Performing performance: young aspiring athletes' presentation of athletic identity.

Youths are in the process of figuring out answers to the question "who am I?" and young athletes are searching for athletic identity in interaction with their friends, teammates, coaches, and so on. This study explores athletes' presentations of athletic identity based on 24 interviews with ambitious young athletes attending upper secondary sport schools. Anchored in Goffman's theory of the self and the presentation of the self, as well as Markus and Nurius' concept of possible selves, the study views identity as socially constructed in interaction. Utilising this theoretical perspective alongside thematic analysis resulted in four themes that reveal characteristics that are deemed central in an athletic identity. First, the theme I am a dutiful athlete constitutes integral facets of the athletes' self-presentation as committed and diligent individuals. The interviews also bring to light variations in the athletes' attitudes and approaches towards these expectations and concepts. The remaining three themes: I must be unique, We must be unique, and I must have fun, illustrate how being a performing athlete extends beyond duties tied to training, resting, and eating. While the findings suggest the existence of certain dominant and desirable characteristics in an athletic identity, they also highlight variations in identities, emphasising negotiation and flexibility in handling the athlete role.

Elite athletes' subjective wellbeing trajectories throughout the retirement transition: an analysis using Ruthven's (2022) transition model.

AIMS: Utilizing Ruthven's (2022) transition model, we explored how identity, voluntariness, and reason for retirement are related to subjective wellbeing throughout an athlete's retirement. METHODS: 541 participants completed an anonymous, online survey and estimated their wellbeing starting before retirement and up to the present. A set of linear mixed models regressed the seven wellbeing outcomes on the three measures, with education, gender, and time since retirement as covariates. RESULTS: Identity: Athletic Identity wellbeing was significantly and consistently lower than Diversified Identity. Voluntariness: Surprise retirement was significantly more difficult and contributed to a sharper decline on the day of transition. Reason for retirement: Pursue Something Else and Right Time experienced no significant wellbeing changes, while Injury had a significant decline on their transition day. Motivation Loss experienced significantly lower wellbeing prior to retirement, and a significant, gradual rise on the day of and throughout their transition. CONCLUSIONS: There are wellbeing benefits for a diverse identity, voluntary retirement, and retiring due to pursuing something else, or feeling ready to retire. At risk groups include retiring due to injury, low motivation, and loss of eligibility/graduation. Findings support the benefit of utilizing a theoretical model to explain elite athlete outcomes.

Psychological risk factors for a first hamstring strain injury in soccer: a qualitative study.

Introduction: Hamstring strain injuries (HSIs) remain one of the most burdensome injuries in soccer. Current recommendations to prevent sports injuries suggest the importance for coaches and medical staff to consider psychological and contextual risk factors and to specify them according to the injury type and context. HSI risk factors in soccer have been widely investigated, mainly from physiological and biomechanical perspectives. However, psychological and health-related risk factors are still unexplored. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the psychological and health-related risk factors for a first HSI in male competitive soccer. Method: Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten male competitive soccer players, who had recently sustained a HSI. Based on multifactorial models of sports injury causation, soccer players' individual, contextual, and situational risk factors at the time of their first HSI were investigated. Interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis with deductive and inductive approaches. Results: Individual psychological risk factors included common at-risk personality traits, obsessive passion for soccer with competitive motivational goals, strong athletic identity, and poor health literacy. The injured players were exposed to a controlling coaching style, with a fear of negative staff evaluations, and had recently experienced life stressors. They were injured during matches or overload periods and were highly engaged in the activity. Discussion: Previously injured soccer players exhibit a lack of perspective concerning the repercussions of their actions on their health. From a preventive viewpoint, these results suggest enhancing the players' health literacy, supporting their autonomy, and moderating the controlling coaching style.

Does Ultra-Endurance Passion Make Athletes Happy?

