Bachelor Thesis
HALMSTAD
UNIVERSITY
Psykologi inriktning idrott och motion, 180hp
“Playing football and studying is a good combination”: Dual Career Motivation, Stressors and Coping in Swedish Football Players
Psykologi inriktning idrott och motion (61-90) 30hp
Halmstad 2021-02-20
Malin Svennerlind, Sewit Hagos
Table of Contents
Abstract 3
Sammanfattning 4
“Playing football and studying is a good combination”: Dual Career Motivation, Stressors and Coping
in Swedish Football Players 5
Definitions of Concepts 6
Theoretical Frameworks 6
The Swedish DC model (SDC-model) 6
The holistic athletic career model (HAC-model) 7
Self-Determination Theory (SDT) 9
Previous research 10
Swedish football and DC context; Objective of the study 12
Methodology 13
Design 13
Participants 13
Ethics 14
Interview guide 14
Procedure 15
Data analysis 16
Findings 17
Dual career motivation 18
Internal DC motivation 18
External DC motivation 20
Setbacks in DC motivation 21
Stressors and challenges to deal within DC 23
Financial issues for student-athletes 23
The impact of injuries in DC 24
The challenge with performance and pressure in DC 25
Lack of support as a stress factor 26
Dealing with time pressure in DC 27
Lack of time in football and school 27
Social challenges in DC 28
Coping strategies in DC 29
Problem-focused coping 29
Emotion-focused coping 31
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Avoidance coping 31
The impact of DC experiences on coping strategies 32
The importance of social support 33
Physical and mental recovery in DC 34
Covid-19 Pandemic’s impact on student-athletes 35
The participants’ advice for success in DC 37
Thematic map 37
Discussion 38
The Results in Relation to Theoretical Frameworks 38
Thematic map 39
Student-athletes’ motivation for DC 40
Student-athletes’ experienced stressors in DC 41
Student-athletes’ coping strategies in DC 44
Covid-19 Pandemic’s impact on students-athletes 47
The participants’ advice for success in DC 48
Method discussion 48
Implications 51
Future research 51
Conclusion 52
References 54
Appendix 1 61
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Hagos, S., & Svennerlind, M. (2021). “Playing football and studying is a good combination”:
Dual career motivation, stressors, and coping in Swedish football players (C-essay in sport and exercise psychology, 61-90 ECTS). School of Health and Welfare: Halmstad University
Abstract
Dual career (DC) means that an athlete combines sport and study/work. A balanced DC strongly depends on an athlete's ability to cope with stressors and is of paramount importance to succeed with both studies and sport (Stambulova et al., 2015; Wylleman & Reints, 2010).
The study aimed to explore dual career (DC) motivation, stressors, and coping in Swedish football players. The participants were nine male student-football players from seven football clubs in Sweden aged between 22 to 27 (M = 24.84, SD = 1.50) in Division 1, Superettan, and Allsvenskan (three highest levels of football in Sweden). A semi-structured interview guide was designed to explore the study’s aim.
Based on the result, a thematic map was developed from the central concept, categories, themes, and sub-themes created from analyzing the corresponding data. The thematic map connects all parts of the results and summarizes the study. The results revealed that internal DC motivation dominated, but education was partly affected by external
motivation. Lack of support, dealing with time pressure and the challenge with performance and pressure in DC were the most significant stressors. Student-athletes demonstrated different ways of coping with stressors. Three coping strategies were identified. The participants highlighted physical and mental recovery in DC and the importance of social support. Findings showed that Covid-19 (C-19) positively impacted education, where remote learning was beneficial. The discussion, therefore, highlights the recommendations for flexible academic programs for all student-athletes at university to facilitate DC. The study concluded that internal motivation, combined with social support and previous experiences, is the predominant factor in succeeding with DC.
Keywords: allsvenskan, coping strategies, Covid-19, division 1, dual career in sport and studies, football, motivation, superettan, and stressors
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Hagos. S., & Svennerlind, M. (2021). Att spela fotboll och studera är en bra kombination ”:
Dubbel karriär motivation, stressorer och stresshantering hos svenska fotbollsspelare (C- uppsats i psykologi, inriktning idrott och motion, 61–90 HP). Akademin för Hälsa och Välfärd: Högskolan i Halmstad
Sammanfattning
Dubbel karriär (DC) betyder att en idrottare kombinerar sport och studier/arbete. En balanserad DC beror starkt på idrottarens förmåga att hantera stressfaktorer och är en avgörande faktor för att lyckas med både studier och sport (Stambulova et al., 2015;
Wylleman & Reints, 2010). Syftet med studien var att utforska svenska studerande fotbollsspelares erfarenheter med fokus på motivation, stressorer och stresshantering.
