By: Luke van Galen<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The end of one chapter is simply the beginning of another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rachael Ehrlich chose to leave behind a starting role in the defense of the Cortland women\u2019s soccer team in the middle of her junior season. To the outside person that may sound like somebody bailing on their team, and teammates, but there is always another side to every story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI knew that soccer was something that I loved so much and still do love,\u201d Ehrlich said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ehrlich started at center back for the women\u2019s soccer team her freshman year in 2022, before redshirting her sophomore year due to a torn acl. She made a strong comeback after her injury for the 2024 season, which saw her return to the starting lineup until she quit the team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She did not want to leave the team, but felt it was necessary to put herself first, which is a common theme among people who quit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was getting to the point where I felt that my mental and physical health were at risk,\u201d said Ehrlich. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both Ehrlich and former Cortland women\u2019s lacrosse player Ella Pastore experienced how difficult the decision was, and how big of an impact the support of their teammates had made. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThankfully my teammates were the absolute best about it and were very supportive of my decision,\u201d Ehrlich said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ehrlich remains close with many people on the team and still lives with them. She realized that leaving the team didn\u2019t mean the end of her friendships with anyone on the team. When she left, all her teammates reached out, asked how she was doing, and completely understood why she made her decision. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pastore said that she was not the only one from her class to quit the team, and so she knew she was not going through the process alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy teammates were happy for me,\u201d Pastore said. \u201cI felt very supported in my decision.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coaching staffs can have very differing reactions to players deciding to quit, with some giving their full support and best wishes, while others handle the decision poorly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy head coach was actually very understanding,\u201d Pastore said. \u201cShe even said that if you change your mind and decide to come back, we\u2019d be more than happy to have you.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having the support of the coach can make the world of a difference to somebody leaving the team. Coaches play a massive part in an athlete\u2019s life in college, as they are the ones who recruit them to college, make decisions about whether they play, and are hugely involved and influential in an athlete\u2019s day-to-day life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ehrlich said that her coaches did not take the news of her leaving the team well and treated her poorly during and after the meeting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wish that they had just communicated their feelings with me a little bit more, because I think that the way that they handled it ended up hurting me,\u201d Ehrlich said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the case of former men\u2019s soccer player Justin Coleman, his decision to leave the team was made for him, as he was cut from the program at the end of his freshman year and decided to not accept the walk-on tryout that he was offered for the following fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOnce I was cut, I was just kind of done, there wasn\u2019t anything left for me in the game,\u201d Coleman said. \u201cI felt like I worked my hardest at it, but there wasn\u2019t anything left for me to do\u2026 because at that point I had fallen out of love with the game.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coleman\u2019s life after soccer has been productive as he puts it. He\u2019ss business has taken off. He goes by \u201cCutbyJCole\u201d on social media and always has a steady stream of clients coming to his house in Cortland where he does his work. His garage has been transformed into a barber shop, and his services are very in-demand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He has stayed with the sport, starring on the Cortland club soccer team as their starting forward. He\u2019s also a biomedical major with plans to be a physician\u2019s assistant one day. Leaving the soccer team has provided him with the opportunity to craft a new identity for himself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor the first few weeks after it was me trying to find new friends and a new group which was great with club soccer,\u201d Coleman said. \u201cHonestly, I completely substituted it with barbering, so I didn\u2019t miss it that much to be honest. I think it\u2019s important to find something after to keep you busy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finding that new identity can be very difficult for some, as for somebody who is a college athlete, their sport was the main part of their identity growing up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEspecially going to a school like Cortland where athletics are prioritized heavily, that was a huge part of my image and letting go of that was difficult,\u201d Ehrlich said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ehrlich said that she was worried about what others may think about her decision to quit, which added to the difficulty of her decision. Eventually, she realized that most people don\u2019t care, and the benefits of what new opportunities were available far outweighed any negatives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI definitely do miss playing a lot and I miss being a part of a team, but not playing has opened up a lot of opportunities for me,\u201d Pastore said. \u201cI had always wanted to study abroad, and after I stopped playing, I actually did end up studying abroad in England.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Balancing school and sports can also be super challenging for many student-athletes, and for some, there is simply a time when they must choose one or the other. Pastore has been able to thrive in the classroom and take advantage of opportunities that she may not have been able to when she was playing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBeing an education major, when I think back, there is no way I could\u2019ve been as productive or successful in what I\u2019m doing if I was still playing a sport,\u201d Pastore said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is no decision in sports as difficult as the decision to walk away. It can be an incredibly challenging and isolating time. It can be hard to know what the right decision is and so knowing that others have been in the same position before can be comforting and helpful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGo with your gut,\u201d Ehrlich said. \u201cOnce that feeling sits in your head, it never really leaves. Stepping away is hard, but it opens so many new doors, and it has taught me many lessons that I will carry with me forever.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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