Sport psychology research of ultra-endurance (UE) athletes focused predominantly on their psychological characteristics, traits, and behaviors. However, their happiness and passion, as well as a unified framework for UE hobby phenomenon, were not sufficiently investigated. This study aims to: (1) identify the main contributors to happiness and passion of non-professional UE athletes; and (2) explore the possible relationships between types of sport passion, motivation, and athletic identity. During data collection, 116 non-professional UE athletes (mean age 43.66 years, SD = 8.97, 16.4% female) responded to an online questionnaire. Statistical analyses revealed that obsessive UE passion (p < 0.05) and amotivation (p < 0.05) predicted lower levels of happiness. A higher level of obsessive passion was predicted by extrinsic motivation (p < 0.005), amotivation (p < 0.05), and exclusivity identity (p < 0.001); a lower level was predicted by social identity (p < 0.05) and years in sports (p < 0.05). Weekly training hours and age correlated positively with passion strength, while amotivation was strongly negatively related to training volume. These results indicate that happiness of UE athletes depends on the type of sport passion formed and the quality of the underlying motivation: obsessive passion and amotivation seem to be the main enemies of happiness for UE athletes. This novel finding connecting passion, happiness, and motivation contributes to both a better understanding of the psychology of UE athletes and has practical implications for UE athletes, coaches, athletes' social circles, and sport psychologists. Due to known maladaptive outcomes of obsessive passion, including its negative impact on overall well-being, health, and now also on happiness, its formation in UE athletes needs to be observed and prevented. While the study shows predictors of obsessive passion and high vs. low obsessive passion, future research should investigate how harmonious passion impacts athletes' happiness, motivation, and identity. Likewise, research among the UE entourage would help to better understand the social impact of UE as a serious hobby and the formation of UE lifestyles. We also suggest our Temporal Framework for Progressive UE Engagement and Passion, which was further developed based on the results of this study, to be used and validated by sport psychologists.

Athletic identity affects prevalence and disclosure of emotional abuse in Finnish athletes.

The present study offers novel insight into the topic of experienced and observed emotional abuse by researching factors that affect athletes' responses to emotional abuse by coaches. The research aimed to explore three main questions: (1) whether athletic identity was associated with the prevalence of emotionally abusive coaching practices, and (2) disclosure of emotional abuse, and (3) whether demographic variations existed in the frequency of emotional abuse, athletic identity, and disclosure of the abuse. Study participants who filled in an anonymous digital survey consisted of athletes from elite to leisure levels living in Finland (N = 3687, aged 12-80, gender 61% female, 37.7% male, 0.8% other genders). The research findings highlighted three key insights. Firstly, Pearson correlations revealed that a salient athletic identity was related to a higher prevalence of emotional abuse. Secondly, ANOVA/Kruskal-Wallis tests between-groups indicated that particularly children were susceptible to the abuse. Thirdly, a mediation analysis showed that self-identity (aspect of athletic identity) influenced the relationship between experienced emotional abuse and disclosure, by reducing disclosure. As a result, holistic identity development is recommended for athletes and particularly children in sports.

Predictors of Concussion Symptom Reporting Intention among Collegiate Athletes.

CONTEXT: Underreporting of concussion symptoms in college athletics presents a challenge for sports medicine clinicians in evaluating and diagnosing such injuries. Some athletes do not report concussion symptoms because they do not recognize that they have a brain injury, however many athletes intentionally withhold symptoms to avoid removal from sport participation. OBJECTIVE: To examine individual factors that influence college athletes' intentions to report concussion symptoms. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Collegiate athletics. PARTICIPANTS: 2,649 student-athletes from 23 sports, across 22 colleges/universities. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was intention to report concussion symptoms. Predictor variables included demographics (age, race/ethnicity, sex, sport type, number of years in sport, number of previous concussions, and perceived concussion symptom knowledge), athletic identity, attitudes toward symptom reporting, perceived social pressure (injunctive and descriptive norms), and perceived behavioral control (capacity and autonomy). RESULTS: Hierarchical ordinary least squares regression revealed positive effects of attitude (b = .063; P = .005), descriptive norms (b = .131; P < .001), injunctive norms (b = .107; P < .001), and capacity (b = .196; P < .001) on intention to report symptoms. Athletic identity and participation in collision sports had small negative indirect effects on intention, while perceived concussion knowledge had a small positive indirect effect. The full regression model explained 14.24% of the variance in concussion reporting intention. CONCLUSIONS: These findings may help clinicians develop more focused interventions that address key social and individual determinants of underreporting, including attitude, injunctive and descriptive norms, and capacity to report. Athletic identity, sport type, and perceived understanding of concussion symptoms also influence reporting intention to a lesser extent. Previous research in this area has often failed to address a diverse population of college-age athletes from different sports and NCAA divisions.

Identifying links between athletic identity and risk factors related to youth sport participation.

