High performance school-age athletes: A study of athletes’ views on conflicting demand

Currently in Australia there are an increasing number of high performance sport competitors who are still at school. For example, 72% selected in the AIS 2009 high performance sport programs were school-aged (ASC, 2009, p.15). The research question focusses from the needs and problems of school-age athletes and the characteristics of successful schooling models that best meet the needs of these young people. This Meta-analysis of 19 athletes was based on a broader study that used a cross sectional design of qualitative techniques, in a interpretivist paradigm. Using in-depth interviews of current (9) and past (10) school-age athletes and using NVivo™ to analyse the data established: (i) Athletes identified specific physical issues of tiredness, nutritional awareness and social issues of procrastination; (ii) Gender specific issues that only female athletes spoke of; and (iii) Athletes in different school types spoke of the impact, who can help them and the support they need in their dual life. Schools, parents and coaches need to be aware of these three findings in order to help these young people cope with their dual endeavours.Supporting data: <a href="https://doi.org/10.5064/F6ZP448B">https://doi.org/10.5064/F6ZP448B