Athletic Retirement & Career Transitions

The purpose of the study was to conduct a qualitative investigation into what factors affect middle distance runners in the transition from junior to senior athletics. The secondary purpose was to investigate how the nature of the Coach-athlete relationship may change during this period.
Whilst Existing literature has helped to significantly develop our understanding of the nature, content and correlates of both athletic transitions and the coach-athlete relationship (e.g. Čačija,2007; Jowett & Cockerill, 2002; Pummell, 2008; Stambulova, 2003 ). However, current literature fails to address how the transition from junior to senior competition and the significance of the coach-athlete relationship in facilitating the process may vary between different sports.  Furthermore, Lyle and Cushion (2010) have suggested that coaching can be better understood when the specific sporting environment in which athletes and coaches participate is considered. Poczwardowski , Barott, & Jowett (2007), suggest that future research should take into account differences between sports e.g. age groups, training demands, competition structures and performance pathways. Rich qualitative data was collected through six, face-to-face, semi structured interviews with three male and three female middle-distance runners. The raw data was then transcribed verbatim and analysed by using sentence categorisation ( Čačija,2007; Gratton & Jones, 2010). Quotations were used to underline the results. The results were divided into three categories:  factors affecting transition, coping strategies and coach athlete relationship: The results of the study indicate that athlete awareness about the transition from junior to senior sport was relatively low. However a majority of participants identified that there were clear differences between junior and senior levels of competition and training. Participants identified that that social formed a significant barrier to smooth transition.  As suggested by previous research athletes attributed successful transition with a strong coach-athlete relationship (Pummell, 2008). As suggested by Hogg (1995), athletes displayed signs of growing independence as the relationship progresses, however the ages at which these changes occur appear differ from hogs model, therefore the researcher presents a revised version of hogs model adapted to middle distance runners

The researcher discusses how the results of this study can be further strengthened by, and strengthens, the results of earlier studies and theory.  The researcher concludes the study, with research as a background and the results of the study as support, by presenting several implications of the results and makes recommendations for future research.

Abstract

The present study explored professional rugby players’ lived experiences of career ending injuries through a loss perspective. Participants comprised of 10 males between the ages of 23 and 35 who had retired from professional rugby due to injury. Using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach, face-to-face interviews were undertaken, audio-recorded and subjected to IPA analysis. Participants reported a number of losses associated with their experience with the most salient being that of identity. Participants utilised a range of coping strategies throughout the transition, including the use of pre-retirement planning, social support and pursuing a new focus that provided them with a renewed purpose. The majority reported using techniques such as social comparisons and cognitive re-appraisal in order to find some benefit from the experience. Some participants reported that they were able to use their loss experience as an opportunity for growth. The findings have important implications for both athletes and clubs.

Keywords: premature career termination, injury, loss, coping, growth

This study used narrative inquiry to understand the retirement experiences of rhythmic gymnastics. Eight female former competitive gymnasts (M age = 24.5, SD = 8.33) each participated in four life-history interviews. Following dialogical narrative analysis, three narrative typologies were outlined: Entangled Narrative, Going Forward Narrative, and Making Sense Narrative. The entangled narrative shows an individual with a monological athletic identity, who is unable to develop a new identity following her retirement to the detriment of her well-being, and wishes to return to being a gymnast. The going-forward narrative describes those former gymnasts who were able to develop multiple identities during their gymnastics career, and are now flourishing in their life post-retirement. The making-sense narrative is an emergent narrative, which transcends the previous two narratives. Findings expand narrative research by providing new narrative resources to understand the experience of retirement from gymnastics. These narrative resources might assist gymnasts to expand their narrative repertoire by raising awareness of different narratives available in their culture.