9 - Sport Transitions and

Retirement
Have you experienced transition in
sport?

Would you consider your transition

adaptive or maladaptive?
 Thomas Hall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kojjhXUdLLk
 Thomas Hall’s Experience
• Age 17-30: Routine, structure, rigidity, discipline, personal
sacrifice, life simplicity.
• Spring 2012: Olympic Trials. Realized it was time… Believed he
was ready.
• 2012-2013: Floating through life. Eating. Drinking. Not sleeping.
• Fall 2013: Masters in Journalism. Longing for structure,
purpose, and goals. Depressed. Anxious. Jealousy. Self-
medicating. Relationship ended.
• Summer 2015: “Celebrating the marriage of two friends., I
finally broke(…) I craved an identity.” Beginning of new
perspective.
• Now: Happiness through multiple things that excite him; has
multiple goals.
I hadn’t prepared for life after paddling. I couldn’t. Not
only would it mean envisioning a time when I wasn’t able
to compete with the world’s most elite – an admission of
fallibility I didn’t want to think about while competing – it
would also mean confronting a scenario where I wasn’t
part of an international group of friends who were living a
dream.

“Live your dream”, I used to tell kids at schools I would

visit when I was an Olympian (…) I see now that my
problem was that I had lived my dream at twenty-six and I
had never considered what I’d live for next.
 Developmental Model of Sport Participation
(Côté & Fraser-Thomas, 2015)

RECREATION, ELITE, ELITE,

HEALTH, HEALTH, D INURY,
PSYCHOSOCIAL PSYCHOSOCIAL LESS ENJOYMENT
-
r
18
INVESTMENT YEARS o
17 RECREATIONAL 1 sport, ↑ practice ↓ play p
YEARS parents: followers, supporters o EARLY
16 coaches: reciprocal communication
moderate # sports u SPECIALIZATION
15 ↑play ↓practice t &
SPECIALIZING YEARS
14
2-3 sports INVESTMENT
13 moderate play moderate practice
parents & coaches: changing roles
12

11 SAMPLING YEARS
↑ # sports
10 1 sport
↑deliberate play ↓deliberate practice
↓play ↑practice
9 parents: initiate participation
parents & coaches:
coaches: caring teachers
8 changing roles

6
ENTRY INTO SPORT
Age (Years) 6
 Long Term Athlete Development Model

http://sportforlife.ca/qualitysport/long-term-athlete-development/
Holistic Athlete Career Model (Wylleman et
al., 2011)
 Other Athletes’ Experiences - Identity
• Kelly Holmes (Olympic Track) and Helen Glover
(Olympic Rower)
– http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09l039m
• Stephanie Rice (Olympic Swimmer) & Others
– http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-01/former-athl
etes-on-depression-joblessness-after-elite-sport/8482
282
• Stephen Peat
– http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/pe
at-former-nhler-struggles-1.4524877
– http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/ste
 Krista Guloien – Silver, Rowing, 2012

It is humbling to go from being an expert in the

field where I had achieved accolades and
triumphs, to being a newbie in every other arena,
and hence from hero to zero. (p. 63)

When people asked me what I was going to do

next, it felt as though they were pressuring me for
an answer, but the pressure was actually coming
from inside myself (p. 61)
Other Athletes’ Experiences – Adaptive?
• Daniel & Henrik Sedin
– http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/sedin-twins-announce-retireme
nt-1.4602177

• Jordin Tootoo
– https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/inuk-nhl-player-jordin-tootoo-o
n-life-after-going-all-the-way-1.5025515

• Tessa & Scott

– http://www.flare.com/tv-movies/tessa-and-scott-dating/
Quality of Transition out of Elite Sport
(Kuettel et al, 2017)
What about non-elite athletes?
 Developmental Model of Sport Participation
(Côté & Fraser-Thomas, 2015)

RECREATION, ELITE, ELITE,

HEALTH, HEALTH, D INURY,
PSYCHOSOCIAL PSYCHOSOCIAL LESS ENJOYMENT
-
r
18
INVESTMENT YEARS o
17 RECREATIONAL 1 sport, ↑ practice ↓ play p
YEARS parents: followers, supporters o EARLY
16 coaches: reciprocal communication
moderate # sports u SPECIALIZATION
15 ↑play ↓practice t &
SPECIALIZING YEARS
14
2-3 sports INVESTMENT
13 moderate play moderate practice
parents & coaches: changing roles
12

11 SAMPLING YEARS
↑ # sports
10 1 sport
↑deliberate play ↓deliberate practice
↓play ↑practice
9 parents: initiate participation
parents & coaches:
coaches: caring teachers
8 changing roles

6
ENTRY INTO SPORT
Age (Years) 16
 Long Term Athlete Development Model

http://sportforlife.ca/qualitysport/long-term-athlete-development/
Holistic Athlete Career Model (Wylleman et
al., 2011)
 Sport Participation
(Statistics Canada, 2010)
 Purpose
To explore the the role of community sports clubs in
facilitating sport participation throughout the youth
to adult transition among non-elite athletes.

