"How Do I Juggle Sport and School?": Demands and Issues Voiced by Current and Former Australian School-age Athletes

Maureen O'Neill; Angela Calder; Bill Allen

doi:10.18848/2381-7100/CGP/v06i02/54106

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"How Do I Juggle Sport and School?": Demands and Issues Voiced by Current and Former Australian School-age Athletes

Journal article

Peer reviewed

"How Do I Juggle Sport and School?": Demands and Issues Voiced by Current and Former Australian School-age Athletes

Maureen O'Neill, Angela Calder and Bill Allen

Journal of Sports Pedagogy and Physical Education, Vol.6(2), pp.7-16

2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18848/2381-7100/CGP/v06i02/54106

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Abstract

Human Movement and Sports Science

school-age athlete

perspectives

juggle

balance

high performance sport

dual lives

This paper reports on the findings from, and considers the implications of, research into high performance school-age Australian athletes who balance dual commitments of sport and school. These young people struggle to lead two lives; that of a full-time school student and athlete (O'Neill Allen and Calder 2013). Theoretically they could be regarded as a being a 'hyphenated' individual", someone struggling with more than one life (Fine and Sirin 2007). A comparison of these young peoples' perspectives in balancing sport and study was established by in-depth interviewing nine current and ten former Australian school-age athletes across a range of sports and located across the Eastern states of Australia. Participants attended government, non-government and sport schools mostly on sport scholarships and excellence programs. NVivo 10â„¢ matrix and compound coding queries were used to analyse the most acute demands and issues athletes had to juggle between dual endeavours of sport and study. Such issues of mindset (current athletes), unequal treatment and economic constraints (former athletes) were accentuated. Interestingly, athletes collectively identified the extreme demands placed upon them in balancing acute issues of: physical and psychological fatigue such as tiredness and soreness, lack of nutritional awareness, procrastination, bullying and social sacrifices.

Details

Title: "How Do I Juggle Sport and School?": Demands and Issues Voiced by Current and Former Australian School-age Athletes
Authors: Maureen O'Neill (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Angela Calder (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Bill Allen (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Publication details: Journal of Sports Pedagogy and Physical Education, Vol.6(2), pp.7-16
Publisher: Common Ground Publishing
Date published: 2015
DOI: 10.18848/2381-7100/CGP/v06i02/54106
ISSN: 2381-7100
Organisation Unit: Centre for Support and Advancement of Learning and Teaching; School of Education - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Health and Sport Sciences - Legacy; School of Health - Sports & Exercise Science
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450177802621
Output Type: Journal article

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