Successful Transitions to the Olympic Training Center, Colorado Springs: A Mixed-Method Exploration with Six Resident-Athletes

Abstract

Researchers examine athletic career transition in a quest to optimize performance achievements and the well-being of athletes (Alfermann & Stambulova, 2007). This exploratory study examined the internal and external resources that contributed to a successful transition to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs (CSOTC). Six athletes (four males and two females; M age = 23.5 when entering CSOTC) participated in individual interviews (dominant feature of the mixed-method design) and responded to a battery of psychometric tests (less dominant feature). The composite (qualitative and quantitative) findings included three meta-themes: optimism, sport-life balance, and transition- and performance-enhancing resourcefulness.

Acknowledgments

Important steps of the data collection and data management were funded by the United States Olympic Committee. We thank Ms. Michelle Eck, M.A. for her substantial contributions to the project and Dr. Sean McCann for his insightful comments during the early stages of the project conceptualization. Finally, we thank the Associate Editor and the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable feedback and constructive suggestions on how to improve the manuscript.