Deltagarna bestod av nio manliga studerande fotbollsspelare, från sju olika fotbollsklubbar i Sverige vars ålder varierade mellan 22 till 27 (M = 24,84, SD = 1,50) i Division 1, Superettan och Allsvenskan (tre högsta fotbollsligorna i Sverige). En semistrukturerad intervjuguide designades för att studera syftet.
Baserat på resultatet utvecklades en tematisk karta utifrån de kategorier, teman och sub-teman som uppkom av den analyserade datan. Den tematiska kartan är studies produkt som sammanfattar resultatet och hur de sammankopplade. Resultatet påvisar att dubbla karriärer drivs mer från inre motivation, men utbildning påverkas delvis av yttre motivation.
Brist på stöd, hantering av tidspress och utmaningarna med prestation och krav inom DC var de största stressorer. Student-idrottare demonstrerade olika sätt att hantera stressfaktorer och tre hanteringsstrategier identifierades. Deltagarna lyfte fram fysisk och mental återhämtning i DC och vikten av socialt stöd. Resultaten visade att Covid-19 (C-19) påverkade utbildningen positivt, där distansundervisning var fördelaktig. Diskussionen vill därför lyfta fram
rekommendationerna för flexibla akademiska program för alla studentidrottare vid
universitetet för att underlätta DC. Studien drog slutsatsen att intern motivation, kombinerat med socialt stöd och tidigare erfarenheter, är de dominerande faktorerna för att lyckas med DC.
Nyckelord: allsvenskan, Covid-19, division 1, dubbla karriärer i sport och studier, fotboll, motivation, stresshantering, stressorer, superettan
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“Playing football and studying is a good combination”:
Dual Career Motivation, Stressors and Coping in Swedish Football Players Athletes engaged in dual career (DC) ‘sport and education’ pathways face concurrent challenges at athletic, academic, psychological, and financial levels (Wylleman et al., 2016).
Simultaneously has sport become increasingly demanding over time, quantitatively (increased amount of training) and qualitatively (more intensive training), and team sports have shown to be more challenging than individual sport because every athlete must adapt to other
teammates (López de Subijana et al., 2015). Furthermore, the educational requirements have increased in the labor market, and there has been stricter competition (Patriksson et al., 2014).
Elite investment has proved to be an obstacle for studies that have continuously expanded over time (Stråhlman, 2006). Fryklund (2012) concluded that the combination of reaching an international elite level and simultaneously studying is difficult but possible. Therefore, the present study’s authors think it is significant to explore further how athletes deal with challenging and stressful situations when having a DC since football players put in a lot of effort and time in the sport. However, not every football player reaches the elite and the chance to make a living from their sport (Stambulova et al., 2007). Therefore, athletes need to have a dual career (DC) or somehow prepare themselves for a post-athletic career (Aquilina, 2009). Today, athletes have expectations to create a working career after completing the sport to finance themselves afterward (Hickey & Kelly, 2005). The athletes experience
inconsistency regarding whether school or sport is the most important (Stambulova et al., 2015), which may contribute to more stressors for athletes with DC. However, essential for successful DC and decreasing stressors is planning and prioritizing (Aquilina, 2013).
Both authors are students at Halmstad University, which since 2018 has the status of National Sport University providing support to DC students. This contributed to the curiosity to see the actual cause of being a student-athlete. The authors want to explore student-
athletes’ DC experiences to learn about motivation, stressors, and coping. Therefore, the current study will examine football players in Division 1, Superettan, and Allsvenskan that study at university. Education at university is not compulsory in Sweden, and therefore, it is interesting to examine why student-athletes still decide to combine football with studies knowingly, there are more requirements for a university-level than high school. What is the motivation behind doing both and how do they manage it, what stressors can occur, and how do student-athletes cope with those. Furthermore, Stambulova and Wylleman (2015) suggest that future findings in DC should be recommendations for national DC guidelines and related policies that can facilitate the combination of sport and studies/work. However, the main
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category became the motivation toward DC because there is a lack of research on DC motivation and conflicting results in team- and individual sports DC motivation (López de Subijana et al., 2015; Lupo et al., 2015). Therefore, it is essential to explore how motivation is a factor in successful DC.
Definitions of Concepts
Stambulova and Wylleman define DC as “a career with major foci on sport and studies or work” (2015, p. 1). An optimal DC balance is defined by Stambulova et al. (2015) as “a combination of sport and studies that helps the individual to achieve one’s educational and athletic goals, as well as live a satisfying private life while still being able to maintain good health and well-being” (p. 9). Important for continuing with DC is motivation, which is why a person is moved to act (Deci & Ryan, 2012), either by internal or external forces (Vallerand, 2004). According to Berger et al. (2015), internal motivation is the individual’s desire to do something. The opposite of internal motivation is external motivation; the behavior is motivated by an external factor, for instance, money or a reward.