Introduction: The development of identity formation occurs during adolescence through experiences, ideals and principle. With greater accessibility to sports, recent trends have shown increased rates of sports specialization over the past decade in youth athletes. Athletic identity measures the strength an individual is tied to the athlete role and can be formed in conjunction to adolescent identity formation. More specialized youth athletes may have stronger ties to their athletic identity during their adolescent identity formation period. Methods: Youth basketball athletes were surveyed on specialization levels and athletic identity via the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS), including three submeasures: social identity, exclusivity, and negative affectivity. Results: Participants showed stronger identification to social identity items and the weakest identification with exclusivity items. Athletes reporting more time spent playing their primary sport presented higher scores across all measures of athletic identity, and total athletic identity was stronger in athletes reporting specialization at an earlier age. Exclusivity and negative affectivity tended to increase with specialization level which may primarily be driven by specialized athletes choosing to quit non-primary sports. Discussion: Athletic identity may be worth noting as a psychological indicator of potential risk of injury. The long-term goal of this work is to provide the research and clinical community a greater understanding of a potential psychosocial risk factor as youth athletes continue specializing and spending more time training in a singular sport.

"I'm more than my sport": Exploring the dynamic processes of identity change in athletic retirement.

Retirement is one of the most impactful career transitions athletes face. Researchers recognise the role that athletic identity plays in this, but analysis of identity content and change processes is limited. Addressing this gap, we conducted a qualitative study exploring the experience of identity change in 21 competitive and successful elite athletes who had retired from sport. All participated in a one-session psychoeducational program that explored the challenges of transitioning out of sport before being interviewed about their understanding of identity in sport, and their experiences negotiating identity loss and change in retirement. Using reflexive thematic analysis, we identified three themes: (i) the role of identity and self-categorizations in shaping sport performance, (ii) adjusting to identity loss (with subthemes indicating that this experience varied depending on the extent to which a person had multiple or exclusive identities), and (iii) attempts to remoor identity in the transition (with subthemes of searching for a new identity and actively repurposing identity). We interpret these themes through the lens of the Social Identity Model of Identity Change and show that this provides a framework for extending our understanding the complexities of identity change associated with retirement from elite sport.

Overcoming adversity during the COVID-19 pandemic: Longitudinal stability of psychosocial resource profiles of elite athletes and their association with perceived stress.

Previous research has demonstrated that psychosocial resources are associated with elite athletes' perceived stress. However, these resources have mainly been studied separately. Using a person-oriented approach, this study aimed to identify meaningful profiles of athletes' psychosocial resources, their stability over time, and their relationship with perceived stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. To identify such patterns, separate latent profile analyses (LPA) at two measurement points T1 (June 2020) and T2 (March 2021) and a subsequent latent transition analysis (LTA) were conducted with athletic identity, resilience, perceived social support, and self-esteem for a sample of 373 Swiss elite athletes. Perceived stress was analyzed at and between T1 and T2 with a mixed-design ANOVA. For LPA, theoretical considerations and statistical criteria led to a solution of four profiles: (1) Athletic Identifiers With Above-Average Resources (nT1 = 235; nT2 = 240), (2) Below-Average Athletic Identifiers With Below-Average Resources (nT1 = 84; nT2 = 90), (3) Variable Athletic Identifiers With Below-Average Internal and Clearly Below-Average External Resources (nT1 = 14; nT2 = 7), and (4) Athletic Identifiers With Below-Average Internal and Above-Average External Resources (nT1 = 40; nT2 = 36). For LTA, both structural and individual stability was demonstrated. A large and significant main effect of perceived stress was observed for resource profiles, while there was no significant main effect for measurement point nor interaction effect. Direct comparisons revealed that Athletic Identifiers With Above-Average Resources perceived significantly less stress than the other profiles at both time points. In conclusion, regardless of psychosocial resource profile, the perceived stress of elite athletes was stable during the COVID-19 pandemic, but exhibiting a pattern with high psychosocial resources seems to buffer against stress compared to a lack of specific resources. Therefore, sport federations and practitioners should provide tailored support programs to help athletes build all these resources.

The impact of religious-psychological factors on self-perceived sport performance among religious athletes in Malaysia.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which religious-psychological factors contribute to self-perceived sport performance among religious athletes. METHODS: The participants consisted of 612 athletes (310 males, 302 females) aged 12-70 years (mean age = 25.33; SD = 8.99) who were competing in sport competitions at the time, either individually or in a team, or both, and who had formally registered in local, regional, or national sport federations in Malaysia. They completed the Athletic Religious Faith Scale (ARFS) and a self-perceived sport performance questionnaire. RESULTS: The results showed that religious-psychological factors explain around 21% of the variance in self-perceived sport performance among religious athletes. Only three religious-psychological factors (i.e., religious coping, athletic identity, and religious dietary practices) contributed to the stimulation of self-perceived sport performance; in particular, religious coping was the most predictable factor, whereas the other factors (i.e., dependence on faith, flow, religious mental healing, and religious psychological effects) had no meaningful relationship with self-perceived sport performance. CONCLUSIONS: This finding suggests that sport psychologists, coaches, and other professionals should consider the importance of religious faith and help religious athletes practice positive religious coping (e.g., religious social support or religious meditation) to enhance athletes' well-being and athletic performance.

