Role transitions of elite Australian rules footballers

Research on the retirement experiences of elite athletes supports the claim that the transition out of sport can have serious psychological sequelae. Further research is needed to explore the effects of retirement more deeply. This thesis employed a grounded theory approach to examine the role transitions of 48 elite Australian Rules Football Players. All footballers had played senior football for one of the 15 AFL clubs. Using in-depth interviews 18 players who had voluntarily retired, 15 players who had retired due to injury, and 15 players who had been deselected were interviewed. The study, through these in-depth interviews, examined nine propositions which were identified as significant in the review of literature