The challenges of the semi-professional footballer : A case study of the management of dual career development at a Victorian Football League (VFL) club

Journal article

Pink, Matthew A., Lonie, Brooke E. and Saunders, John E.. (2018). The challenges of the semi-professional footballer : A case study of the management of dual career development at a Victorian Football League (VFL) club. Psychology of Sport and Exercise. 35, pp. 160-170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2017.12.005
AuthorsPink, Matthew A., Lonie, Brooke E. and Saunders, John E.
Abstract

Objectives
The purpose of this study was to examine the challenges semi-professional VFL footballers experienced managing a dual career and the factors in the club environment that facilitated and impeded their dual career development.

Design
A case study of a semi-professional Australian Rules Football Club competing in the VFL (an elite second-tier Australian Football competition).

Methods
Data collected over a three-month period comprised interviews, participant observations, and casual conversations with players and staff. A non-linear process of description, analysis, and interpretation framed the analysis, which focussed on the interaction between personal and environmental variables related to the management of footballers’ career development.

Findings
Time management, the demanding nature of non-athletic occupations and inconsistent training schedules were the most common challenges faced by footballers when combining their athletic careers with their non-athletic employment and/or educational/vocational pathway. The ability to negotiate flexible arrangements with the football club, and opportunities for mentoring by senior players were identified as facilitating factors that needed to be developed.

Conclusions
Analysis of the findings suggests that in addition to the development of personal skills such as time management, developing an approach to dual career development that is: player driven; uses existing sources for mentorship and support and; recognises the specific challenges facing semi-professional footballers and their portfolios of work has the potential to support athletes in the development of their dual careers. Such an approach has the potential to attenuate the financial and logistical barriers to providing athlete support that can be observed in semi-professional sports.

Keywordsdual career; AFL; Australia; semi-professional; case study
Year2018
JournalPsychology of Sport and Exercise
Journal citation35, pp. 160-170
PublisherElsevier
ISSN1469-0292
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2017.12.005
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85038813559
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range160-170
Publisher's version
License
All rights reserved
File Access Level
Controlled
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online15 Dec 2017
Publication process dates
Accepted14 Dec 2017
Deposited18 May 2021
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