The relationship between self-concept clarity, athletic identity, athlete engagement and the mediating roles of quality of life and smartphone use in Chinese youth athletes.

Background: Youth athletes represent the future of competitive sports, so examining their commitment to sport is critical. This study investigated the impacts of self-concept clarity and athletic identity on athlete engagement among Chinese youth athletes, and the mediating roles of quality of life and smartphone use. Methods: 410 youth athletes from sports schools completed an online cross-sectional survey measuring self-concept clarity, athletic identity, quality of life, smartphone use, and athlete engagement. We used convenience sampling. Instruments included validated scales like the Self-Concept Clarity Scale. Results: The direct effect of self-concept clarity and athlete engagement in youth athletes was not significant (ß = 0.04, p = 0.344), but there was a direct effect of athletic identity and athlete engagement (ß = 0.61, p < 0.05). Quality of life mediated the relationships between self-concept clarity(indirect effect = -0.054, 95 % CI = -0.114, -0.019), athletic identity(indirect effect = 0.202, 95 % CI = 0.114, 0.349) and athlete engagement. Conclusions: This study helps address gaps in understanding athlete engagement in youth athletes. The mediation model provides insights to improve self-concept clarity, athletic identity and quality of life to motivate greater engagement in youth athletes.

Development and validation of the Ukrainian version of the Academic and Athletic Identity Scale (AAIS-UA).

The aim of this study was to translate, adapt, and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Academic and Athletic Identity Scale - Ukrainian Version (AAIS-UA). This scale comprises 11 items designed to measure academic identity and athletic identity in college students participating in sports. The translation process involved a committee approach with two proficient scholars who are native to Ukraine and skilled in both Ukrainian and English languages. The validity and reliability of the AAIS-UA were examined using two datasets with a total of 268 collegiate student-athletes in Ukraine. The results demonstrated the validity and reliability of the AAIS-UA, indicating its usefulness as a valid and reliable tool for assessing academic and athletic identity among Ukrainian-speaking adults.•Student-athletes face responsibility of being a successful student and a successful athlete, which often results in strong identities in both domains. Given the need for a reliable tool to assess academic and athletic identity in the Ukrainian language, this study focused on translating and validating the Ukrainian Version of the Academic and Athletic Identity Scale (AAIS-UA).•The Academic and Athletic Identity Scale - Ukrainian Version (AAIS-UA) consists of 11 items, with five items designed to measure academic identity and six items designed to measure athletic identity.•The AAIS-UA is a valid and reliable tool for assessing academic identity, athletic identity, or both among college students and/or athletes who are proficient in the Ukrainian language.

Identity Work in Athletes: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

The identity work process allows athletes to achieve a continuous development, revision, and maintenance of themselves. It provides insight into their self-perceptions and particularly intensifies during critical life events. While this process has been widely acknowledged, scant attention has been given to explicitly identifying the specific activities (i.e., identity work modes) involved in athletic identity work and integrating an overarching framework to inform coherent and continuous identities. Thus, we conducted a systematic review of the athletic identity literature to assess how this perspective is represented. Following the PRISMA guidelines, we reviewed 54 articles and analyzed the overall characteristics, bibliographical networks, and accumulated empirical findings. Through this process, we were able to identify the impact of having a strong athletic identity on key variables within and outside of sport. Based on the findings, we examined how identity work modes are depicted and discussed in the literature. Further discussion on how athletic identity literature can contribute to the broader body of knowledge is outlined.

Organic self-talk content categories and their relations to sport-specific contextual and personal factors.

