Athletes’ motivation to (dis-)engage in elite sport: An investigation into the push and pull factors in the holistic career development of elite Flemish athletes

Athletes' motivation to (dis-)engage in elite sport: An investigation into the push and pull factors in the holistic career development of elite Flemish athletes

A.Reints a,, P.Wylleman a,b
a Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, b Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium

Introduction: By saying "Although I developed a major depression several times during my athletic career, I do not regret my life as an elite athlete" (Flemish former mountain biker, 2010), it becomes clear that elite sport has a major impact on athletes' lives, whether it be a (very) positive or a (very) negative one. In order to enter the perfection stage, i.e. perform at the highest level of international competition, talented young athletes are required to sacrifice increasing amounts of time and energy (2). To understand what motivates athletes to engage in elite sport, this study examines the four factor (anti-)push (anti-)pull model (1) within the athletic and non-athletic career development of elite athletes (4). Related to sport, push factors are defined as negative considerations within the sport context, pull factors as positive factors outside of sport, anti-push factors as attachment factors, and anti-pull factors as costs and risk factors perceived in the future.

Methods: Theory-based Sampling (3) was used in current study, involving the selection of participants on the basis of their potential representation of important theoretical construct, i.e. entering and ending the elite athletic career. Using face to face interviews, nine former Flemish elite athletes participated in a semi-structured interview. A combination of inductive and deductive research methods was used.

Results: Results revealed 31 push compared to 6 pull factors when entering the perfection stage. Also, when making this within-transition, 56 anti-push (e.g., readiness, pride) and zero anti-pull factors were reported. However, when entering the discontinuation stage, 45 push factors (e.g., injuries) and 25 pull factors (e.g., career awareness) were mentioned. Participants were confronted with 14 anti-push (e.g. financially attractive) and 8 anti-pull factors (e.g., vocational delay).

Conclusions: It can be concluded that while the number of negative factors associated with an athletic career increases overtime, the number of positive considerations decreases. This study moves beyond the pragmatic goal of predicting the timing of retirement to a stronger understanding of the decision process when entering and ending athletic careers, enabling practitioners to design more individualized and targeted strategies - examples of which will be given during the presentation.

References
1. Fernandez, A., Stephan, Y., and E. Fouquereau, Assessing reasons for sports career termination: Development of the athletes' retirement decision inventory (ARDI). Psychology of Sport and Exercise 7: 407-421., 2006
2. Hughes, R., and J. Coackley, (1991). Positive deviance among athletes: The implications of over conformity to the sport ethic. Sociology of Sport Journal 8: 307-325.,1991
3. Patton, M. Qualitative research and evaluation methods. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications., 2002.
4. Wylleman, P., and D. Lavallee. A developmental perspective on transitions faced by athletes. In M. Weiss (Eds.), Developmental sport and exercise psychology: A lifespan perspective: 507-527. Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology., 2004.