Stress is ”the nonspecific response of the body to a demand made upon it” (Selye, 1976, p. 137). Coping is applied to deal with stressors by changing efforts cognitively and
behaviorally (Lazarus, 1999), there are three types of coping. Aldwin and Revenson (1987) and Carver and Scheier (1998) concluded that problem-focused coping is more linked to the situation through planning, decision-making, and gathering information. In comparison, emotion-focused coping depends on an individual's personality and is used as, for example, self-talk, social support, and reinterpretation. Carver et al. (1989) talk about avoidance coping as a third form of strategy, which means trying to neutralize distress by avoiding dealing with the problem by relaxing and dismissing tension (i.e., daydreaming, sleeping, or distracting).
Theoretical Frameworks
Several theoretical frameworks were used in this study. In 2015 the first Swedish study about DC was presented. This study came up with the Swedish DC model (Stambulova et al., 2015). In 2013 the Holistic athletic career model was introduced by Wylleman et al.
(2013). Later, Wylleman developed this and presented an updated version in 2019.
Furthermore, the self-determination theory explains the different forms of internal and external motivation (Deci & Ryan, 2012).
The Swedish DC model (SDC-model)
The Swedish DC model (SDC-model; Stambulova et al., 2015) were developed by examining adolescent student-athletes DC experiences (school, sport, and private life) during the first year at national elite sport schools (RIGs) and the transition to RIG with a focus on
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the development of their student and athletic identities. This is based on the two
complementing theoretical frameworks; the Developmental model of transitions faced by athletes (Wylleman & Lavalle, 2004) and the Athletic career transition model (Stambulova, 2003;2009).
The Swedish DC model aligns stages in the Swedish educational system with associated age markers (6-9, 10-12, 13-15, 16-18, 19-24, and 25+). Moreover, athletic and vocational careers’ stages indicate possible DC pathways, with arrows indicating transitions during and directly after sports termination. In primary- and secondary school, athletes have an initiation for specialization in sport, which develops into development between the ages of 13-15 in upper secondary school. After that, a mastery begins when starting RIGs and further developing in universities. Here, sport is either work or sport and work besides. Finally, sometime after 25, a post-athletic career and discontinuation from sport occur, resulting in a vocational post-athletic career.
The authors (Stambulova et al., 2015) suggest that the model and the results found can survey further research, such as studying student-athletes’ transition experiences and
including gender and sports differences. Generally, the model provides an agenda for future Swedish research on DC, potentially leading to support services for student-athletes in the national system.
Figure 1
The Swedish DC Model
25+ Post-athletic career
education Discontinuation Vocational post- athletic career 19-24 RIU, EVL, or other
university Mastery 2 Sport as work
Sport + work 16-18 RIG, NIU, or other
gymnasium Mastery 1
13-15 Senior level of
compulsory school Specialisation 10-12 Intermediate level
of compulsory school Development 6-9 Junior level of
compulsory school Initiation
Age Education Sport Work
Note. Free interpretation of The Swedish DC model (Stambulova et al., 2015)
8 The holistic athletic career model (HAC-model)
The holistic athletic career model (Wylleman, 2019) consists of six developmental levels with stages and transitions an athlete faces, including DC and the post-athletic career.
The six developments incorporate the athletic level, the psychological level, the psychosocial level, the academic-vocational, financial, and finally, the legal level (see Figure 2). The athletic level consists of four stages. Whereas the athletes are introduced to the sport, the initial stage is followed by the development stage. Here the young athletes’ careers are represented where training and competition grow more intensive, and talents are found. The third stage is mastery, which describes when the athlete starts to compete at the highest level.
Lastly, is the discontinuation stage when an athlete transitions out from competitive sport. The psychological level consists of three stages: childhood transitions to adolescence and further to young adulthood. The third level of the HAC-model is the psychosocial level, which focuses on essential individuals for the athlete’s development and career, those included are parents, coaches, families, teammates, and teachers. The fourth level is the academic-
vocational, the level represents different academic, educational, or work stages parallel to the athletic career. After that comes the financial level, reflecting the athlete’s financial support throughout the career and after. At the beginning of their career, the family often stands for finance and developing into sports federations, sponsors, and family employers. The sixth and final level is the legal level, which focuses on the athlete’s legal rights and duties from a younger age to adulthood (Wylleman, 2019). Moreover, the HAC-model is also used to develop DC guidelines in Europe (European Union, 2012). The holistic lifespan perspective was also crucial for the beginning of DC sport psychology in Europe (Stambulova &
Wylleman, 2015).
