PURPOSE This study aimed to explore the re-socialization process of college soccer players who rejoin college soccer clubs after dropping out. METHODS A case study approach was employed, and participants were selected using the snowball sampling method. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and literature reviews. The authenticity of the data was validated through triangulation, member checking, and peer debriefing. All research procedures were conducted following approval from the institutional review board. RESULTS The study revealed several key findings. First, participants faced numerous challenges during the re-socialization process into sports, including interpersonal, academic, and emotional difficulties. Second, distinctive features of the re-socialization process emerged, including the determination and effort required for adapting to university life, support from socialization agents within the university, and rapid re-socialization following dropout. Third, experiences within collegiate soccer clubs indicated low barriers to entry for former athletes, academic success through complementary relationships, a hierarchical culture familiar to student-athletes, and enhanced satisfaction in interpersonal relationships and a sense of belonging. CONCLUSIONS This study underscores the importance of institutional support that enables college athletes to participate in sports clubs, facilitating the successful re-socialization of athletes who have dropped out.
Purpose The purpose of this study is to classify the subjectivity of re-socialization barriers among retired footballers. Methods Q methodology was conducted to identify constraint factors contributing to social adjustment and reemployment perceived by 28 P-samples. Results Re-socialization barriers were classified as ‘Type I: Internal-constraint’, ‘Type II: External-constraint’, ‘Type III: Internal-conflict’, and ‘Type IV: External-conflict’. These types provided a variety of academic and practical discussions, depending on where the barriers are taken from (internal and external) and what depends on them (objective conditions and subjective ideas). Conclusions This study focused on the subjective structure of retired footballers and complemented traditional methodology focusing on hypothesis testing. Therefore, each type found in this study provides useful information not only in follow-up study on retired athletes, but also in policy-making decision such as support projects.
Purpose This study seeks to explore the process where drop-out elite athletes collect their life skills obtained during their sports career and transfer them to their daily lives. Methods An open-ended questionnaire survey was conducted on a total of ninety retired elite athletes and the responses were analyzed. Based on the results of inductive analysis, five subjects were selected for a follow-up in-depth interview. The responses to the open-ended questionnaire were analyzed by the inductive content analysis method and the results from in-depth interviews by the deductive content analysis method. Results A total of 478 life skills were collected from the drop-out elite athletes and structuralized into four general categories: psychological skill, social skill, self-management skill, and goal-setting skill. The results of this study have revealed that life skills positively transferred to their future courses of lives and daily lives. Conclusion It is believed that the results of this study will be helpful to understanding the concept of sports life skills, studying the possibility of transfer, and provide the basic data for helping drop-out elite athletes with re-socialization and positive adaptation.