21
 Community Sport Clubs

• Valued partner in the provision of sport

programming
• Provide a pathway for continued participation
in organized sport

222011).
(Collins & Buller, 2000; De Knop et al., 1995; Eime & Payne, 2009; Lim et al.,
 Method
• Case Study (Yin, 2009)
• Offers an in depth understanding of a real life context
• Addresses “how” and “why” questions
• Context: Rugby Union (Participation rates, Canada)

• Participants
• 8 rugby players (3 female, 5 male) aged 21-30
• Successfully transitioned from youth to adult participation

• Data collection
• In depth semi-structured interviews

23
 1. Drawing Young People to Community Club

1. School coaches and peers as community club

promoters.
2. Welcoming community club environment
3. Club’s provision of a competitive sport environment

She [school coach] encouraged all the players to come and play
on her team for the summer to work on our skills because we
had a limited time to learn a new sport. I just followed that [high
school] coach, which is sort of funny because two years later or
even the next year, [another coach] coached us and I followed
24
her again and went to her club team.
 2. Building Club Loyalty, Sport
Commitment, and Identity

1. Club atmosphere and philosophy: Competitive-

social balance
2. Strong teammate connections
3. Adult-youth mentorship

I remember that fist game – playing at the men’s level

and just the physicality. It’s kind of nerve wracking…
having your team mates and coaches all there sort of
guiding you along the way,, that really helps.
25
 3. Opportunities for Continued Sport
Involvement in Adulthood
1. Gradual athlete introduction into adult sport.
2. Opportunities for fitness and health, in conjunction with
competitive sport
3. Flexibility of programming
4. Transitioning into leadership roles

I do think the great part about rugby is … You have seconds and
thirds (lower level) teams. I think that is so important because you
have guys with kids with crazy jobs and they come out on
Saturdays and play rugby and have a great time and it’s not a super
high level but but they have lowest but they have a bit of fun.

26
 3. Building Commitment
Athlete describing identity as rugby player:
I love the sport. It gives me a thrill. I just can’t get
enough of it. During the off season, I am like, who
am I if I am not a rugby player? So I identify that I
am that person and it’s important for how I see
myself and how I feel about myself.

27
 Developmental Model of Sport Participation
(Côté & Fraser-Thomas, 2015)

RECREATION, ELITE, ELITE,

HEALTH, HEALTH, D INURY,
PSYCHOSOCIAL PSYCHOSOCIAL LESS ENJOYMENT
-
r
18
INVESTMENT YEARS o
17 RECREATIONAL 1 sport, ↑ practice ↓ play p
YEARS parents: followers, supporters o EARLY
16 coaches: reciprocal communication
moderate # sports u SPECIALIZATION
15 ↑play ↓practice t &
SPECIALIZING YEARS
14
2-3 sports INVESTMENT
13 moderate play moderate practice
parents & coaches: changing roles
12

11 SAMPLING YEARS
↑ # sports
10 1 sport
↑deliberate play ↓deliberate practice
↓play ↑practice
9 parents: initiate participation
parents & coaches:
coaches: caring teachers
8 changing roles

6
ENTRY INTO SPORT
Age (Years) 29
 Long Term Athlete Development Model

http://sportforlife.ca/qualitysport/long-term-athlete-development/
Holistic Athlete Career Model (Wylleman et
al., 2011)
 Krista Guloien – Silver,
Rowing, 2012

Normalizing Transition
• People all experience transition, whether it’s
leaving a job to start a new one, taking a job
out of school, or divorcing after having been
married for seventeen years and starting
anew. We are all traying to find our way in the
big world; transition is a human condition.
 Tips for Transition, Krista
Guloien

Slowing Down. What is the Hurry?

When I was training, the term “on time” was specific
and strict. For us, being on time meant being five to ten
minutes (sometimes even more) early and ready to go
with 100% focus (…) For 12 years I trained with
consistent routines, goals and timelines. I thrived in this
environment. Following schedule and a regimen comfort
me, even if I whine and complain when I feel limited by
their confines. (Once I retired, it was not as east to
manufacture a schedule because the motivation to keep
it up isn’t there… Not there like it was at least. (p. 97-98)
 Tips for Transition,
Krista Guloien

One Priority or Many

In rowing , we all had one priority, or at least a
well defined top priority – gold. Everything we did
all day every day was for an Olympic medal.
Anything else we chose to have in our lives
outside rowing was second to rowing. Leading up
to the games, anyone close to us would vouch
that it was all about the medal., different from in
the real world, where people balance priorities,
sometimes multiple priorities. (p.99)
Tips for Transition, Krista
Guloien

What Can Top the Olympics?

There is nothing that can replace the intensity
and spirit of the Olympics. That is what makes it
so special. It is the intensity that I miss the most:
That passion and drive for an end goal; a mental
and physical state that is impossible to maintain.
(p. 99)
 Tips for Transition, Krista
Guloien

Relationships / Communication
I am constantly and pleasantly surprised by how much
we can learn from each other if we open up and share
our authentic selves. Through this sharing I have
learned that I don’t have to share the strong athlete
self whom I worked so hard to train and develop. My
true, vulnerable, and authentic self is much more
effective at communicating and I learn and give a lot
more when I share that part of myself with others. (p.
108)