9 Figure 2
The Holistic Athletic Career Model
AGE 10 15 20 25 30 35
Athletic
level Initiation Develop-
ment Mastery Discontinuation
Psychological level
Middle childhood
Early adolescence
Later adolescence
Early Adulthood
Middle Adult- hood
Psychosocial level
Parents Siblings Peers
Peeres Coach Parents
Partner & family Coach, support staff
& teammates Student-athlete & student
Family (Coach)
Peers
Academic &
vocational level
Primary education
Secondary education
(Semi-) professional athlete Higher (Semi-) education professional
athlete
Post-sport career
Financial level Family
Family Sport Governing
Body
Sport governing body NOC/spornsor
Family
Family Employer
Legal
level Mastery Adult (of age)
Note. Free interpretation of the Holistic athletic career model (Wylleman, 2019)
Self-Determination Theory (SDT)
Self-determination theory defines and conceptualizes motivation from a qualitative perspective (Deci & Ryan, 2012). If the motivation has high quality, it is autonomously driven (internal motivation), meaning that the engagement depends on inherent interest and
satisfaction (Sebire et al., 2009). When a behavior shifts from the internal motivation, within a person, to external motivation, “outside,” the motivation is no longer a behavior for the
inherent satisfaction (Hagger & Chatzisarantis, 2015). It is an essential part of predicting, describing, and explaining human behavior. Motivation clarifies what an individual chooses to do, how often, and how much time they spend on doing it (Berger et al., 2015). According to SDT, external motivation does not always decrease internal motivation (Ryan, 1982);
however, it can deplete some forms, for example, students do not feel interested in every given task. Still, if the task is promoted with a more volitional and active external motivation, it will become an effective way to execute successfully (Ryan & Deci, 2000).
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SDT posits that to be optimally motivated, an individual needs to experience three psychological needs in their activities; competence, autonomy, and relatedness (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Competence is connected to confidence, effectiveness, social environment, skills and history within the behavior in focus. For instance, if coaches, teammates, or parents provide positive meaningful feedback, feelings of competence enhance, and the motivation can increase. However, autonomy refers to regulation by oneself (an internal state); to assent to engage in different actions. To act autonomously is impacted by the social environment, which can be controlling or supportive. When a reference frame within a person is appreciated, it provides the rationale of effect, allows choices, and facilitates autonomy capacity. Furthermore, relatedness is connected to the sense of belongingness and connection, this refers to the significance of connection with others and the feeling of belongingness. In sport, support from these three needs facilitates internal motivation, both the enjoyment and the persistence in the activity (Ryan et al., 2009).
Previous research
DC means that an athlete combines sport and study or work (Stambulova et al., 2015;
Wylleman & Reints, 2010). The athletes' development intersects their academic and financial, psychological, and psychosocial development (Riksidrottsförbundet, 2018). The development has proven to be the right solution for a balanced lifestyle and preparation for life after sport (Stambulova et al., 2015). According to Stambulova et al. (2015), an optimal balance is when the combination helps the student-athletes achieve their sport and study goals, simultaneously maintaining well-being and satisfying private life. However, to manage a DC, the student- athletes must be motivated in sport and education, and to succeed in DC, motivation has proven to have an essential role in persistence and engagement (Pelletier et al., 2001). Lack of motivation may lead to drop-out from sport (Sarrazin et al., 2002) and school (Vallerand et al., 1997). Furthermore, the three dimensions of motivation have been clarified and are essential for further development in DC research (Stambulova & Wylleman, 2019). The patterns found by Aunola et al. (2018) are: the DC motivated (valuing sport and school), low academically motivated (valuing sport more than school), and low sport motivated. Berger et al. (2015) found that internal motivation can be associated with adherence, for example, maintaining behavior over time. Internal motivation can be characterized by experiencing joy in physical activity, and engagement becomes more meaningful for the athlete (Sebire et al., 2009). However, team sports athletes have lower DC motivation than individual sport athletes (López de Subijana et al., 2015). Nevertheless, this further needs to be investigated because of conflicting results (López de Subijana et al., 2015; Lupo et al., 2015).
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It is beneficial to engage in DC but demanding because of different challenges (i.e., maintaining studies and sport while maintaining social and private life (EU guidelines, 2012;
Stambulova et al., 2020a) and coping with the transition from junior to senior
(Riksidrottsförbundet, 2018). Student-athletes need to be supported all the time to thrive (Linnér et al., 2019), and communication between the student-athlete, school, and coaches/clubs is of great importance for a successful DC (Knight et al., 2018; Lopes dos Santos et al., 2020). Athletes often find it impossible to invest in both sport and school fully;
therefore, they must plan and prioritize searching for an optimal balance between school, sport, private, and social life (Brown et al., 2015). Since students are exposed to significant changes that they must deal with when they start studying at university, for instance:
academic achievement, social demands, economic changes, and possible relocation to another place (Aquilina, 2013; Paule & Gilson, 2010). It has been shown that athletes choose easier subjects because their primary purpose is to get through school to invest in their sports (Cosh
& Tully, 2014; Lucas & Lovaglia, 2002; Miller & Kerr, 2002). Which may result in athletes being left without clear career paths (Lavallee & Robinson, 2007). However, later research has found that talented athletes tend to be more motivated to do well in both studies and work (Lupo et al., 2015; Umbach et al., 2006) even though that the most challenging and significant transition is to university (Tekavc et al., 2015)
Furthermore, a great deal is being written and said about stressors and coping with DC. When stress is studied in sports, it is often focused on the athletes’ experiences
(Woodman & Hardy, 2001). Cosh and Tully (2015) found several stressors (i.e., less time for studying, missing classes and training, increased absenteeism due to travel in sports, fatigue, financial problems, and the coach's flexibility related to scheduling) that can challenge a balanced DC. In line with this, Stambulova et al. (2015) studied Swedish adolescent student- athletes and their DC, the result showed that participants sacrificed social activities and their own- time to find a balanced DC. Holt and Dunn (2004) believe that football players must learn to handle stressors to perform and get to the top effectively; otherwise, there is a risk that both performance and well-being will be negatively affected. In general, it is beneficial if athletes become better at streamlining their time and planning (Aquilina, 2013; Cosh & Tully, 2015). Therefore, studies have highlighted the problem in which athletes’ have to obtain a balanced DC lifestyle (Aquilina, 2013).
