If I'm No Longer an Athlete, Who Am I?

Growing up I played sports my entire life. Sports became my whole life at a young age and that’s all that I knew life to be. I’m sure some of you can relate. For me, I started playing club soccer at age 8 while also playing other sports for fun on the side. This meant I spent my day at school, then would run home to eat and change for practice, went to practice, came home and did homework, and then put that on repeat for every day of the week. I didn’t know of anything other than having practice daily and committing my entire weekends to being on the field. This was normal to me, it was my life, and I absolutely loved it. It never crossed my mind that this was going to come to an end one day. But then that day came sooner than I could have prepared for, and as my career ended, I had no idea the road that was ahead of me. 

Soccer was my everything; my identity. Being an athlete was the only thing I’d known, so when it abruptly came to an end, I quickly became lost in who I was. Soccer had given me purpose, given me a reason to work out, given me a community, and these were all things I longed for and looked for when it ended. I needed something to give my life to, something to fill me up.

Finally, I turned to God, and found him waiting patiently for me. While I was focusing on myself, he had been there the whole time. Once I started to dive into his word daily and cling to him more than ever before, he revealed to me so much about who I am, and who I am is so much more than an athlete.

I heard a pastor once say, “know who you are, like who you are, and be who you are.”
These simple words really resonated with me, and I believe once you know and understand these three things about yourself, your life will change.  

Know who you are.

When meeting new people while growing up, I typically introduced myself with my name, where I was from, what school I was going to and that I was a soccer player. I believed that was my identity and it was how everyone knew me. Although that was part of who I was, it was not my identity. I am a daughter of Christ, uniquely created by Him. He chose me and knows every detail about me.

You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” - 1 Peter 2:9

I know that God has chosen me, and he constantly reminds me of his love for me. Once I was able to recognize that being an athlete was not my identifier, I began to understand what it truly meant to be a follower of Christ. 

Like who you are.

Once you know who you are, you need to like who you are and be proud to be a believer by sharing God’s love with those around you. By putting soccer and my success over my relationship with God, I was brought to a place where I was not fully happy and did not love myself the way I should have. Placing something or someone above God will always come between you and your relationship with Him. Worship God only, and then the love for yourself, your sport, and your accomplishments will come.

Be who you are.

One of the biggest struggles that we as Christians go through, yet the most important part, is living out what it means to be a true follower of Christ. In college, I was a leader on my team, leading them in devotionals as well as on the field. Although I knew what it meant to live as a follower of Christ and be a Christian athlete, I too often found my actions not lining up with how I knew God would want me to live. As a believer, my life should reflect the life of Jesus, overflowing with joy and love for those around me. God’s path for you is unique and designed just for you. Stand firm in who you are and who God created you to be.  

To be honest, there’s no way to prepare for the end of your athletic career, whether that be because of a career ending injury, graduating, or some other reason. Having a constant God walking through those times with you is more than enough to get you through those hard, confusing, changing times. I found that once I was willing to cling to God and his word, I can love him, love others, and love myself well.  

Kryssa Johnson

I am Kryssa Johnson. I played soccer at Concordia University Irvine and graduated May 2019 with a Communication degree. I am currently seeking out various career opportunities while also being obedient to the Lord and following his plan. I love being outdoors in God’s creation whether that’s at the beach, camping, hiking, running or working out, I also enjoy cooking, spending time with family and friends, and creating new relationships with people. I am passionate about hearing people’s stories, sharing the love of God with others and living out a healthy lifestyle.