From elite sport to the job market: Development and initial validation of the Athlete Competency Questionnaire for Employability (ACQE) (Del deporte de élite al mercado laboral: Desarrollo y validación inicial del Cuestionario de Competencias de Deportistas para la Empleabilidad (ACQE))

This paper describes two studies aimed at developing and initially validating an instrument that measures athletes’ competencies required to optimize their employability across three career phases (i.e., active, retirement and new career phase; B-WISER, 2018). Study 1 describes the development of the Athlete Competency Questionnaire for Employability (ACQE). Study 2 examines the ACQE’s factor structure using exploratory structural equation modelling (ESEM; N = 954, 46% female; Mage = 26.74 ± 9.90; 54% active, 24% retirement, 22% new career). ESEM supported a 28-item ACQE with four factors: Career & Lifestyle Management, Career Communication, Career Resilience, and Career Engagement & Flexibility. This is the first study to identify athletes’ competencies for optimizing employability across different phases of athletic retirement. The results can inform stakeholders in different fields (e.g., sport, education, employment) about ways to assist athletes in their transition from elite sport to the job market. === Este artículo describe dos estudios encaminados a desarrollar y realizar la validación inicial de un instrumento que mide las competencias que los deportistas requieren para optimizar su empleabilidad en tres fases de su carrera (i.e., activos, en retirada deportiva, en nueva fase de carrera; B-WISER, 2018). El Estudio 1 describe el desarrollo del Cuestionario de Competencias de Deportistas para la Empleabilidad (ACQE). El Estudio 2 examina la estructura factorial del ACQE a partir del modelamiento exploratorio de ecuaciones estructurales (ESEM; N = 954, 46% mujeres; Medad = 26.74 ± 9.90; 54% activas, 24% en retirada, 22% nueva carrera). El ESEM apoya una solución de 28 ítems y 4 factores para el ACQE: Gestión de carrera y estilo de vida, Comunicación de Carrera, Resiliencia de carrera, y Compromiso y flexibilidad de carrera. Este es el primer estudio que identifica las competencias de los deportistas para optimizar su empleabilidad en distintas fases de la retirada deportiva. Los resultados pueden informar a los interesados en distintos ámbitos (e.g., deporte, educación, empleabilidad) sobre los modos de asistir a los deportistas en su transición del deporte de elite al mercado laboral.

Adaptation to Athletic Retirement and Perceptions About Aging: A Qualitative Study of Retired Olympic Athletes

Self-perceptions about aging have implications for health and well-being; however, less is known about how these perceptions influence adaptation to major life transitions. The goal of this study was to examine how high-performance athletes’ perceptions about aging influenced their adaptation to athletic retirement. In-depth interviews conducted with 24 retired Olympic athletes using thematic analysis yielded three key themes: (a) perceptions about aging influenced participants’ postretirement exercise habits, (b) perceptions about aging motivated participants to engage in civic activities, and (c) participants who lacked formative perceptions about aging associated their athletic retirement with their own lost sense of purpose. These findings provide evidence that perceptions about aging influence athletes’ adaptation to retirement by directing their subsequent engagement in postretirement activities. Furthermore, this research highlights theoretical implications for the literature regarding embodied processes, retirement transitions, role models, and adaptation to new physical states.

The Holistic Approach to Academia: Traditional Classroom Instruction and Experiential Learning of Student-Athletes

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) student-athletes represent a unique subculture on college campuses, and the athlete must balance the rigors of coursework, athletics, and the non-traditional dynamics associated with being an athlete, which include “dumb jock” stereotypes, isolation, negative criticism, and the fear associated with athletic retirement. Unlike non-athletes, these students face increasing pressure from outside sources, including family, coaches, and fans, to be the best. However, participation in athletics gives student-athletes an opportunity to learn valuable skills and characteristics that are transferrable to the workplace. This mixed-method research extracted descriptive data to identify the characteristics learned through athletics, the skill-sets potential employers value the most, and how those skills are transferable to the workplace. Those characteristics include refined leadership, communication skills, and an ability to multi-task with a laser-sharp focus. Student-athletes are assertive, driven, understand the concept of teamwork, and handle constructive criticism without adverse reactions. The results show that when student-athletes engage in the classroom and absorb the learning opportunities provided through athletics, student-athletes can have a competitive advantage in the job marketplace.

A Holistic and Mental Health Perspective on Transitioning Out of Elite Sport

Athletes’ transition out of elite sport has drawn the attention of psychologists in view of the number of problems retired athletes face with which they are generally unprepared to cope. Research over the past decades has revealed that athletic retirement should not be viewed as a dead-end stop but rather as a process of transition. The quality of this transition is influenced not only by the pre- and post-retirement phases but also by the challenges retiring elite athletes have faced at different levels of their development. Using the holistic athletic career model, challenges faced by retiring athletes are described at the athletic, psychological, psychosocial, academic, vocational, financial, and legal levels of their development. Particular attention is paid to the influence of these multilevel challenges on retirees’ mental health. In conclusion, the roles of psychologists in preparing and supporting elite athletes during the transition out of their sport are considered.

A retrospective analysis of retirement of football players in Portugal

The purpose of this study was to analyse the retirement of elite football players in Portugal. Specifically, the quality of retirement and the resources available were evaluated. To develop an understanding of the process of the sporting retirement of elite football players we used data from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with ninety professional players from the portuguese football national team. Most of the elite Portuguese footballers we investigated retired from sport between 36 and 40 years of age, their retirement had been involuntary and it had taken them less than a year to accept retirement. Most had only been educated to secondary level and had a strong athletic identity, no plans for their post-football career exist and relied on family as their main psychological support. None of the players had received support from a formal programme. Despite of the findings being consistent with previous research from other Southern European cultures, it seems that the athletic retirement of portuguese footballers has some particularities. Most portuguese footballers retired later and had longer playing careers than athletes in other countries. In addition, retirement was involuntary in most of cases, yet players reported that it took them a relatively short time to accept retirement.

Retiring from Elite Sports in Greece and Spain

The main objective of the present study was to compare the athletic retirement of elite Greek and Spanish athletes in terms of (a) pre-conditions of retirement, (b) transitional period, and (c) consequences of the transition. For this purpose, elite athletes from Greece (n = 76) and Spain (n = 57) described in retrospect their experience leaving competitive sports through the Retirement from Sports Survey (Alfermann, Stambulova, & Zemaityte, 2004). Separate one-way ANOVAs and chi-square tests revealed differences and similarities between the transitional processes of athletes from the two countries. More similarities than differences were detected in the retirement of Greek and Spanish athletes. Based on these commonalities, we proposed a Southern European perspective on the topic. According to the present results the main characteristics of this pattern could be the lack of retirement planning, high athletic identity after the sports career, and predominance of relocation in the sports world after retirement.