Athletes' success in sport strongly depends on their ability to cope with all the transitional challenges coming (Wylleman & Reints, 2010). The transitional difficulties perceived in sport career development are psychological, psychosocial, and vocational
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development (Debois et al., 2015; Wylleman & Reints, 2010). According to the HAC-model, those demands athletes must face and manage in their careers can be athletic (e.g.,
performance, a higher standard of training, and injury setbacks) and psychological (e.g., maintaining motivation, personal responsibility, and developing identity). As well as psychosocial (e.g., manage relationships and create a new social network), academic (more independent and higher educational requirement), and financial concerns (MacNamara &
Collins, 2010; Tekavc et al., 2015). A combination of poor coaching and inability to meet those DC demands could lead to, for example, higher stress, overtraining, and premature dropout (Ivarsson et al., 2018).
However, social support from family and coaches are paramount for success (Cosh &
Tully, 2015). Lopes dos Santos et al. (2020) believe that coaches must understand the stressors that college athletes face because it allows them to help the athletes deal with the effects stress may have on athletic and academic achievement. Given the time coaches spend with athletes, they are an asset and critical for effective coping strategies. Linnér et al. (2019) found that the Swedish student-athlete in their study felt it was hard to balance their education and sport. They explored university student-athletes’ competences and coping as a part of a more significant project. It revealed that by combining sports and studies successfully, there is a need to reach a specific score of at least 70% of the DC competence questionnaires (e.g., coping with stress and prioritizing). They found that the top six competencies to manage different DC scenarios were planning, prioritizing, using the time they have efficiently, dedication to succeed, perseverance when challenging, and their willingness to make sacrifices. Institutions that contribute to flexible academic programs consider the time elite sports require makes students-athletes succeed with DC (Aquilina, 2013; Stambulova et al., 2015) and stay motivated with the proximal high-performance sport. Elite athletes with DC thought of it as a partial opportunity for a vocational future and a constraint when studies and sport were in a high load with insufficient support from the university (Debois et al., 2015).
Stambulova and Wylleman (2019) suggest that developed research on specific educational programs that will facilitate student-athletes’ success should be investigated in the future.
Swedish football and DC context; Objective of the study
Knowledge of motivation, stressors, and coping is essential in DC with studies.
Moreover, a balanced DC is of paramount importance to succeed with both studies and sport (Stambulova et al., 2015). However, to have a balanced DC, athletes strongly depend on their ability to cope with stressors (Wylleman & Reints, 2010) in school and sport, for example, missing classes and training, financial problems, and travel due to competition (Cosh & Tully,
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2015; Hyatt & Kavazis, 2019). Prioritization, ability to plan, and dedication to succeed were found to be critical for managing stressors (Linnér et al., 2019). To optimize the student- athletes DC environment, communication between coaches and school must be optimal (Lopes dos Santos, 2020). Furthermore, institutions that contribute to flexible academic programs that consider the time elite sports require makes it easier for student-athletes to succeed with DC (Aquilina, 2013; Stambulova et al., 2015). In line with the result, Debois et al. (2015) highlight this for a felicitous vocational future for DC athletes
López de Subijana et al. (2015) and Lupo et al. (2015) have called out further research that examines DC’s motivation. Furthermore, Stambulova and Wylleman (2015) suggest that future findings in DC should be recommendations for national DC guidelines and related policies that facilitate the combination of sport and studies/work.
To further examine this subject, the purpose of this study is to explore Swedish DC football players’ experiences with foci on motivation, stressors and coping. The main questions are: What motivates Swedish football players to have a DC with studies? What potential stressful situations are there, and how do they cope with them?
