Study into the factors contributing to the continued development of talented and elite youth athletes into elite senior level using a developmental and holistic perspective

Pursuing the top in an athletic career is a long and complex developmental process during which athletes face transition both in their sport and other spheres of life The Holistic Athletic Career ( model reflects athletes’ transitions from a holistic perspective, including athletes’ development at athletic, psychological, psychosocial, academic/vocational, financial, and legal level The transition in sport from being a junior elite athlete to become a senior elite athlete was suggested to be the most crucial transition for athletes who want to continue onto senior elite level, simultaneously confronting athletes with transitions at different developmental levels A preliminary analysis of dropout indicated that only 22 of Flemish junior athletes selected as promising athlete between 2009 and 2013 successfully made the junior senior transition in a period from 2009 2020 However, an overarching systematic holistic understanding of the junior senior transition is still lacking Therefore, the general aim of this PhD study was to explore elite athletes’ junior senior transition from a holistic perspective A mixed methods exploratory sequential design was used Within this design, the junior senior transition was holistically explored in a first, qualitative phase The results of this phase were used to develop a survey, which was used in a second, quantitative phase to generalize the findings of the first phase, to identify the underlying constructs of the measured variables, and to identify the contributing factors to elite athletes’ perceived degree of adjustment to senior athletic level This PhD contributed to a deeper understanding of the junior senior transition by systematically
investigating athletes’ development throughout this transition The findings provide both qualitative and quantitative evidence for the use of a holistic perspective and support the usefulness of the HAC model when considering the junior senior transition Moreover,psychological competencies were highlighted as an important resource to cope with the transition This study provides applied recommendations to assist athletes before, during, and after the junior senior transition Examples are creating awareness regarding the junior senior transition among athletes and all stakeholders involved, providing holistic s upport, empowering
athletes, and educate support providers.