‘I have a small window of time left that I’m going to do it’ : Transitions,risk and life-planning in the careers of mobile athletes

Abstract

Transitions are a significant part of peoples’ lives and perhaps consequently there is an abundance of sports research that focuses on career transitions. The focus of this research has primarily centred on the amateur to professional transition and the end of the professional journey, often referred to as ‘retirement’. Whilst other transitions have been presented such as migration across borders, these are often episodic and taken in isolation. The present research focuses on transitions to consider risk and life-planning in the lives of spatially mobile athletes through the lens of Giddens’ structuration model. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 18 male professional basketball players. These interviews delved into the lives of the interviewees with themes related to transitions emerging. These emergent themes unfold the concept of transition set against the idea of life as a series of overlapping experiences that represent the making of a life lived. In so doing, it humanises athletes within this research area by focusing on interlinking experiences. The experiences discussed highlight circular migration, maintaining careers, and preparing for post-playing careers as key transitional experiences overlapping with family life. The paper concludes by making practical and theoretical suggestions for how the knowledge generated informs how future research and policy should understand and approach how athletes interpret transitions and risks throughout their lives, impacting on a wide range of potential research areas including transitions and concussion.