Transitions in the Careers of Competitive Swimmers: To Continue or Finish with Elite Sport?

An athletic career is a succession of stages and transitions (normative and non-normative), which may have decisive effects on either maintaining a satisfactory and/or successful course or deciding about premature career termination. The main purpose of this study was to identify differences between swimmers (Mage = 21.32, SD = 2.62) who after undergoing the transition from junior to senior level either: (a) continued their career hoping to improve their performance regardless of low success at the elite level—Group I; or (b) decided on premature athletic career termination—Group II. The criteria for inclusion included having undergone the transition from junior to senior level and having competed at elite level for at least a year (M = 4.14 years, SD = 1.74). The participants were administered a demographic survey and a structured interview. The results revealed differences in developmental stages. The exploration phase was longer (MGroup I = 5.8 yrs, SD = 2.04, MGroup II = 4.6 yrs, SD = 2.4; Z = −1.902, p = 0.057); the commitment phase was shorter (MGroup I = 3.6 yrs, SD = 1.3; MGroup II = 4.6 yrs, SD = 1.7; Z = −1.735, p = 0.083); the number of hours of structured practice were (MGroup I = 5975, SD = 2474; MGroup II = 7623, SD = 2660, Z = −1.928, p = 0.054); the number of perceived costs were (Group I = 22, Group II = 34; Z = −2.209, p = 0.0027); and the most often pointed benefits of a sporting career were (Group I—94% health & physical fitness; Group II—88% personal growth & life skills). Furthermore, essential inhibitors and facilitators of athletes’ development were identified. The findings of the study have practical applications for athletes, coaches, parents and sport psychology professionals. For instance, appropriate social support can help to prevent elite athletes’ premature career termination from professional sport during and after their normative transition from junior to senior level.

Sports migrants in ‘Central’ and ‘Eastern’ Europe: beyond the existing narratives

Outside of Europe’s top football leagues, migrant athletes are often subjected to short-term contracts, poor housing conditions, isolation and the ever-present risk of premature career termination due to injuries. This paper is part of a current multi-sited ethnography on Brazilian futsal and football migrants in Central and Eastern Europe. It is based on life-history interviews with migrant players and uses transnational lenses to approach sports migrants’ movements in these regions. The study conceptualises futsal and football as an ethnographic continuum. Football and futsal players participate in similar processes of early professionalisation. However, at the ages of 16 or 17, athletes become professionals in either football or futsal, seeking specialisation. The role that borders, families, injuries and emotions play in the lives of sports migrants are also analysed. The current study presents a diversified narrative of contemporary sports migration movements.

Critical Analysis of Athlete Retirement from Sport

Object of the analysis. Investigation problem. Athletes' retirement from sports activities and their life after the end of their sports career is relevant in scientific, practical and social terms. The purpose of this study was to provide an overview of scientific studies on athletes’ retirement from sport and how it relates to their life after their carrier in sports.Research methods. The analysis of scientific literature revealed that the main reasons for athletes to finish their careers in sports were trauma, health-related problems or age. Retirement can also be associated with family or family planning. Sports career termination is discussed in two ways, when one retires from sport voluntarily and when one is forced to do so. Voluntary retirement for athletes is usually a planned event and thus most often it does not have a negative impact on their future life. These athletes tend to choose a family over their sports carriers, continue their education or go to work in sports related sectors. Another important factor is athletic identity. Athletes with strong athletic identity during their sports careers tend to have better social life after their retirement. These athletes also tend to have a strong athletic identity after their careers, thus they are less likely to experience stress or depressive symptoms due to their sports career termination. Forced retirement from sports career is usually due to career-ending injuries. Such career outcome is associated with greater short-term and long-term problems in the post-sport transition period. Since athletic careers are strongly controlled by others, the unforeseen outcomes of an unexpected sports career termination results in negative consequences that are related to increased personal responsibility for their further actions. This becomes a greater problem for those athletes that have a higher level of athletic identity as it results in anxiety and depression. Therefore, forced retirement from a sports career is considered to be the most troublesome and worrying problem in the field.Outcomes and conclusions An examination of research literature focused on athlete’s retirement suggests that termination of a sports career is an important event the consequences of which depend on whether it ends by own choice or not. Since the planned retirement from the sports career is less challenging, it is important to help athletes prepare for this stage of their lives. Additionally, it is crucial to focus all efforts on creating a support system for athletes who were forced to end their athletic careers.Keywords: athletic carrier, retirement, life after sport.

Psychological aspects of Olympic athletes’ sport career termination and post-sport life

The chapter is dedicated to psychological aspects linked to sport career termination by high-performance athletes, the level of which is expressed by e.g.: Olympic successes. In the fi rst part, the path of development of the interest in the transition issue occurring in the course of sport career was presented. The second part is dedicated to an overview of the most important research reports concerning the circumstances of career termination by Olympic athletes as well as the course of their further development (after professional career termination). In the last part, suggestions and recommendations on the development of competences which facilitate the process of coping during and after the termination of the last transition phase in sport career are presented.

Thirty Percent of Female Footballers Terminate Their Careers Due to Injury: A Retrospective Study Among Polish Former Players

Context: Female football is becoming an increasingly popular women’s team sports discipline around the world. The Women’s Football Committee in the Polish Football Association has developed a long-term strategic plan to popularize the discipline across the country and enhance girls’ participation. On one hand, it is postulated to increase the number of female footballers, and on the other hand, it is crucial to decrease the number of girls quitting football prematurely. Objective: To find the reasons for sports career termination among female football players. Design: Cross-sectional with retrospective information about reasons of career termination. Setting: Online questionnaire was filled out by online access. Participants: Ninety-three former female footballers. Main Outcome Measures: Factors leading to career termination. Methods: Participants completed the online questionnaire. The analysis was performed referring to 2 groups: “injury group”—in which the injury was the main reason for quitting football, and “other group”—in which the female player stopped playing football due to all other factors. Results: Thirty percent of former Polish female football players terminated their career due to a long-term treatment for an injury. Over 27% (27.7%) females had ended their careers because they were not able to reconcile sports with work/studying. Over 10% (10.8%) of former football players reported that becoming a wife and/or mother was the reason for career termination. Losing motivation and interest in the sport was reported by 9.2% (n = 6) of present study participants who decided to terminate the career due to noninjury reasons. Conclusions: The results clearly show that more effort is needed to support female football players, especially after an injury, so that they do not quit the sport voluntarily.