Methodology
Design
The present study is built upon a qualitative methodology with the positioning in realist ontology and post-positivist epistemology. Absolute objectivity is difficult to achieve due to thoughts and previous experiences, which may impact the results. The post-positivist approach aims toward objectivity (Ryan, 2006). The positioning was a starting point for the choice of an interview, a semi-structured interview was used with several main questions and more follow up questions to enable more in-depth information on the central concept: DC experiences. The data is analyzed with a post-positivist thematic analysis (Braun et al., 2016) Participants
The study’s participants consisted of nine male football players with DC from different clubs (teams) and universities in Sweden. Two criteria were used to recruit participants for the study. They had to meet all the requirements relevant in the study: (1) Have DC in university and football and study at least for a bachelor's degree and: (2) be at least 18 years of age. The athletes range from 22 to 27 years of age (M= 24.8, SD= 1.5). The football players were from seven different clubs in Sweden and played on three different levels, Division 1, Superettan, and Allsvenskan (three highest levels in Sweden). Three
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participants play in Division 1, four in Superettan, and two in Allsvenskan.
The strategic selection was used in the present study and is common in qualitative research to gain a deeper understanding and knowledge because it allows the authors to select a homogeneous group (Christensen et al., 2016). Therefore, the study only consists of male student-athletes.
Table 1
Demographic Information of the Participants of the Study (N = 9)
Level Quantity Age
Division 1 3 22-25
Superettan 4 24-27
Allsvenskan 2 25-26
Ethics
The authors followed the current study’s Swedish research council principles (Vetenskapsrådet, 2002). All participants were over 18 years old as they can consent to participate in the study. Before the interview the participants were assigned a clear information letter about the study and received full informed consent. This informed the participants of their rights to withdraw from the study without explaining reasons, and information about no compulsion to answer any question. With the participants’ permission, the authors recorded the interview on a mobile phone and via Zoom. Only the authors had access to the audio files and transcription, the authors stored the files safely during the study and deleted after completing them. All data were confidential, and the participants were entirely anonymous.
Interview guide
The interview guide was informed by the SDC-model (Stambulova et al., 2015) and the HAC-model (Wylleman, 2019). The questions stimulated participants to describe their DC development in three stages. The interview began with background questions on the
participants, DC experiences, current knowledge, and how they may have changed over time.
Examples of questions: “What do you find most important about yourself?” and “What did
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your previous experience with DC look like before you started studying at university, and what do they look like today?” Following the background questions, the authors explored the participants’ motivation in DC experiences. The participants were asked to reflect on what motivated them to continue with DC, for example, “What motivated you to start with, but also continue with DC?”. The third part was about stressors and coping and if they used any coping strategies. If so, which ones, why, and how? Examples of questions that were asked were, “DC can be challenging; what is the most stressful about it? and “How do you cope with stressors from DC”?
Procedure
Participants were recruited by disseminating the study’s information and the informed letter to active people in football. The authors sent an email to different Swedish football clubs and players in Division 1, Superettan, and Allsvenskan. All participants that showed interest received complete information via email with guidelines and ethical principles. Those who agreed to participate in this study gave oral consent before the interview began. The interview was confidential, and the respondents were entirely anonymous, to guarantee the participant’s anonymity, they were identified with a coding system (P2 to P10; P1 was a pilot interview).
The interview’s appointed time was decided jointly by the authors and participants, considering the participants' hectic lives, the authors were flexible with time. The participants were informed that the interviews would be conducted on Zoom and that they could choose locations of their own to ensure an environment where they felt safe. Following the Swedish Public Health Agency's recommendations regarding Covid-19 (C-19), all interviews were conducted online. The program Zoom was used on a computer with a video camera; the authors choose Zoom because it allows recording of the meeting and interviewees’ familiarity with Zoom from school. The respondents received an unique link sent to them before the meeting, making it possible for only the respondent and the author to access it.
A pilot interview was done to try out the interview guide to see how the participant understood and interpreted it. Some minor corrections were made on the interview guide when any ambiguities occurred. The interviews were estimated to last about 35-45 minutes, as the conducted pilot interview lasted 35 minutes and contained extensive answers. A
standardized protocol was prepared for the interviews to avoid negligent errors and ensure that all questions were asked. All the questions were asked in a specific order so that all participants had the same conditions to answer the questions. Both authors were present at the time of the interviews. One author served as an interview leader, and the other author was
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more of an observer and wrote reflective notes of the interview and focused on the interview guide.
Each interview began with a short introduction of the authors, followed by explaining the study’s purpose and motivation: the interview process, and the assurance of confidentiality throughout the process. Participants were informed that there was no compulsion to answer all the questions and no right or wrong answers. After the interview, the author transcribed the recording. The other author read the transcript connected with the audio recording to ensure that the transcript was correct. All interviews lasted, on average, between 35-60 minutes and were audio-recorded after agreement from each participant.
