Is There Life After Sport? An analysis of the positive transitional experiences within society of elite male athletes after sporting retirement

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Author
Raybaudo, James
Date
2014Type
Thesis
Publisher
Cardiff Metropolitan University
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine some examples of successful
transitions from athletic retirement using a critical paradigm in an attempt to draw
useful contributions to counselling and existing support mechanisms.
Method: One-on-one, semi-structured interviews were conducted with four former
elite athletes within a university context. Three of the participants were undertaking
teaching roles at the university with one student completing an undergraduate
degree at the onset of the study. The unstructured raw data was analysed and
organised in key themes following procedures established in the literature (Creswell,
1998; Sparkes, 2002; Corbin and Strauss, 2008; Silverman, 2004).
Results: The findings revealed that even though none of the participants had taken
part in formal counselling sessions, they had all taken part in more informal support
such as simply confiding in friends and relatives which highlighted the usefulness of
counselling techniques to enable athletes to overcome the challenges of athletic
retirement. The research also identified career planning as being a determining
factor in the success of the participants‟ transitions whilst also acknowledging athletic
identity as having an important influence on the transitional experiences.
Conclusion: All the participants agreed that athletes should be better prepared for
transitions out of sport and that it should be an ongoing process. The experiences
analysed suggested that intervention strategies put in place by governing bodies and
implemented at club level could prove beneficial to athletes subjected to difficulties
linked to athletic retirement. This study also highlighted the need for further research
to be conducted upon the potential benefits of counselling techniques whilst taking
into account elements such as gender and individual sports.
Description
DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS)
SPORT MANAGEMENT
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