Who Am I Now? - by Theresa Kulikowski-Gillespie

COURSE

Who Am I Now?

With Theresa Kulikowski-Gillespie

When sport has shaped your identity, relationships, routines, and dreams for years, stepping away can leave you wondering: Who am I now? This course offers a compassionate exploration of the often-overlooked transition from athlete to life beyond competition. Drawing from my own journey as an elite gymnast, I’ll share the challenges I faced when leaving sport and help normalize the grief, uncertainty, relief, freedom, and possibility that can accompany this major life change. Together, we’ll explore why athletic transition can be so difficult, how to navigate the many emotions that arise, and practical tools and resources to support you as you rediscover who you are beyond your accomplishments. You are more than your sport. This course is an invitation to honor who you’ve been, reconnect with who you are, and begin discovering who you’re becoming.

Emotional ProcessingAuthenticityTransformationMindfulnessJournalingSelf Compassion DevelopmentJournaling ReflectionTransitionIdentityEmotional PreparationSelf DoubtMental HealthSupportEmotional HealthHolistic HealthProfessional SupportEmotionsAwarenessGriefSadness

Meet your Teacher

Theresa Kulikowski-Gillespie
West Point, NY, USA

Theresa Kulikowski-Gillespie, PA-C, brings a unique combination of lived experience, professional expertise, and decades of involvement in elite sport to Who Am I Now? Navigating the Transition to Life After Sport with Authenticity and Compassion. A former U.S. National Team gymnast, World Championship Team member, 1996 Olympic alternate, and three-time NCAA champion at the University of Utah, Theresa understands firsthand the profound identity shift that can occur when an athletic career ends. After spending more than two decades in gymnastics, she experienced her own challenging transition from elite athlete to life beyond sport. Theresa is also a physician assistant, author, and certified mindfulness meditation teacher. Her work explores the intersection of athletic identity, mindfulness, resilience, well-being, and discovering meaning and purpose beyond achievement. Drawing upon both her personal journey and professional experience, Theresa created this course to help current and former athletes better understand and navigate the emotional complexities of leaving sport. It also gives parents and coaches greater insight into the transition so they can support athletes more compassionately. Through personal storytelling, reflection, mindfulness, and practical tools, Theresa invites participants to explore an essential question: Who am I beyond what I achieve?

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5 Days

2 students

No ratings

12 min / day

Healing

English

Lesson 1

My Story

In this opening lesson, Theresa shares her personal journey from elite gymnast to life beyond competitive sport. Through the highs of achievement and the challenges of stepping away from an identity that shaped more than two decades of her life, her story offers an honest look at the question many athletes eventually face: Who am I when I’m no longer an athlete?

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Lesson 2

Transition From Sport: Why Is It So Hard

In this lesson, we explore why transitioning away from competitive sport can feel so difficult. When athletics have shaped your identity, routines, relationships, goals, and sense of purpose for years, stepping away can create a profound sense of loss and uncertainty. Understanding the unique challenges of this transition can help athletes—and the parents and coaches supporting them—approach this chapter with greater awareness, compassion, and hope.

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Lesson 3

Awareness and Acceptance Of Our Emotions

Leaving competitive sport can bring a wide range of emotions—grief, sadness, anger, fear, relief, excitement, confusion, and even joy. Sometimes seemingly contradictory emotions exist at the same time. In this lesson, we explore the importance of slowing down and becoming aware of what you’re feeling without judging it or believing you should feel differently. Rather than pushing difficult emotions away, you’ll learn to acknowledge and make space for them with greater curiosity and self-compassion. By allowing yourself to experience the full range of emotions that accompany transition, you can begin processing what has been lost while creating space for what comes next.

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Lesson 4

You're Not Alone: Resources And Support

You don’t have to navigate life after sport alone. In this final lesson, we explore practical tools, supportive resources, and ways to stay connected as you move forward. We’ll reflect on what you’ve learned throughout the course and begin shifting the question from “Who am I without my sport?” to “Who am I becoming?” The goal isn’t to leave your athletic identity behind, but to carry its strengths with you while making space for new interests, relationships, purpose, and possibilities.

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Lesson 5

Conclusion

As we come to the end of this course, I want to leave you with one reminder: you are not leaving who you were behind. You are expanding who you are. Your sport will always be part of your story—the lessons, relationships, memories, resilience, and strength you developed belong to you. But your accomplishments were never the entirety of who you are. Transition takes time. Give yourself permission to grieve what has ended, appreciate what was, and remain curious about what is still unfolding. So perhaps the question is no longer, Who am I now? Instead, gently ask yourself, Who am I becoming? You don't need to know the answer yet. Stay open. Keep listening inward. Trust that there is more of you to discover. Thank you for allowing me to walk alongside you for this part of your journey.

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