Ethan Kovach on finding motivation after competitive sports

Being so freshly finished with my life long sport and having to deal with this sort of thing, I decided to reach out to other ex athletes of all levels and ask them their advice for someone who is going through this process. Let me remind you also before we get into it, that healing is not linear. This process, is in fact a process of grieving and that is ok. You don't have to feel dumb or alone because what you're grieving isn't someone, however it is a part of someone. It is a part of you. Learning to process a loss of any kind looks different for everyone, and it comes in different forms.

Ethan Kovach, Redlands University - Utah Valley University - Redlands FC

The first athlete I spoke with was my best friend Ethan. Ethan and I actually met when I joined my first soccer team ever, LV Crush. Ethan grew up playing soccer, and was determined for as long as I have known him to go pro. He went on to have an extremely successful career, winning numerous state titles for his club team and even making it all the way to the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament. Ethan played at Redlands University for the majority of his college career and then took his extra covid year to play at Utah Valley University. Following his college career, he wasn't ready to be done with soccer just yet. He moved on to play for the USL team Redlands FC and continues to play with them today. Here is what he had to about finding that motivation after sports.

Ethan mentioned that when we are so deep in our sport, "we don't realize how many other skills and qualities we actually possess." He talked about how after he was done playing, he had the time to explore his other passions, which can be just as great of motivators as soccer was for him. Ethan goes on to talk about how "we center everything in our life around our sport, without even realizing. So after we are done playing, it's normal to feel empty."

"Some people find purpose in their life through deepening their faith, and turning to religion." Just as sports for so many is the center of our lives, often without us even realizing, religion is a great thing to turn your focus to. Devoting that time and effort into something like your faith can be so fulfilling and rewarding, and can really serve to give you a purpose in your life. For years and years we devote weekends to our sport, and in Ethan's case soccer, so going to church in place of when you would have had a game can really help to fill that void.

Ethan is currently is working the Las Vegas Raiders Organization, and absolutely loves what he does. He works with other former athletes, and specifically mentioned his ex football player colleagues. Ethan said that even though your playing of the sport competitively may come to an end, "you don't have to completely lose all ties with your sport." Some of his coworkers who played football in the past, have chosen to continue being around football in their professional career through their work with the Raiders Organization. He mentioned how "though they no longer are able to play physically, being involved in the sport in a different way can be just as rewarding as playing it."

When closing such a huge chapter of his life (not entirely as Ethan plans to continue taking his game to the next level), Ethan reminded me that "there is more to your life than just your sport." I think that is a great note to end on, and something all of us former athletes need to remember.