Blueprint for Action
This blueprint for action lays out a pipeline and opportunity for a managerial / service role within Harvard athletic teams that can be held by a medically-retired Harvard athlete. Not only can the standardization of a role of this nature benefit the athlete - in supporting a frequently turbulent loss of self-identity and transition into retirement - but also the team, through delegating non-athletic responsibilities. Academic research and comprehensive literature review illuminate the framework of a reduced sense of self-concept and increase in psychological distress found within injured athletes (Loberg, 2008). Creating a transitionary environment for athletes can provide a healing experience as these athletes are vulnerable to a feeling of displacement from their identity. Through interviews with Harvard athletic managers and medically-retired Harvard athletes, a comprehensive pamphlet below outlines the wide range and numerous roles that medically-retired athletes can fill and amalgamate to create the ideal service role for themselves and their team’s needs. This pamphlet aims to create a tangible resource for medically-retired athletes as well as provide precedence and support in any difficult conversations with athletic coaches and athletic administrators in navigating this transition.
Interview Methodology & Findings
Three cohorts of student demographics were interviewed with the aim of learning and consolidating the roles and responsibilities that medically-retired athletes can best take on, in the circumstance that a medically-retired athlete seeks to retain their identity and commitment to their team. These three groups were: Medically-Retired EISA Ski Managers, Medically Retired Athletes, and Harvard Athletic Managers / Student Assistants.
Medically-Retired EISA Ski Manager interviews provided qualitative examples of a sport with a frequent, almost assumed, pipeline from medical-retirement to student assistant / coach. This is largely due to the small demographic of individuals who are familiar with ski racing.
Interviews with Harvard Athletic Managers helped to establish the roles and responsibilities a diverse array of Harvard athletic teams require to operate and the time commitment that these roles entail. Of the non-medically-retired athletes who served within managerial roles on Harvard Athletic teams, a large motivator was for pre-professional exposure. Rebecca Solomon, manager of the Men's Basketball team, and Diego Martinez, manager of the Men's Baseball team, both sought out these roles to build upon their skillset, resume, and networks with the aim of working within professional sports after college. Across the board, Harvard Athletic manager's seemed cognizant of the self-direction that the role provided them with; Solomon noted that while there is structure in the commitment, there is an informal flow of responsibility where she "gets to be involved with as much as she [wants] to be." Similarly, Martinez explained that he was able to foster a relationship of respect and communication with the baseball coaches, due to the large dedication and commitment he showed the team in his first few years as manager, and thus they allowed him the autonomy to hone in on the aspects of his role, the analytical side, that he found most personal value within.
These interviews provided insight that ownership exists within support roles on Harvard Athletics, supporting the notion that a medically-retired athlete with a clear vision could successfully integrate into a new role. Furthermore, both Rebecca Solomon and Diego Martinez had played their respective sports at the high school level, aiding the idea that the sport-specific knowledge medically-retired athletes have would be beneficial.
Nate Wu the student assistant coach to both Men and Women's Water Polo (a previous goalie for the team), as well as Elizabeth Denehy, a medically-retired Women's Field Hockey member turned manager, provided in their interviews a depth of creative and beneficial roles that they have facilitated within their teams. Beyond standard administrative and coaching support, Wu used Covid-19 as an opportunity to think about nuanced ways to contribute to the team. From implementing "Berg Breakfast Zooms," where the team (during the pandemic) all ate remote breakfasts together, to writing a document of advice on what he would've found helpful as a freshman to disseminate to the incoming freshman, Wu used his personal experience as an athlete to expand resources to his team. Denehy similarly stepped up to provide an impact on the field hockey team with the benefit of experience and familiarity with the team's dynamic from her years as an athlete on the team. Denehy organized the team's community service participation, planned Field Hockey's annual Fundraiser Game, and operated the Harvard Field Hockey instagram. The frequent instagram content led to increased viewership and recruiting attention while fostering external connection to the team's success. Furthermore, Denehy noted how with the arrival of new coaching staff this year, she was able to introduce them to aspects of the team garnered from her years competing and thus, served as a liaison between old and new. Hence, the benefit for team's to employ their previous athletes are evident through the multi-faceted manner by which Wu and Denehy expanded beyond their assigned roles. Furthermore, they both remain engrained with Harvard Athletics at a larger scope; Wu as the President of the Student Athlete and Advisory Committee and founder of the Men's Athlete Bible Study and Denehy as the President of Undergraduate Women of Harvard Athletics.
Lastly, interviews with Medically-Retired Athletes gave insight into what medically-retired athletes seek or want with their athletic experience post-injury. This interview cohort resulted in the most diverse responses as medical-retirement is such an individual experience that can alter an individual's relationship with their sport and team in a one-of-a-kind manner.
Ciaran Brayboy, a medically-retired athlete Men's Basketball player, stressed the need for a medically-retired athlete's student assistant role to be explicitly defined and how ultimately this definition cannot be made prior to an individual's decision to medically-retire as the role would vary depending on who the individual is. He voiced a concern that as the role cannot be anticipated due to the spontaneous nature of medical-retirement, the role must be curated with intention, as not to be an extra body without purpose. Similarly, Elizabeth Denehy expressed a recommendation for clear expectations between coaches, the medically-retired athlete, and the rest of the athletes regarding questions such as: Am I needed at practice or just games? When should the team expect me to be present? Ultimately, increased communications provide for a balanced role that is most helpful and most efficient to all parties involved. Sabre Zimmer, a medically-retired Women's Basketball player, similarly echoed the sentiment for pertinent communication. Zimmer, after her second shoulder surgery, had to medically-retire from basketball. Currently not serving within a support role for the team, Zimmer candidly noted that she would have been incentivized to remain involved within the team if the role had more clarity and compromise. The women's basketball team's requirement for full attendance at practice, lift, and games, for medically-retired support staff both created a time-commitment that paralleled being an active athlete while also heightening the natural difficulty of being in close-proximity to the sport, an element that many medically-retired athletes struggle with. Zimmer's recommendation includes: 1) increased awareness on behalf of athletes and coaches for the individual difficulties medically-retired athletes may face 2) further applying compassion, flexibility, and transparency within the role as it should be transitional in nature for the medically-retired athlete and 3) (depending on the medically-retired athlete) should not require the same time-commitment and active athletes.
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