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Cited by 25Sport Psychology and PerformancePhysical Education and Sports StudiesCoaching Methods and Impact

Are Career Termination Concerns Only for Athletes? A Case Study of the Career Termination of an Elite Female Coach

Open access
Kenttä, Göran, Mellalieu, Stephen, Roberts, Claire-Marie·2016·The Sport Psychologist
DOI 10.1123/tsp.2015-0134
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Abstract

This paper presents a case study of an elite female coach and her career termination from a 20+ year career following a critical life incident. A novel autobiographical approach was adopted whereby the participant undertook expressive writing to describe her experiences before, during, and following coaching an athlete at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Thematic analysis indicated seven phases related to the participant’s experiences of the critical incident: Build up to the event, the event, the aftermath, recovery and reflection on the event, sampling of new avenues, enlightenment, and career rebirth. The findings reinforce the high demands placed upon elite coaches, the subsequent threats to physical and mental well-being, and the importance of having robust psychological skills and suitable social support to cope with these demands. Implications for preparing and supporting coaches for successful career transition are discussed.

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Crossref · 10.1123/tsp.2015-0134

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43 of 43 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Seven of the wellbeing studies investigated wellbeing using semi-structured interviews.

    “Seven of these studies investigated wellbeing using semi-structured interviews [10, 13, 24, 83–86].”

    From The Mental Health of Elite-Level Coaches: A Systematic Scoping Review (2024) · cites this paper as [86]

    The Data Collection section says this study’s primary method was expressive writing: the coach described her experiences in letters, not semi-structured interviews. The paper notes additional informal communications, but does not describe them as semi-structured interviews. Thus this cited study does not fit the stated group of seven. (LLM, conf=0.89)

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  • Job dismissals lead to emotional distress and negative affective states.

    “with job dismissals leading to emotional distress and negative affective states [24, 86].”

    From The Mental Health of Elite-Level Coaches: A Systematic Scoping Review (2024) · cites this paper as [86]

    “The aftermath of the event” reports emotional distress, anxiety, and sadness following the coach’s Olympic experience. It does not describe a job dismissal: “Recovery and reflection on the event” says she concluded that she was finished in the sport, and her account says she saw out her contract. The source therefore supports the emotional-distress portion, but not the attribution of that distress to dismissal. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 6

  1. Feagin, J., Orum, A., & Sjoberg, G. (Eds.). (1991). A case for case study. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.
  2. Milton, QLD: John Wiley & Sons Australia.
  3. Gordon, S., & Lavallee, D. (2011). Career transitions. In T. Morris & P. Terry (Eds.), The new sport and exercise psychology companion (pp. 567-581). Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology.
  4. Merle Sorrel, J. (1994). Writing as inquiry in qualitative research in elaborating the web of meaning. In P. Chinn (Ed.), Advances in methods of inquiry for nursing (pp. 1-11). Aspen: Maryland.
  5. Raedeke, T.D., & Kenttä, G. (2013). Coach burnout. In: P. Potrac., W. Gilbert., & J. Denison (Eds.), Routledge handbook of sports coaching (pp. 424-435). London, England: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
  6. Ryba, T. V., & Stambulova, N. B. (2013). The turn rowards to a culturally informed career research and assistance in sport psychology. In N. B. Stambulova & T. V. Ryba (Eds.), Athletes' careers across cultures (pp. 1-16). London: Routledge.

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Authors
Kenttä, G., Mellalieu, S., & Roberts, C.-M.
Affiliations
  • Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (SE)
  • Cardiff Metropolitan University (GB)
  • University of Worcester (GB)
Corresponding author
Roberts, Claire-Marie
ORCID
Venue
The Sport Psychologist
Publisher
Human Kinetics
Published
2016-12
Volume
30
Issue
4
Pages
314-326
ISSN
  • 0888-4781 (ISSN-L)
  • 1543-2793
DOI
10.1123/tsp.2015-0134
OpenAlex
W2471940318
Cited by
25
References
43
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 3 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2
FWCI
2.34
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The Sport Psychologist (publishedVersion)
  • Worcester Research and Publications (University of Worcester) (acceptedVersion)
  • Diva portal (Dalarna University Library) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • UWE Research Repository (UWE Bristol) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Cardiff Metropolitan Research Repository (Cardiff Metropolitan University) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Sport Psychology and Performance
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Physical Education and Sports Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Coaching Methods and Impact
Keywords
career termination, career change, critical incidents, coach well-being, psychological skills, social support, autobiographical writing

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