Chasing the Dream: Success, Sacrifice and the Path to Professional Sports

Photo: Gabi Ruffels
 
Words: Harriett Irving. Bachelor of Psychology: currently in her honour’s year. Triathlete and Pilates Instructor.

 When you think of your childhood dream, what do you imagine? Is it owning your own zoo? Being a doctor? A pro golfer? Maybe it’s just to make money. For a lot of us, when we were asked what our goals were at age five, we dreamt big. No feat seemed too small. Yet as we grew older, these dreams turned into aspirations.

Last year at university, I took a course in Sport Psychology that challenged me to connect theory with personal experience. We were asked to explore a motivational theory and relate it to our own lives. I chose Achievement Goal Theory, which explores why people pursue achievement and the driving forces behind their goals. As I reflected on the theory, I found it deeply relatable – but it also left me with a lingering question for the athletes of tomorrow: should they strive to go pro, or chart a different path entirely?

Growing up I was extremely competitive, but that didn’t determine the way that I had perceived sport. I did it for the enjoyment and rush that it gave me. It was my passion. My parents would always mention the contagious grin that was wiped across my face as I ran past them, and their friends, always admiring how much love I had such a small thing. But as I got older, my motivations changed. Enjoyment turned into goals. Passion turned into desire. If I wasn’t winning or at the very least, performing, then I wasn’t enjoying myself. I had expectations placed upon me externally, and in turn, that influenced how I felt internally. Overtime, my idea of success changed. I was no longer doing it for me. I was doing it to prove to everyone around me that I COULD do it. I was always on a mission to perform and for the first few years of my junior career, this worked.

But as I got older, I was forced to acknowledge a harsh reality. I was never going to achieve my dream of making the Olympics. I was never going to be good enough to make being a professional athlete my reality. Maybe if I had caught it early enough, I could have shifted focus to another sport, but unfortunately it was too late for that in my eyes. It hurt to admit at the time, but it allowed me to set my sights on something new. Sport Psychology.

So here are my thoughts on going pro.

For many aspiring athletes, the ultimate goal in a career often seems fixed. Whether it be competing at the Olympics, a World Cup, or Wimbledon, success is frequently measured by your achievements. How many gold medals, how many championships, how many tour wins. These highs and lows define the life of a professional athlete, often determining who advances and who falls by the wayside.

For many, the dream of turning professional is a lifelong ambition – a chance to transform passion into a career. The perks of going pro are clear: recognition, financial rewards, and the opportunity to represent both yourself and those who stand beside you. It’s an opportunity to prove your ability to a myriad of individuals. Yet, as glamorous as the glory of professional sport sounds, the path to get there is gruelling and tangled with uncertainty. For every success story, there are countless athletes who face injuries, burnout, or struggle to make a living from their sport.

The decision to go pro carries sacrifices. Many athletes forgo traditional education and social experiences, betting on a future that may never materialise. The physical and mental demands can be immense, pushing individuals to – and sometimes beyond – their limits. And even for those who achieve professional status, the pressure to perform, maintain peak fitness, and constantly prove oneself can weigh heavily on the spirit.

On the other hand, choosing not to pursue professional sports doesn’t mean abandoning one’s athletic passion. Many athletes continue to compete at collegiate or amateur levels while pursuing higher education, balancing their love for their sport with career development. In these cases, success is measured differently – not by medals or rankings, but by personal growth, perseverance, and the joy of playing the game.

Ultimately, the choice to go pro or not is deeply personal. It requires weighing ambition against security, glory against stability. But whether an athlete reaches the podium or simply pursues sport for the love of it, there is value in the journey itself. The discipline, resilience, and lessons learned along the way shape who they are, both on and off the field. Success, then, is not solely in trophies or titles – it is in commitment, in passion, and in the courage to pursue one’s dreams, whatever form they may take.