Supporting adolescent athletes' dual careers: The role of an athlete's social support network

View/ open
Author
Knight, C.J.
Harwood, C
Sellars, Paul
Date
2018-06-19Acceptance date
2018-06-18
Type
Journal
Publisher
Elsevier
ISSN
1469-0292
1878-5476
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Objectives
The objectives of this study were to, (a) understand the role of the social support network in facilitating adolescent athletes' dual careers in sport and education, and; (b) gain insights into the factors that may optimize the provision of such support.
Design
A two-stage qualitative study.
Method
In stage one, four different sport and education settings in the UK were examined: A tennis academy, a football academy, a national field hockey squad, and a high-performance swimming squad. Interviews were conducted with two athletes and associated significant others from each setting. In stage two, nine current or former international athletes from a variety of sports and countries recalled their experiences of managing a dual career. Analysis was conducted following the procedures outlined by Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña (2014).
Results
Overall, athletes in stage one and two perceived that to maintain their dual careers, they were heavily dependent upon the support of significant others. The role of the support network was to recognize the demands of a dual career, anticipate problems, value education, minimize barriers, and create autonomy-supportive environments. Key factors to optimize such support were focusing on the whole person, providing integrated support, and fostering a culture that promotes continuing education.
Conclusions
Results indicate that athletes require particular types of support within their home, at school, and in their sport context to be able to manage their dual career. However, a range of individual and group-level factors may influence the extent to which such support is available to athletes.
Journal/conference proceeding
Psychology of Sport and Exercise;
Citation
Knight, C. J., Harwood, C. G., & Sellars, P. (2018) 'Supporting adolescent athletes' dual careers: The role of an athlete's social support network', Psychology of Sport and Exercise. 38, pp. 137-147
Description
Article published in Psychology of Sport and Exercise on 19 June 2018 (online) available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2018.06.007
Sponsorship
Cardiff Metropolitan University (Grant ID: Cardiff Metropolian (Internal))
Collections
- Sport Research Groups [1088]
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, subject and abstract.
-
Is there a need for psychological support in ACL rehabilitation for elite athletes?
Kember, Lucy (University of Wales Institute Cardiff, 2010)Following serious athletic injury or physical trauma, psychological responses and emotional disturbances may occur as a result of stress in an athlete’s life (Brewer and Petrie, 1995; Leddy, Lambert and Ogles, 1994; ... -
The Role of Social Support in the Transition Process of Elite Injured Swimmers
Shamlian, Michael (University of Wales, 2011)Objective: The aim of this study was to determine and examine the importance of social support during a career transition from a resulting injury in swimming. Design and method: Athletes participated in semi-structured, ... -
Underlying reasons why female university students withdraw from sport
Richards, Kimberley (University of Wales, 2011)The purpose of this study was to identify the underlying reasons of withdrawal in female University students. This enabled the identification to analyse the critical causal elements in conjunction with concurrent research ...