if she actually walked away from the game and never looked back.
