’It’s not all about me’: negotiating the transition out of (semi-) professional football from an autoethnographic perspective

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to explore the multiple transitions that occur during retirement from (semi-) professional sport. The study used an autoethnographic methodology to consider the embodied, relational and emotional dimensions of these transitions as I, the first author approached the end of my football career. Over a period of six years, I shared, reflected, evaluated and critiqued these transitional experiences and associated autoethnographic writings with authors two and three. Five vignettes were selected that helped me to better understand the fluctuant nature of my multiple identities in relation to multiple transitions. These data were subjected to an iterative analysis where I rigorously developed my emic and etic readings of them. The findings highlighted how being a (semi-) professional footballer was one identity among many and that these multiple identities were formed and re-formed through social interactions and relationships with various stakeholders. These transitional experiences initiated an array of physical sensations and sensate feelings that were then interpreted in relation to social cues and the social environment. Importantly, these embodied feelings were an unavoidable feature of my transition whereby my emotional experiences depended on my embodied interactions with others, my embodied interaction with my environment, and my embodied interpretations of these relationships. I make theoretical sense of my embodied social experiences using the work of Burkitt. The study offers an alternative perspective to the retirement literature whereby the methodology of self-stories promotes a greater self-awareness in relation to an athlete’s changing identities, changing social worlds and changing norms and traditions. In turn, this may help practitioners and athletes deconstruct cultural practices and better prepare for transitions away from sport.

KEYWORDS:

• Transition
• athletic retirement
• autoethnography
• football
• multiple identities

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank David Gilbourne for his continued support in the earlier stages of my PhD. When I first received his feedback that he did not see my early draft work as ‘AE’, I was shocked but equally thankful. Whilst I may not get the invite to Christmas dinner, I still hope the work is something that he reads fondly.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

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Notes on contributors

Darryn M. Stamp

Darryn Stamp joined the School of Health and Wellbeing at University Campus North Lincolnshire as the programme leader of Sport, Exercise and Coaching Science. Darryn gained his BSc (Hons) in Sports Coaching and Performance in 2012 and his PhD in 2017; both from the Universty of Hull. He has a wealth of playing experience in both professional and semi-professional football for clubs including Scunthorpe United, Stevenage and Chester City.

Paul A. Potrac

Paul Potrac completed his honours degree in Sport Studies and History at Brunel University and obtained his PhD from the same institution in 2001. After holding academic positions at the University of Otago, Brunel University, Edge Hill University and the University of Hull, he joined the Department of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation at Northumbria University in 2016. Paul also holds visiting Professor positions at University College Dublin and Cardiff Metropolitan University. Alongside his academic work, Paul was a football coach for 18 years. He coached male and female teams at various levels in the United Kingdom, the United States of America and New Zealand.

Lee J. Nelson

Lee Nelson is a Reader in Sports Coaching and Chair of the Learning and Teaching Committee in the Department of Sport and Physical Activity. He joined Edge Hill in 2014 having worked at the University of Hull as a lecturer in Sports Coaching and Performance (2009-2014). He was awarded his PhD from Loughborough University in 2010 having completed his MSc in Sports Coaching (2004) at Brunel University and BSc (Hons) in Sport and Exercise Science (2003) at the University of Befordshire.