While strategic self-talk interventions are well documented, less is known regarding organically occurring self-talk. Previously, eight organic self-talk content categories were identified, however contextual and personal factors relating to these categories is unexplored. The aim of the study was to explore the relationships between stress, coping, athletic identity, demographic and sport-related factors and the eight organic self-talk categories of anxiety control, confidence, disengagement, instruction, psych-up, somatic fatigue, worry, and irrelevant. 216 NCAA student-athletes were recruited. Regression was used to determine the relationships between the contextual and personal variables and organic self-talk. Stress, coping and self-talk categories were compared in and out-of-season. Stress was associated with all self-talk frequencies except confidence. Coping was associated with psych-up, confidence and worry. Athletic identity was associated with psych-up, confidence, instruction and disengagement. Age was associated with anxiety control and instruction. Lastly, sport type and division level were associated with disengagement and instruction self-talk respectively.

The role of achievement goals and identity in academic performance and misconduct of college athletes: Considering sport-to-school spillover.

This study examined the role of achievement goal orientations (academic mastery and performance, athletic task and ego) and identity (academic and athletic) in the academic performance and misconduct of Division I student-athletes (N = 1151). Results of the structural equation modeling showed that academic performance was predicted positively by academic performance goal and academic identity (both directly and indirectly through performance goal) and negatively by athletic identity. Academic misconduct was predicted negatively by both self-referenced goals (academic mastery and athletic task), but positively by athletic ego goal. A positive indirect relationship was found between academic identity and academic misconduct through academic mastery goal. Opposing indirect relationships were found between athletic identity and academic misconduct through task and ego goals, which canceled each other out. Taken together, findings highlight the importance of fostering strong academic identities and setting self-referenced goals in school and sport for the academic success of Division I student-athletes.

Changes in training patterns and confidence to return to sport in United States collegiate athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the training patterns, return to sport (RTS) confidence, and perceived fitness during the COVID-19 pandemic summer 2020 and to compare training patterns and RTS readiness during COVID-19 versus during the 2019 summer in a cohort of Division III collegiate athletes. METHODS: An electronic survey of varsity athletes ≥18 years at three United States Division III colleges querying athlete demographics, Modified Athletic Identity Scale (mAIMS), changes in training regimen summer 2020 vs. 2019, RTS confidence, and perceived physical fitness. RESULTS: One hundred and ninety-two surveys were completed (19% response). Total reported summer 2020 training decreased by 4 hours/week, with increased aerobic (56% vs. 53%, p = 0.03) and decreased sport-specific training (48% vs 70%, p < 0.001). Median RTS confidence score for formal training and competition was 3 ('neither more or less confident') in men's versus 2 ('less confident') in women's athletes. Median fitness self-assessment for men's athletes was 3 ('neither more nor less physically fit') compared to previous season versus median score of 2 ('less physically fit) among women's athletes (p = 0.004). For each mAIMS unit, training increased by 11 minutes/week (95% CI: 2-19 minutes; p = 0.01) and sport-specific training increased by 1.3% (95% CI: 0.5-2.2%; p = 0.003), controlling for age, sport, grade, and school. mAIMS was not associated with confidence or fitness rating. CONCLUSION: Collegiate athletes decreased overall training hours, particularly sport-specific training time during the COVID-19 summer compared to the prior summer. Athletic identity was related to overall and sport-specific training hours but not confidence to RTS or fitness.

Differences in athletic identity, sport participation, and psychosocial factors following anterior cruciate ligament rehabilitation in youth athletes.

Introduction: While youth sports benefits the developing athlete, athletes may also be subject to injury and subsequent return-to-sport protocols. The current return-to-sport criteria emphasize physical measures; however, psychological measures may also be valuable to inform providers of an athlete's readiness. One such measure is athletic identity defined as the degree to which an individual identifies with the athlete role. To better understand athletic identity in return-to-sport, this study aimed to identify relationships and trends between the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS), demographic variables, sport participation measures, and the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28 (ACSI-28) in youth athletes during rehabilitation following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). Methods: A retrospective review was completed of patients who underwent ACLR at a sports medicine clinic between October 2019 and May 2021. Patients responded to a series of patient reported outcomes (PROs) regarding physical and psychological function at a pre-surgical baseline and after 1 year of rehabilitation. Patients were then divided into groups of high/low AIMS and an increased/decreased AIMS between 1 year and baseline for comparison. Independent samples t-tests and ANOVAs were performed as appropriate with a 95% confidence interval. Results: In the final sample, 87 patients (15.3 ± 1.8 years) were included, with 51.7% being females. Total AIMS scores decreased from 50.3 to 47.5 over rehabilitation (p = 0.019). Furthermore, results indicated that nearly all AIMS scores decreased during rehabilitation, with none showing an increase; however, not all domains were significant. Conversely, all sport participation and coping ability PROs increased over time points except for ACSI-Confidence and Achievement Motivation. Generally, those in the groups with high AIMS and an increase in AIMS also had higher scores in physical function and coping ability PROs, with the groups separated by high/low AIMS exhibiting more frequent statistical significance. Discussion: Given these results, it appears that athletes may lose identification with the athlete role after ACLR and struggle even 1 year for rehabilitation, but those who recover athletic identity the best may also be those able to cope most effectively with the stressors induced by injury.

