Through decades of global research and observation of athletes at all levels, I have analyzed their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This book delivers an examination of the athlete’s personal development process. Specifically, I explore the multi-level platform of the transition to transformation dynamics and detail how athletes are affected by external factors. This includes examining the circumstances that lead to a vulnerable athlete who lacks the developmental foundation needed to successfully build their personal character and manage the many transitions associated with sports participation. The essence of this book illustrates that:

An athlete never knows who he/she is until they are no longer an athlete.

By virtue of their beliefs, athletes choose an identity. This identity choice builds and drives both their internal foundation of character and their external projections of comfort, thus providing varying and often conflicting emotions when identifying as an athlete. These factors, when woven together, produce either ignorance or education that guide the athlete on a future journey of either sorrow and pain or joy and happiness. If used for its intended purpose, this book will assist athletes in understanding who they are, what they do well and, overall, what they can possibly become before reaching the final game of their careers. This allows the athlete to:

Determine who they are while identifying as an athlete.

–Dr. Mark Robinson Ph.D.