TY - JOUR

T1 - Tales from the future

T2 - A narrative investigation of the imagined career paths in young athletes

AU - Mortensen, Janne Reffstrup

AU - Henriksen, Kristoffer

AU - Stelter, Reinhard

N1 - CURIS 2013 NEXS 334

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - Athletes’ paths to international sporting success are unique but always include a number of transitions within sport as well as outside of it, which hold the potential for crisis or growth. Particularly the transition from talented junior to the elite senior athlete plays a critical role in the overall athletic career. The present study is a qualitative inquiry using semi-structured interviews as data. We asked eight young and very talented athletes to imagine they were at the end of a successful career in their chosen sport and invited them to describe how they got there. The qualitative interview strategy was narrative in its attempt to elicit how the young athletes made meaning of their endeavors through narratives and biographical in its attempt to ask the athletes to describe their future career paths. We analyzed the interviews as single case studies, subjected them to meaning condensation and then constructed the final narratives. Common features of the tales pertain to the fact that these athletes are still young and have yet to grasp the reality of what they are embarking on, which is clear from the simplicity and lightness that is portrayed in their perspectives. The athletes give little emphasis to the challenges and need of social support inherent in an athletic career. On the one hand, the poor preparation of the athletes for the time to come is worrying. On the other hand, the unworried lightness and optimism of the athletes’ stories could also be seen as a strength.

AB - Athletes’ paths to international sporting success are unique but always include a number of transitions within sport as well as outside of it, which hold the potential for crisis or growth. Particularly the transition from talented junior to the elite senior athlete plays a critical role in the overall athletic career. The present study is a qualitative inquiry using semi-structured interviews as data. We asked eight young and very talented athletes to imagine they were at the end of a successful career in their chosen sport and invited them to describe how they got there. The qualitative interview strategy was narrative in its attempt to elicit how the young athletes made meaning of their endeavors through narratives and biographical in its attempt to ask the athletes to describe their future career paths. We analyzed the interviews as single case studies, subjected them to meaning condensation and then constructed the final narratives. Common features of the tales pertain to the fact that these athletes are still young and have yet to grasp the reality of what they are embarking on, which is clear from the simplicity and lightness that is portrayed in their perspectives. The athletes give little emphasis to the challenges and need of social support inherent in an athletic career. On the one hand, the poor preparation of the athletes for the time to come is worrying. On the other hand, the unworried lightness and optimism of the athletes’ stories could also be seen as a strength.

U2 - 10.2478/ssr-2013-0015

DO - 10.2478/ssr-2013-0015

M3 - Journal article

VL - 22

SP - 305

EP - 327

JO - Sport Science Review

JF - Sport Science Review

SN - 2066-8732

IS - 5-6

ER -