Chasing Championships to Chasing Careers: The Hidden Transition for Student-Athletes
The identity of a college athlete is often completely centered around their sport. But when that final whistle blows, what identity do they have left?
After four successful years, Alexa Guedez will never again put on her Cortland volleyball uniform. Guedez, former Division III Cortland volleyball member, is well aware of the transition from athlete to normal student. .
“It was very strange to have so much open time in my schedule and knowing that it is all my responsibility to fill that time now,” said Guedez. “It sounds weird to say that out loud and it seems like it should be an easy fix, but when you have been following such a strict schedule for years, you are left with a sense of emptiness when your daily schedule is blank.”
Guedez was a four-time SUNYAC first-team selection and was awarded the MVP award after the team won the conference title in 2024.
“This sport has brought me so much success and so many friendships over the years that it is so hard to imagine a life without volleyball,” said Guedez.
Emily Wilson played Division I volleyball at the University of Central Florida. She has been playing volleyball since she was seven years old and has become a highly decorated athlete. She was a top 25 recruit coming out of high school and at UCF, she was the team’s leading scorer and received second-team all Big XII her senior year.
“Moving on is definitely a learning curve,” said Wilson. “I’ve only known myself as an athlete. When people ask me about myself, I automatically start to tell them about volleyball and now I’m in a new phase where I need to find new things to associate myself with that aren’t sports.”
Haley Zeck is a former Division II volleyball player at West Liberty University. She was awarded “Setter of the Year” for her conference in 2023.
“I am definitely experiencing some of the real-world confusion right now,” said Zeck. “Being unaware of my next steps and not even knowing how to deal or cope with it makes the process of moving on much harder than it should be for athletes.”
Guedez, Wilson, and Zeck agreed that people have a misconception about the advantages student-athletes receive.
“I think athletes are just expected to know exactly what to do when we move on from our sports,” said Guedez. “The reality is that we have given all of our time and commitment to our sports and we miss out on all of the real-world experiences and preparation that normal students get.”
“Regardless of your sport or Division there’s always popularity when you’re an athlete,” said Zeck. “Once that athlete title is removed nobody seems to care if you’re struggling to move on or create a life outside of sports.”
All three athletes have experienced their last time taking off the kneepads and unlacing their shoes.
“It’s a bunch of unknowns. It can be a very dark time trying to figure everything out, but the college athlete experience has given me so many skills in adversity that are so unique. We all have to move on at some point and while it is very difficult, we all go through it together and have a whole community to relate with” said Wilson.