Lost, Finding, Found: A Qualitative Study on The Career Journey and Narratives of Former Division I College Football Players
Open AccessOne event in the life cycle of an elite athlete that has historical evidence for being a tremendous life stressor for all high-performance athletes and elicit mental health issues is athletic retirement (Grove, Lavallee, & Gordon 1997; Hammond et al. 2013; Douglas & Carless, 2015). While the challenges athletic retirement presents may vary, mental health and career issues related to feelings of loss and adjustment have been found to be prominent difficulties for former athletes (Clemmet et al.,, 2010; Hatamleh, 2013; Lavallee et al., 1997; Stephan, 2003; Werthner & Orlick, 1986). To date, the literature has primarily focused on (a) understanding the consequences of athletic retirement, (b) symptomatology of athletes’ psychological distress, (c) the types of transition quality, (d) predictors of adjustment difficulties, (e) presence of loss, and (f) the positive effects of career planning interventions (Park et al., 2013). Understanding and exploring retiring athletes’ experiences with grief and loss is a budding topic. The current study utilized a narrative paradigm, grief and loss lens, and basic qualitative methodological design to examine the athletic career reconstruction experiences of former Division I football players from revenue-generating football programs. Five participants participated in one individual semi-structured interview of approximately 90 minutes. Findings across participant narratives indicated a) a gradual stage progress of navigating their post-football careers; b) experiences with various types of grief and loss; c) emotional and psychological struggles due to grief and loss from athletic career retirement; d) and career reconstruction narratives organized as severed, separate, or integrated. The discussion considers the findings and themes emanating from across participant narratives in context with current athletic career retirement, grief and loss, and career construction literature. Implications broadly for the counseling profession, counselor education, coaches, and governing sport bodies are explored. Future directions for research and limitations of the study are noted.
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