5 Pieces of Advice for Dating an Athlete

Everybody wants to date a professional athlete until they date a professional athlete. Then they realize it takes a lot of effort to maintain a relationship with someone who spends most of the time training, traveling, and sleeping. However, a successful relationship with a professional athlete is rewarding. Read these tips carefully. Remember them if you ever need them.

Accept Everything that Comes with Such a Relationship

Dating an athlete isn’t a fairy tale. It isn’t like in the movies; they don’t party and rest all the time. Athletes have to train to stay sharp. They have to stay sharp if they want to achieve any results. And they do because that’s their job and their passion. Athletes often have to travel a lot to compete and earn a living, so those who aren’t ready to be apart shouldn’t start dating an athlete.

Regular people forget that athletes are “normal” too. They get lonely and feel pain the same as we do. They have various hobbies and interests you’d never connect with someone who earns money competing in a sport. A lot of creme de la creme athletes are nerds, for example. Because of that, it’s possible to meet a professional athlete on one of the best nerd dating sites. Sites like that are a safe space for singles looking for partners who won’t mind their hobbies. Some athletes go full-nerd mode and learn moves from the video games, as Max Holloways famously said in Joe Rogan’s Experience. So don’t judge a book by its cover. Just because someone is an athlete, it doesn’t mean they can’t love Pokemon, for example. Prepare yourself for such surprises in a relationship. But you can expect those in every relationship, the difference with dating an athlete is in his priorities. They will have other interests, but the main focus will always be their sport. If you can’t accept that, look for a partner with a different lifestyle.

Show Interest in Their Sport

You can’t expect to create a meaningful relationship with an athlete if you don’t show any interest in what he does. You don’t have to become a nerd for sports and learn everything there is to know about football, for example. Just don’t be completely uninterested. Ask how training was training, if a new move is getting any better, offer your help, be there for your partner. Athletes seem to have unshakeable confidence, but they need support too, so your partner will appreciate your interest in his sport.

Watch Them Compete Every Time You Can

Speaking of support and creating a strong relationship, show up at every game, race, event, fight, or whatever. If you’re dating a professional chess player, be there when he plays. If you’re dating a basketball player, he better hear you screaming every time he scores. Support from those close to us means much more than support from random people. And support from other people means a lot for confidence. Just try to imagine how much it means to an athlete when they know they have unconditional support from their partner. A way to show that you care is to attend as many games, events, orwhatever your partner does.

Don’t Make Them Choose Between You and Sports

Sometimes people can’t understand that being an athlete is more than a job. It’s a passion, it’s an obsession. Nothing can stand between an athlete and sport. Friendships have been ruined, relationships crushed, families torn apart because athletes were put in front of an impossible choice. When someone dedicates their whole life to something, they’ll choose that over anything else. If you don’t want to be disappointed, don’t make your athlete choose between you and sport, ever.

Try To Help Them Progress At What They Do

You probably can’t help your athlete progress through training unless the two of you met in some gym. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be of great help for his career. If you don’t know anything about sports, use the skill you have to help. Let’s say you’re a social media manager. You’ll help with reaching more people through social media. You may know some people who could be useful in his career, introduce them. Help however you can, use all of your skills, consider yourself a personal manager.

Don’t Put Additional Pressure on Them

Professional athletes are under enormous pressure all the time. Everything depends on their performance. All the training means nothing if they crush under pressure in the big moments. Staying calm and focused isn’t easy; that makes a difference between good and great athletes. So putting additional pressure on your partner’s back doesn’t help in any way. Cheer for your partner, don’t crush him.

Let Them Talk About Their Accomplishment in Training or Competition

Talking about training and competing is normal for athletes. They do it among themselves all the time, but you shouldn’t silence your partner when he talks about sport. Repeating what he did in training to you lets your partner relive the moment again. That’s good for their confidence and your relationship. The two of you will bond, your relationship will grow, and your partner will be a better athlete.