The Athlete

1
The Athletes Career
SPORT PSYCHOLOGYChapter 10
Lavallee et al. (2004) Sport Psychology
Contemporary Themes (Palgrave Macmillan,
Basingstoke)
2
Introduction, History and Development

• As the demands associated with competitive sport
  have increased in recent years, so has the
  academic interest in the athletes career
• In 1980, McPherson reported that an extensive
  literature search generated 20 references
  pertaining to the topic of transitions in
  sport
• In 2000, over 270 references were identified on
  this topic (Lavallee, Wylleman Sinclair, 2000)

3
Introduction, History and Development

• One of the first studies in the area by
  Bookbinder (1955) found that athletes are
  confronted with a wide range of psychological,
  interpersonal and financial issues throughout
  their career
• Other early research focused almost exclusively
  on the psychological difficulties experienced by
  retiring athletes, and concentrated on male
  professional athletes in specific sports

4
Introduction, History and Development

• As research on the career of the athlete
  expanded, several authors challenged the
  assumption that athletic retirement is stressful
  for all individuals
• Research by Blinde, Greendorfer and colleagues
  found in one of the largest studies in the area
  that approximately 90 of athletes looked forward
  to their life after sport
• This led to the development of theories and
  models to explain the athletes career

5
Theories and Models

• Gerontology Theories
• The study of the aging process
• Thanatology Theories
• The study of death and dying
• Transition Models

6
Theories and Models

• Gerontology Models
• Activity Theory
• Subculture Theory
• Disengagement Theory
• Continuity Theory
• Social Breakdown Theory
• Social Exchange Theory

7
Theories and Models

• Thanatology Models
• Social death concept
• Social awareness contexts
• Closed awareness
• Suspected awareness
• Mutual pretence
• Open awareness
• Stage of grief models

8
Theories and Models

• Transition Models
• A transition has been defined as an event which
  results in a change in assumptions about oneself
  and the world and requires a corresponding change
  in behaviour and relationships (Schlossberg,
  1981)
• Schlossbergs Model of Human Adaptation to
  Transition
• Developmental Models of Transition

9
Theories and Models

• Schlossbergs Model of Human Adaptation to
  Transition
• Characteristics of the individual experiencing
  the transition
• Psychosocial competence, sex, age, state of
  health, race/ethnicity, socio-economic status,
  value orientation and previous experience with
  transitions
• Perceptions of the particular transition
• Role change, affect, source, onset, duration and
  the degree of stress
• Characteristics of the pre- and post-transition
  environment
• Internal support systems, institutional support
  and physical setting

10
Theories and Models

• Developmental Models of Transition
• Normative and non-normative transitions
  (Stambulova, 2000)
• Normative transitions include the transition from
  junior to senior level, from regional to
  national-level competitions, from amateur to
  professional status, and from active
  participation to discontinuation from competitive
  sport.
• Non-normative transitions include season-ending
  injury, the loss of a personal coach and an
  unanticipated de-selection from the team
• Wyllemans (2001) Developmental Model

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Theories and Models
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AGE
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Individual Level
Psycho-social Level
Academic Vocational Level
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Methods and Measures

• Causes of Career Transition-
• - Age, injury, de-selection, voluntary decision
• Developmental Factors
• - Socialisation into sport, athletic identity
• Coping Resources
• Social support, pre-transition planning, having
  a new focus, transferable skills
• Athlete Retirement Questionnaire (Sinclair
  Orlick, 1993)
• Professional Athletes Career Transition Inventory
  (Blann Zaichkowsky, 1989)
• Australian Athletes Career Transition Inventory
  (Hawkins Blann, 1993)

13
Practical Issues and Interventions

• Olympic Job Opportunities Program
• Career Assistance Program for Athletes (USA)
• Olympic Athlete Career Centre (Canada)
• Athlete Career and Education Program (Australia
  and UK)

14
Practical Issues and Interventions

• Career Assistance Program for Athletes
• One-day workshop
• Combination of lectures and small group
  discussions
• Career development
• Career myths
• Goal setting
• Transferable skills
• Positioning Yourself for Success workbook

15
Practical Issues and Interventions

• Olympic Athlete Career Center
• Individual career counselling
• Self-assessment workshops
• Career-related workshop (e.g., CV preparation,
  Job search techniques, Interviewing techniques)
• Shadow program
• Business cards

16
Practical Issues and Interventions

• Athlete Career and Education Program
• Program of Australian Institute of Sport
• Objective To enhance the personal development
  and performance of Australias elite athletes
• Structure personal development training
  workshops, case management, educational guidance,
  career planning development, transition programs

17
Case Study

• Tony is a 21 year-old elite-level middle-distance
  runner who was informed earlier in the week that
  he was not selected for the national team going
  to the world championships. These championships
  were going to be his final opportunity to qualify
  for the Olympic Games, and he has made an
  appointment to see a sport psychologist to
  discuss his non-selection. At the start of the
  meeting he tells the sport psychologist that he
  does not think it is fair that some people just
  suddenly decided that he could no longer do what
  we have trained so long and hard for. He later
  expresses concerns about what he is going to do
  next, and says that his coach has always said
  that he shouldnt concentrate on anything other
  than athletics if he wanted to retain his place
  on the squad.

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Case Study

• Questions
• With reference to the Theories and Models section
  in Chapter 10, how would you interpret what is
  happening in this case study?
• With reference to Methods and Measures, what
  techniques would you employ to help understand
  and quantify the issues?
• With reference to Practical Issues and
  Interventions, how would you deal with this
  situation?

19
Study Questions

• 1. Contrast social gerontology models with
  thanatology models with regard to the athletes
  career
• 2. Outline Schlossbergs (1981) model of human
  adaptation to transition, and discuss how it has
  been used to describe the athletes career
• 3. Define athletic identity and explain its
  importance in the sports career transition
  process
• 4. Compare the Olympic Athlete Career Centre with
  the Athlete Career and Education Program with
  regard to the services provided to athletes
• 5. Describe some of the practical considerations
  in the provision of career interventions for
  athletes

20
Further Reading

• Lavallee, D. and Wylleman, P. (2000) (eds) Career
  Transitions in Sport International Perspectives.
  Morgantown, WV Fitness Information Technology
• Meeker, D.J., Stankovich, C.E. and Kays, T.M.
  (2000) Positive Transitions for Student Athletes.
  Scottsdale,AZ Holcomb Hathaway
• Petitpas, A., Champagne, D., Chartand, J.,
  Danish, S., and Murphy, S. (1997) Athletes Guie
  to Career Planning. Champaign, ILHuman Kinetics
• Taylor, J. and Ogilvie, B. C. (2001) Career
  Termination among Athletes, in R. N. Singer, H.
  A. Hausenblas, and C. M. Janelle (eds), Handbook
  of Sport Psychology (2nd ed., pp. 672-691). NY
  Wiley
• Wylleman, P., Lavallee, D., Aflermann, D.
  (1999) (eds) CareerTransitions in Competitive
  Sports. Biel, Switzerland European Federation
  of Sport Psychology Monograph Series