Investigating Post-sport Adjustment Experiences of Former Canadian Major Junior Hockey Players
This project explored the post-sport adjustment experiences of former Canadian major junior hockey (CHL) players in the years following their athletic retirement. This study was conducted using a qualitative, within-subjects, longitudinal research design to understand the manner by which elite CHL athletes make sense of their athletic retirement experiences across time. Four former CHL players participated in two semi-structured interviews; one occurred shortly after their athletic retirement and the next was conducted approximately 24 months later. Interviews were then analyzed in accordance with the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) method. Themes identified in each participant’s account were compared and contrasted across all participants to generate an in-depth portrayal that gave voice to participants’ athletic retirement and subsequent post-sport adjustment transitions. Results revealed that participants continued to have unresolved feelings about their athletic retirement and experienced conflicting emotions of both pride and embarrassment in relation to their athletic identity. Participants post-sport adjustment experiences focused on attempts to renegotiate self-worth and prove their worth off the ice. As the post-sport adjustment period progressed, participants described moving from avoidance-based coping strategies to increasing action-oriented coping strategies which facilitated feelings of control and autonomy. Recommendations for helping professionals are provided and highlight the need for person-centred and multi-level interventions to support athletic retirement transitions. Additional longitudinal research is required to further develop understanding of the ongoing effects of athletic retirement and elite athletes’ post-sport adjustment experiences across time.
athletic retirement, athletic career transition, post-sport adjustment, qualitative, longitudinal, interpretative phenomenological analysis
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