Counseling for Former and Retiring Athletes
Life After Sport: Redefining you
Stepping away from athletics—whether due to injury, age, sports politics, or burnout—may be one of the most vulnerable identity shifts that you will ever navigate. You don’t have to figure out food, your body, and your purpose alone.
When the FINAL Whistle Blows
For years, your world was defined by practice schedules, conditioning tests, performance metrics, and the drive to excel. Sport provided structure, community, identity, and a clear sense of purpose. When that ends—whether by choice, injury, graduation, or other factors completely outside of your control—the transition can feel like a profound loss. This change is not just a change in routine. It is a disruption to how you understand yourself, your body, and your place in the world. If you are a former or retiring athlete, you may be experiencing:
An Identity Shift
"Who am I when I'm no longer an athlete?" Navigating grief, loss of structure, and the quiet pressure of figuring out what comes next.
Body Disconnect
Watching your body change as training volume decreases, while grappling with anxiety, shame, or fear around your post-sport physique.
Fueling Changes
Shifting from fuel-for-performance metrics to daily nourishment, while struggling with rigid food rules, guilt, or fear of weight gain.
The Hidden Vulnerability
Transitioning out of sport is a high-risk period for disordered eating, body dissatisfaction, anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns. Recognizing that you need support isn't a sign of weakness. it is self-care and a transition strategy.
Why "Moving On" Feels So Complex
Athletes are conditioned to push through pain, ignore bodily signals, and strive for perfection. While these traits may have served you on the field, court, or track, they often turn inward when your athletic career ends. Without the intense physical demands of your sport, you may experience:
Food fears, anxiety, and hyper-vigilance about how much you're eating now that your needs have changed.
Guilt for eating on rest days or when you haven't completed a hard workout.
Grief about unfair cuts, toxic coaching dynamics, sports politics, or injuries that robbed you of closure.
Feelings of disconnection from your hunger and fullness cues after years of rigid external conditioning.
Shame about your changing body.
At Annie Beth Company, Annie Calhoun Randall acknowledges the profound impact of the transition out-of sport. Annie offers a safe, Health at Every Size ® aligned space to process these feelings without judgment.
ARE YOU STRUGGLING WITH LIFE AFTER SPORT?
For most competitive athletes, your love for sport was about more than just a game. Thus, the process of leaving competitive sports can involve identity disruptions, disorientation, and grief. Leaving you sport behind may feel like leaving you behind.
Do any of the statements below sound like you?
I feel lost or empty without my sport's daily routine and team environment.
I am terrified of gaining weight or my body shape changing now that I’m training less.
I still view exercise as punishment or feel intense guilt if I don't work out.
I feel angry, cheated, or heartbroken over how my athletic career ended.
I don't know how to eat intuitively without a performance nutrition plan.
I struggle with perfectionism and feel like a failure if I’m not constantly striving.
If you said “yes” to any of the statements above, then you are not alone. These experiences are a normal response to a major life transition. However, you do not have to navigate this identity shift alone.
AN Integrative approach for "Life After Sport"
Making the transition into life after sport isn't simply about finding a new workout program to fill your time or going on another diet to manage your food and body weight anxiety. It’s about building a compassionate and trusting relationship with your body and reclaiming your identity on your own terms. At Annie Beth Company, I utilize an emotions-focused and body-centered approach to help you:
1. Unpack Perfectionism
We will deconstruct the rigid "all-or-nothing" mindsets and cultural expectations that keep you feeling inadequate. We help you cultivate self-compassion and mental flexibility.
2. Rebuild Body Trust
Using a Health at Every Size (HAES®) and body-liberation approach, we will help you reconnect with your body’s internal wisdom, honoring its changes without shame or punishment.
3. Cultivate Food Freedom
We will work together to strip away diet culture beliefs and food rules, allowing you to enjoy an intuitive, peaceful, nourishing relationship with food, free from restriction.
4. Navigate Grief and Identity
We will hold space for the real grief of leaving your sport while also helping you to explore who you are, what you value, and what brings you joy outside of sport and hitting performance metrics.
Hi, I’m Annie Calhoun Randall!
I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate, a Professional Counselor Associate, and a Certified Nutrition Therapy Practitioner. As a lifelong athlete, I deeply understand the unique pressures and culture of the athletics. I also know how scary it feels when the structure of sport suddenly disappears, and how easily disordered eating and body image struggles can take root during times of transition. As an eating disorder therapist, my mission is to help you break free from food anxiety, make peace with your changing body, and discover the vibrant, authentic life waiting for you beyond the game.
To learn more about my approach, please visit my ABOUT ME page.
Starting Your Journey
SCHEDULE A FREE CONSULT
Schedule a 15-minute phone consultation. During this call, we will briefly discuss your challenges, needs, and goals. We will determine if we are a good fit to work together, and I will answer any questions you might have. If it is a “yeah, let’s go!”, then I will send you the intake forms and provide you with access to my secure client portal.
COMPLETE AN INTAKE ASSESSMENT
Once all paperwork is completed, we will meet for an intake assessment. During this 80 to 90-minute appointment, we will review my policies and procedures, the limits of confidentiality, and your intake paperwork. We will also further discuss your symptoms and personal history, identify your treatment goals, and address your questions.
BEGIN YOUR THERAPY SESSIONS
After the initial assessment is completed, we may then begin treatment. A standard therapy session lasts 50- to 60-minutes. Clients generally commit to a weekly or bi-weekly standing session time (i.e., “Wednesdays at 3:00 pm”). If you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment, please notify me 24-hours in advance to avoid late cancellation fees.
GET STARTED TODAY
Are you ready to heal your relationship with food, your body, and yourself? Annie Calhoun Randall offers therapy services for residents in Oregon and Washington, with in-person sessions in Portland, OR.
Have questions? Visit my FAQ Page for more information.