Career development and transitions of athletes: the International Society of Sport Psychology Position Stand Revisited

Figures & data

Table 1. Brief Overview of the Evolution of Athlete Career Discourse in Sport Psychology.

Stages	Major events and research foci	Major conceptual, theoretical and applied contributions
1960s–1980s: Initiation with a focus on athletic retirement and non-sport frameworks	- Athletic retirement research was initiated and developed mainly in Europe and North America - First career assistance programmes (CAPs) emerged in the end of the 1980s to help retired athletes adjust to life after sport (e.g., the Olympic Job Opportunities Program)	- Conceptualization of athletic retirement as “a social death”, influenced by thanatology and social gerontology models (Rosenberg, 1984). - A shift to a transition perspective and the human adaptation to transition model (Schlossberg, 1981) resulted in a more positive view of athletic retirement
1990s: Development with a shift to a whole career perspective and within-career transitions guided by sport-specific frameworks	- Athletic retirement research still dominated - American research on student-athletes’ transitions - Russian research on within-career athletic transitions - Career Transition (CT) Special Interest Group in Europe, FEPSAC Position Stands “CT” (1995) and “Career termination” (1997), FEPSAC monograph “CT in competitive sport” (Wylleman, Lavallee, & Alfermann, 1999) - Expansion of CAPs (e.g., Athlete Career and Education Program)	- Conceptualization of athletic career as “a miniature lifespan course” (Stambulova, 1994) - Conceptualisation of transition as a turning developmental phase, in which athletes cope with a set of specific demands in order to continue successfully in sport (Stambulova, 1994) New (sport-specific) frameworks: - Athletic career termination model (Taylor & Ogilvie, 1994) - Four-stage career model (Salmela, 1994) - Analytical career model (Stambulova, 1994) - Life development intervention model (Danish, Petitpas, & Hale, 1993)
2000–present: Establishment with shifts to a whole person and a whole environment perspectives, and culturally informed research and practice	- Career research is spread worldwide - Essential increase in scientific communication and publications with about 20 review papers on the topic (e.g., Alfermann & Stambulova, 2007) - Book “CT: International perspectives” (Lavallee & Wylleman, 2000) - Psychology of Sport and Exercise Special Issue “CT” (2004) - The ISSP Position Stand on CT (Stambulova et al., 2009) - Books: “Counseling and psychological services for college student-athletes” (Etzel, 2009), “Athletes’ careers across cultures” (Stambulova & Ryba, 2013) - Psychology of Sport and Exercise “Dual career development and transitions” Special Issue (2015a) - Major transitions in focus: athletic retirement, junior-to-senior, dual career transitions in sport and education, and cultural transitions - Several European dual career projects (e.g., Gold in Education and Elite Sport) - Over 60 CAPs around the world (Stambulova & Ryba, 2013); increased collaboration between researchers, practitioners, and policy makers	New conceptualizations: - Athlete as a whole person - Athlete’s development as holistic - Athletic career as a part of life career - Transition as a process is complemented by considering transition as a career change event - Transitions classified as normative, non-normative and quasi-normative New frameworks: - Athletic career transition model (Stambulova, 2003) - Holistic athletic career model (Wylleman, 2019a; Wylleman & Lavallee, 2004) - Developmental model of sport participation (Côté, Baker, & Abernethy, 2007) - Holistic ecological approach: athletic talent development environment model and environment success factors model (Henriksen, Stambulova, & Roessler, 2010) - Scheme of change for sport psychology practice (Samuel & Tenenbaum, 2011) - Cultural transition model (Ryba et al., 2016) New applied frameworks: - Assistance in career transition model (Stambulova, 2012) - Taxonomy of career interventions (Stambulova, 2012) and CAPs (Torregrossa et al., in press) New paradigm: Cultural praxis of athletes’ careers (Stambulova & Ryba, 2013)

Figure 1. Current Structure of the ACD (modified from Stambulova, 2016, 2020).

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