Athlete Identity and Mental Health of Student Athletes during COVID-19.

The purpose of our study is to evaluate athletic identity (AI) and mental health measures of youth and young adult athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional study recruited athletes aged 11-25 years from universities, high schools, and middle schools in California and New York. Participants were emailed a link to an anonymous, cross-sectional electronic survey. The measure included the athletic identity measurement scale (AIMS), the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4), and demographic variables. Chi-square, Fisher's Exact Test, and linear regression were used to examine the relationships between AI, symptoms of anxiety, and symptoms of depression by age, gender, and race. The survey was completed by 653 participants. AI was stratified by tertiary percentiles. The odds of positively scoring for symptoms of anxiety were 60% higher for participants in college compared with high school (OR: 1.60, 95% CI: [1.09, 2.35]). Conversely, the odds of scoring positively for symptoms of depression were 68% higher for participants in high school compared to college (OR: 1.68, 95% CI: [1.09, 2.59]). The odds of scoring positively for symptoms of depression were higher for athletes who scored as high AI, compared to those who scored as moderate (OR: 1.72, 95% CI: [1.11, 2.68]) or low (OR: 1.93, 95% CI: [1.20, 3.12]). The odds of scoring positively for symptoms of anxiety on the PHQ-4 were 3.2 times higher for participants who identified as female (OR: 3.19, 95% CI: [2.31, 4.41]), and the odds of scoring positively for symptoms of depression were 2.4 times higher for participants who identified as female (OR: 2.35, 95% CI: [1.56, 3.54]). Female athletes experienced symptoms of depression and anxiety at significantly higher rates than male athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic. High school students experienced fewer symptoms of anxiety, but greater symptoms of depression as compared to the collegiate group, while college students experienced greater odds of symptoms of anxiety. Athletes in the high AI group were more likely to report symptoms of depression than moderate or low identity groups. Female athletes reported lower AI than male athletes, but still had greater symptoms of anxiety and depression.

"From everything to nothing in a split second": Elite youth players' experiences of release from professional football academies.

Previous research has assessed the affects release from football academies has on psychological distress and athletic identity of players. However, there has been no qualitative research exploring players' experiences of the release process. This study retrospectively explored players' lived experiences of being released from a professional football academy, having completed a scholarship (from ages 16-18). Four male football players (age 21.6 ± 1.5 years) who had experienced release from professional academies participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Four super-ordinate themes were interpreted from the data: Foreshadowing release-"left out in the cold", The process of release, Support during the process of release and New beginnings-"there's a bigger world than just playing football every day". Players reported that their contract meeting was a traumatic experience, and they experienced psychological difficulties in the longer-term following release. Factors that compounded the players' release were: a lack of aftercare being provided by the players' professional clubs for their wellbeing, and a disuse of social support, which hindered their transition out of full-time football. Context relevant recommendations are made to help improve the release process for elite youth football players.

Athletic Identity and Shoulder Overuse Injury in Competitive Adolescent Tennis Players: The Smash Cohort Study.

Objectives: Our primary aim was to determine if athletic identity is prospectively associated with shoulder overuse injuries. Secondly, we aimed to determine if athletic identity is prospectively associated with playing through pain and to describe how athletic identity relates to sex, age, playing level, weekly training load, and match volume. Methods: A cohort of 269 adolescent tennis players were followed over a period of 52 weeks. Cox regression was used to estimate the hazard rate ratio (HRR) of first-time shoulder overuse injury associated with every 10-unit increase on the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS). Results: The adjusted HRR of shoulder overuse injury was 0.89 (95% CI: 0.36-2.20) and the odds ratio of playing through pain was 2.41 (95% CI: 0.74-8.96) for every 10 unit increase on AIMS. The level of athletic identity was higher among players at the national level than among players at the regional level and was weakly correlated to weekly hours of tennis matches, tennis training, and fitness training. Conclusions: Our results indicate that higher levels of athletic identity may be associated with a lower incidence of shoulder overuse injuries, and potentially with playing through pain, although these results are inconclusive due to wide confidence intervals.