Navigating the shift from netballer to former netballer: the experience of retirement from elite netball in Australia

Abstract

Retirement from elite sport has been explored in several pursuits; however, retirement for elite women, particularly those who play team sports, has received scant attention. The present study explores the unique context of retirement from elite netball in Australia through a qualitative descriptive design. Five former Australian netballers participated in one-on-one semi-structured interviews to explore their experiences of retirement from elite sport. Thematic analysis revealed four themes which highlighted the (a) process in navigating the shift from netballer to former netballer; (b) impact of leaving the team environment; (c) differing experiences based on the athlete’s degree of control over retirement; and (d) strategies that are or would be useful in moving forward and coping with the change. Findings reveal the importance of structured support and maintaining a sport-life balance in easing the transition to retirement. Suggestions are made to improve the experience of retirement from elite sport for current netballers.

Keywords:

• coping
• identity
• retirement transitions
• social support
• women athletes

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Netball Australia for their support in advertising this study and to the athletes who volunteered to participate and made this study possible.

Disclosure statement

This research was undertaken as part of the first author’s undergraduate honours project which was supervised by MS, AM, and EG. This manuscript has not been published elsewhere and has not been submitted simultaneously for publication elsewhere.

Notes

1. Details about participants have been kept brief and general to promote athlete anonymity given the small potential recruiting pool.

2. Available from the corresponding author upon request.