Written by Older elite athletes are something that you do not see very often. Many times, an athlete’s mental and emotional abilities far outweigh their physical abilities. I personally enjoy watching the old person running out on the pitch, field, court, or swimming in the pool. It really shows that with some hard work, dedication, the right combination of coaches and training partners, and maybe some helpful genetics, almost anything is possible. Just take a look at Dara Torres who took home three Olympic medals in 2008 (41), Martina Navratilova who played professional tennis and won championships (Until she was at least 50), Morten Andersen (47) was still putting points on the board in the NFL, Robert Parish who won his fourth NBA title (43), Kazuyoshi Miura who is still playing in Japan’s top football (soccer) league (54), Gordie Howe (52) finished his NHL career and then made a comeback for one game when he was 69 years old, and Lizzie Murphy who played professional baseball in both the American and National leagues finished her playing career when she was about 41 years old.
So when there is a lot of talk about the Tom Brady’s of the world still working on extending what is considered normal for athletes’ retirement age, who knows what is really considered old. Who can forget how many times Brett Favre retired, just to unretire when he was in his 40s? Years after his final retirement, he still was looking for a way back onto the field as a player.
In addition to their performance on field, I truly hope that older elite athletes take the time to mentor, coach, and teach the younger generations of sports. I believe this is the most important role they have. Taking the time to share their own lived experiences is extremely valuable to younger athletes. Explaining the mistakes they made and why, how to prepare for long term performance over the span of many years or decades, and the mental and emotional aspects to being a high performance and professional athletes are something that an athlete can just pick up quickly from one or two chance encounter with a stranger or recent acquaintance. Mentorship takes a long time, the relationship has to be organic and trusting, and both parties have to be willing participants in the relationships.
One of the most important aspects of this mentorship opportunity between the more seasoned and younger generations is mentoring and teaching leadership principles, positive culture, and influencing positive change. How can these young athletes truly learn these crucial skills without a mentor? Being a high performance athlete is difficult enough for most, and when these athletes are thrust into leadership roles without proper preparation, it could irreparably harm the athlete and eventually the organization. This is where the head coach and front office staff need to come in, not to clean up the mess, but to enable and facilitate a culture that prioritizes the mentorship between the athletes who have been around for a long time and those who are new to organization and high performance sports.