2 research outputs found
What doesn't kill me...: adversity-related experiences are vital in the development of superior Olympic performance
Objectives: Recent research suggests that experiencing some adversity can have beneficial outcomes for
human growth and development. The purpose of this paper was to explore the adversities that the
world’s best athletes encounter and the perceived role that these experiences play in their psychological
and performance development.
Design: A qualitative design was employed because detailed information of rich quality was required to
better understand adversity-related experiences in the world’s best athletes.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 Olympic gold medalists from a variety of
sports. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.
Results: The findings indicate that the participants encountered a range of sport- and non-sport adversities
that they considered were essential for winning their gold medals, including repeated non-selection, significant
sporting failure, serious injury, political unrest, and the death of a family member. The participants
described the role that these experiences played in their psychological and performance development,
specifically focusing on their resultant trauma, motivation, and learning.
Conclusions: Adversity-related experiences were deemed to be vital in the psychological and performance
development of Olympic champions. In the future, researchers should conduct more in-depth comparative
studies of Olympic athletes’ adversity- and growth-related experiences, and draw on existing and
alternative theoretical explanations of the growth–performance relationship. For professional practitioners,
adversity-related experiences offer potential developmental opportunities if they are carefully and
purposely harnessed
A British university case study of the transitional experiences of student-athletes
OBJECTIVES. Within Great Britain, increasing numbers of elite sport performers are attending higher education institutions. The current study presents an exploration of the transitional experiences of these individuals at a specific British university. Wylleman and Lavallee's (2004) developmental model on transitions faced by athletes and Stambulova's (1997, 2003) athletic career transition model were used to provide the theoretical foundation of inquiry.
DESIGN AND METHOD. An instrumental case study design was adopted to provide an in-depth analysis of student-athletes’ experiences at a university. The case university was selected based on its provision of elite sport support services. To acquire a holistic understanding, interviews were conducted with current and recently graduated student-athletes from the university, and focus groups were run with university staff (viz. administrators, coaches, and support staff). Qualitative data were analyzed using a thematic framework approach.
RESULTS. Elite student-athletes at the British university were found to experience simultaneous athletic, academic, psychological, and psychosocial transitions. To overcome the transitional demands, student-athletes were found to draw on a variety of internal (e.g., self-awareness) and external (e.g., academic flexibility) resources and to implement coping strategies (e.g., seeking social support). Potential barriers to successful transitions were also identified (e.g., parental overprotection). CONCLUSIONS.
These findings advance the limited existing literature on British university student-athletes’ transitional experiences and suggestions are provided for how other universities can enhance provision for their elite student-athletes