The concept of crisis is proposed to better understand the dynamics of sports careers. A crisis is considered a turning point in an athlete's development, caused by a set of transitional problems (contradictions, or inner conflicts) that he/she has to resolve, but is not able to resolve without qualified psychological assistance. Three types of athlete's crises are identified and described: age-related crises, sports career-related crises, and situation-related crises. Empirical support is given on the basis of the sports careers of Russian athletes. Two techniques of psychological counseling that could be offered to athletes during crises - "Substitution" and "Mobilization" - are briefly presented.