The experience of withdrawing from professional sport

A case study approach was used to generate a description and an understanding of the experience of withdrawal from a career in professional sport. The informants were ten males who had withdrawn from their careers during the years from 1976 to 1987 inclusive. The informants were selected from team and individual sports, involving four key informants from each of hockey and thoroughbred horse racing, plus one subsidiary informant from each of football and racquetball. Narratives rich in description were derived from personal interviews and were validated by the respective informants. These narratives were synthesized into a general story of voluntary withdrawal from sport which reflects both common experience and turning points for varying plots. This general story was validated by the informants as well as an expert authority who has been professionally involved in sport for some thirty-six years. Withdrawal from sport was a process which frequently began soon after the athletes became engaged in the career. When confronted with a variety of catalytic events which reminded them that the career was short-term, they addressed the potential for withdrawal in varying fashion and typically re-immersed themselves in the career. The potential eventually became more immediate, more urgent but frequently arose in the context of an enlarged perspective on the self and the profession. Thus, they were confronted with both internal and external pressures for change. As they began to assess their prospects for life after sport, they often became concerned about perceived limitations. They experienced a period of great confusion and indecision which was the most difficult and trying component of the story. In the middle of the story, the athletes frequently sought direction in their careers, scrutinized the profession more carefully, and uncharacteristically reached out to others for ideas and support. Eventually, a culmination point arose, resulting in a decision to withdraw. The athletes were typically relieved by this decision because they were weary of their confusion and often were weary of the physical and emotional demands of the career. A variety of new career opportunities were available to them. Some were planned and some were unexpected. Chance encounters played an important part in the process of leaving sport. The story ended with the establishment and acceptance of a post-sport career and lifestyle. In reflecting on the decision to withdraw, the athletes were typically glad that they quit when they did, even though they were reluctant to do so at the time. Their withdrawal allowed them to preserve health, self-respect, and the regard of others. It also allowed them to develop other competencies and to express a more nurturant dimension of themselves as their interests had turned toward their emerging family lives. Most have found the transition to a new career and lifestyle relatively easy, frequently accepting a more modest lifestyle than they had experienced as professional athletes and usually finding some means to continue their participation in sport in a recreational or leadership capacity. The study includes several theoretical implications which reinforce the importance of contextual considerations, the significance of chance encounters, and the changing personal meaning of work in life paths. The study supports criticisms of the traditional expectations that a career should follow a rising trajectory, as well as criticisms of the application to this topic of theoretical perspectives borrowed from social gerontology and thanatology. Furthermore, the study finds no evidence to support the contention that this experience is extraordinary and traumatic. Rather, the experience seems to be characteristic of transitions in general. The study supports and offers extensions to Schlossberg's (1984) model of transitions. The practical implications of the study include the utility of the general story as a model, knowledge base, and alternative perspective for individuals experiencing similar transitions and their helping practitioners. Recommendations for interventions include the use of Schlossberg's content-process model as a framework to assist individuals through a transitional experience such as leaving professional sport.Education, Faculty ofEducational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department ofGraduat