@Rcar13

When you are having these recurrent dreams, what are you feeling? Do you feel somewhat anxious? Do you feel sad? Do you feel different emotions for each dream, even though the dreams are similar?

Whatever your feelings are in the dreams, that is what your feelings are today concerning your desire to be the best you can be (e.g., self-actualize, competition with yourself to improve, etc.), to be respected and accepted by others (especially coaches who can see potential, etc., which sounds like what you miss), to participate in the sport you really enjoyed initially - football (even though you are considering other options).

It also sounds like you are grieving over the losses encountered after getting injured, such as your position on the football team, your confidence, your reputation with the coach and your teammates, and your top-star position(s). It sounds like you are now adjusting to your new limitations, or are fearful of getting injured again. I've not participated in sports, as I'm a female, but I am a veteran who has injuries and can never run again. I've had some of the dreams you mentioned, and even recurrent, especially around your age when the world is "skies the limit" for you! You are 24, and you have a whole world ahead of you to explore many options in sports. If you have healed completely but are simply afraid of getting injured again, that's a valid concern, but one that should not limit you to trying again and again, until you overcome your fear of injury. Injuries happen over and over again, but professional sports players take time to heal, get sports psychologists to help, and then go back out there again. If, however, you find that you are now limited in areas you weren't limited before, then you can process those things with a therapist while also looking into similar but different dreams in other kinds of sports.

As far as being the best, there are all sorts of different players on a team, and one need not be a captain or a star player to make the team and to fulfill one's dreams. Being the best is a good goal to have to compete, but trying your best is what really matters. There are some who try their best and cannot make the cut on the team, and there are some who try their best and make the team (which is something to be really proud of). If you were the best and now are not, I can see how that identity and reputational loss (and even potential career loss) are things to grieve over for a short while, or things to process while you are reinventing you.

One of my favorite "girly" shows is "Nadia" - an 80's film about a Romanian gymnast who had injuries, weight gain, and other issues. She wanted to be the best, too. The adaptation of her life story coupled with a documentary on Nadia Elena Comăneci speaks to her desire to maximize her potentials. There is nothing wrong with that. When she found that her life was limited, she made adjustments. Perhaps there are other stories similar to hers that you can watch, which might inspire you. Perhaps there are support groups for sports players of sorts. Perhaps there are mentors who can coach you, train you, or just offer you professional guidance/development. Perhaps you can do all of the above.

I hope these suggestions help!