Whether you’re coming out of being a high school or college athlete, your last game, match or race is a bittersweet experience. What comes afterward is what no one can prepare you for. Here are 11 things they don’t tell you about post-athlete life.

1. You can’t eat whatever you want anymore.

The metabolism you’ve come to know and love will quickly turn on you. Midnight snacks start to interfere with your six-pack and you’ll be ready to put out a search warrant for your beach-ready bod.

2. Having more time doesn’t actually mean more time. It means more procrastination.

All those years of saying, “If I didn’t have practice every day, I would be a straight-A student, musician and artist-extraordinaire,” quickly go down the drain. More time turns into “I’ll do it later, I finally have free time,” which turns into “I forgot,” which turns into “Crap! It’s due tomorrow!”

3. You have to find common ground past the playing field.

Things get tough when you don’t see your teammates at practice every day. That team group message is no longer filled with hilarious inside jokes from the bus rides to games and people start to go their separate ways. Eventually you look back and wonder where the time went. Learn how to be intentional and you’ll find glue that will hold your team together long after your sport.

4. You won’t have a coach in your ear anymore.

There’s no one making you work out and no one asking for a report of your grades every month. When you start working out again, you won’t cheat a rep because you’ll feel like your coach is over your shoulder ready to make you run if you do. Surprisingly enough, you’ll grow to appreciate the long practices, two-a-days, and required study halls that instilled that fear deep in your soul.

5. You start to understand your parent’s stories about “the glory days.”

That big game in high school becomes your favorite story to tell and “if you had tried to play me two years ago…” becomes your favorite excuse.

6. Mini-identity crises are a regular thing.

“What do you do?”

“I’m a student athl-- I’m just a student here.”

7. Lung capacity becomes questionable.

As running gets harder and harder, you start to wonder what kind of superhuman you used to be. Jumping back into your old workouts turns into being bedridden for the next four days.

8. Passing up an intramural or a pick-up game isn’t an option.

No matter how long it’s been since you played your sport, your competitive spirit takes over and you can’t resist an opportunity to show off some old skills.

9. Watching your sport becomes bittersweet.

Watching games are a great way to enjoy your sport when you can’t play anymore. Although, you’ll find yourself listing off the things you would’ve done better in your head and quickly becoming a sideline coach.

10. You’ll wear your t-shirts out representing your old teams.

It doesn’t matter how faded the logo may be or how many holes are in the shirt; you’ll always represent your team. You'll even make cut-offs out of the shirts that are too small. Your sport gave you a lot, but your team gave you the experience. It’ll always be a part of you, just like you’ll always be a part of it.

11. You're going to miss your sport, but you'll be ready to take on new experiences.

Post-athlete life is an exciting, yet scary, time. You realize how much you love your sport along with all of the useful tools it gave you. The transitional period between chapters of your life is hard, but you move forward with excitement and memories you'll never let go of.