The Effects of Athlete Retirement on Parents

Abstract

It is often parents who introduce their children to competitive sports and parents who then provide remarkable emotional and material support across their children's athletic careers (Bloom, 1985; Côté, 1999). Considerable research documents athletes’ retirement experiences (Baillie, 1993; Baillie & Danish, 1992; Svoboda & Vanek, 1982; Werthner & Orlick, 1982), yet none explores the effects of retirement on parents. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of athletes’ disengagement from sport on parents. In-depth interviews were conducted with six parents of former female elite gymnasts who had been retired for three to five years and the data analyzed inductively (Côté, Salmela, Baria, & Russell, 1993; Lally & Kerr, 2005; Miller & Kerr, 2002, 2003). Their daughters’ withdrawal from gymnastics and their own immediate disengagement from the world of elite sport had a tremendous impact on the participants’ personal and social relationships, leaving them struggling with weighty self-doubts over their failure to intervene with abusive coaches.