Data analysis
The thematic analysis enables the authors to find out the participants' DC experiences and opinions. A dialogue with the supervisor is advantageous to ensure a qualitative analysis and refine every theme’s right name. According to Braun et al. (2016), thematic analysis places higher demands on participants’ selection; it facilitates more in-depth research on the subject being studied. By using thematic analysis, it is possible to identify themes and
acknowledge patterns in fascinating or essential data and thus, use these themes to address the research. Braun et al. (2016) believe that the data should be read repeatedly to identify
common themes in all interviews. The authors decided that the analysis’s deductive and inductive (flexible) approach should be used and based on the study’s title and provide categories. The analysis was deductive at the beginning when data was sorted out based on predetermined categories taken from the objectives. This means that the data is analyzed based on a template that has been prepared in advance and is based on a theory or a model, but with the possibility of developing new categories, themes, and sub-themes from the collected data. Inside each category, the analysis was inductive with developing themes and sub-themes. When the data was distributed among pre-determined categories, some data was left, and that data inductively created two new categories and ten themes inside them.
The predetermined categories were: DC motivation, stressors, and challenges to deal within DC and coping strategies in DC. In the present study, a six-step framework was used to analyze the data (Braun et al., 2016). Categories that followed the central concept of DC experiences were motivation, stressors, and coping strategies.
1: Familiarization; The analysis began with the authors actively listening through the audio file, and after that, transcribed the interviews followed by reading the transcripts to gain an overview of the datasets. Analytically read the transcript looking for ideas/concepts and made short notes about the data.
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2: Coding; Assign preliminary codes to express meaningful sentences of what the informant said. Sentence units were created in different colors to enable the analysis. The material is disintegrated, and the authors mark different sentences or paragraphs in various colors that summarize the information. After that, the material is once again fragmented and encodes the data begins.
3: Theme development; After coding, the information was categorized by which categories belong together or have something in common that can develop into a category or theme by colors. A theme is a meaningful pattern in the empirical data. All coded data were categorized under the predetermined categories: DC motivation, stressors, and challenges to deal within DC, and coping strategies in DC to facilitate retrieval across the different
interviews.
4: Theme refinement; Then, the authors reviewed the categories. It is desirable that the coding within each data set is homogeneous and themes with insufficient data were removed. At this stage, it is common to find new categories, merge or divide current themes.
The authors found two new categories: “Covid-19 pandemic’s impacts on student-athletes”
and “the participants' advice to succeed with DC'', and sub-themes were formed to clarify and structure themes.
5: Theme naming and creating a thematic map; After review, a structuring of themes and sub-themes took place. Each theme and sub-theme were given a name and a descriptive text that clarifies its topic and relevance to the research question. A thematic map (see Appendix 1) was created around the central concept; DC experience and how the categories, themes, and sub-themes are connected.
6: Writing up; The last step is to produce the overall report. All themes and respective sub-themes are compiled and presented with a summary of the empirical data to the research questions.
Findings
The results are segmented according to the present study’s two research questions. The present study’s thematic analysis is based on one central concept, DC experiences, and five categories: DC motivation, stressors and challenges to deal within DC, and coping strategies in DC. Two additional categories were created during the analysis to show the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on student-athlete and participants' advice to succeed with DC. The results and the corresponding categories, as well as themes and sub-themes, are presented below.
Firstly, DC motivation will be provided and described, along with the related empirical data.
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Secondly, the student-athletes’ perceived stress and coping strategies will be provided according to the corresponding empirical data. After that, Covid-19 Pandemic’s impact on student-athlete and thereafter, the participants' advice to succeed with DC. The result will then be presented by a thematic map, describing the connection between the central concept, categories, themes, and sub-themes.
Dual career motivation
This category focuses on the motivation behind DC. The category includes the student-athletes’ internal motivation behind the decision and external motivation that has influenced them to have DC. To conclude, the three themes are internal DC motivation, external DC motivation, and lastly, setbacks in DC motivation.
Internal DC motivation
“It is like an inner voice that drives me” (P4). This quote is a good representation of the theme. As mentioned in the introduction, football players with DC have a full schedule and are expected to succeed with football and school. Several factors affect the student- athletes´ choice of playing and continuing with football and choosing education and finishing school. After finishing the nine interviews, everyone had the joy football gives in common, “It is the joy, that is why I am doing it” (P5). Many of those we interviewed thought that joy is the biggest motivation in football. Another said, “Football is fun, and it is probably where the driving force came from the beginning” (P8). Two others continued with, “Something inside of me tells me how amusing it is, and therefore I continue” (P4) and ”I love football and think it is fun, so that is why I keep going” (P9). However, the career will not last forever, and they are aware of this, therefore, they choose to have a safety net in the form of an education.
I have other dreams outside of football/… /you can play and have a great career and have nothing to fall back on. You quit, and that is when you realize; what am I supposed to do now? Many players have that problem and start to study then. During your career, you have time to study after practice. Otherwise, you just sit at home and play PlayStation all day. (P7)
Football has always been a sport the student-athletes have played for a long time. They all started to play when they were around five years old. “I have been invested in football for such a long time, and that makes me want to go for it” (P10). They all started to invest time and themselves in the sport from an early age. By engaging in football for this long, there must be a motivation that drives them forward. The answers varied, but one distinctly stood out because he thought this was something almost every football player felt.
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I think it is the feeling when it goes really well that motivates me to continue because that is the best feeling I know. For example, when you play good for a few months, you are aware that people talk about you. The possibility to go further in your career and everything just flows, that is such a wonderful feeling/…/ that is the beauty and the ugliness with football, it goes up and down. It can be indifferent sometimes, and then it can be a few lovely weeks. (P8)
Furthermore, money has been something the authors have talked about with the interviewees, but it has never been the main reason why they play football. It is seldom that an external motivation drives them in football. One said, “It is not the money that has driven me; football is the best thing I know” (P5). Once again, the part where football is fun and enjoyable comes up.
Likewise, the internal motivation to education, the importance of finding it somehow meaningful was essential to continue for the majority. We interviewed those who thought that having an education was necessary for the future and having a job when the football career was over. “The motivation to study has always been there/…/ to plan the future by having an education is partly a security” (P6), and “It is important to have a great education so you can get a good job in the future, but also to have something besides football” (P3). The
importance of having an education and thinking in the long-term recurred several times from different participants.
I played in xxx before when I was younger, and many players were good; some made it but failed in school early. I did not feel that I was the best, but I knew that I was good. I got an insight quite early and realized that I could invest in football, but what if it does not last? Then it became clear that I must perform in school too. (P4)
All the student-athletes studied mainly because of the future. However, they all want to develop in different ways by choosing exciting subjects. “I want to achieve something or do things I find important. Even find something that drives me forward to develop and get better” (P6), and putting up new goals, “I put up new goals all the time, so I have something to strive for and new goals to reach. I think you get satisfaction from that” (P3). It was mostly internal motivation that drove them forward, and it seemed important for all of them to do what they thought was interesting.
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I think I have a curiosity about new things. I always want to learn and specialize in something I find interesting, and it comes a little from football and that I thought it was funny and wanted to continue with it. I was interested and curious in a few subjects in school and wanted to specialize in those. (P4)
However, it was not always essential to know what to work with in the future. Like in football, they wanted to do something they thought was fun, as well as in education, “I found an education I thought was fun, so I just went for it” (P2). Finally, there was one more thing that motivates them to pursue. They saw that studies could be something good, which made them prioritize it; otherwise, they would not continue. “I think that everything should be funny; otherwise, I would not prioritize it, and that is not good. Studying is not funny, but it can be a little satisfying in one way/…/, but importantly you should be having fun” (P2).
Another one explained similarly: “You must do things because you want to and develop;
otherwise, there is no point in doing it” (P9).
External DC motivation
This theme refers to external motivation toward school, football, and money. Why they started to play football was their own choice, however, the difference is evident when it comes to studies. Studying was not always self-chosen; some of them experience expectations or pressure from home to push them towards the choice to start studying or because the rest of the family had studied before, and therefore, they should do the same. “A dad who has been nagging for ten years that I should start studying /.../ My girlfriend and parents think school is more important than football” (P8), and “I have always strived to study further and then there was some pressure from home, so I did it…” (P2). They all had something that drove them forward; one chose the same education path as the rest of the family: “Both my parents have studied, so they know a little what it means, and my big brother has also studied economy”
(P3).
The fear of being without a football contract was an incredible driving force to continue and stay in the team, “I only had three months left on my contract, I got a wakeup call after that, that my club did not want to extend the contract with me” (P7).
Friends and classmates around student-athletes positively affected their motivation, even though it was external. It motivated them to strive to finish their studies and education, “I can see that it has also been a motivation that all my friends are well educated. I think that we have a positive effect on each other/… / I believe that we influence each other to push on and do something meaningful “(P7).
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However, it was not exclusively family or friends that was an external factor in motivation. Some had dreams and ideas outside of football that motivated them to continue with DC for as long as possible, “...partly security that you will get a good profession with okay income and security when you terminate your football career…” (IP8). Additionally, the money from playing football gave them something to fall back on and acted like a safety net.
“But I have other ambitions in life outside of football/… /but it is a security that you can save money from playing football” (P7).
Furthermore, an interviewee said that the motivation varies depending on whether you are studying independent courses or a bachelor’s degree. When you have studied a three-year education, you get a bachelor's degree. However, it does not apply to independent courses, and there the motivation can vary, he explained.
It is mainly the motivation or the reasons why you choose to study that is entirely different. When you have individual distance courses, it is more because you want to do something with your time. A law education, however, comes with a degree. You
have that in mind knowing that it will lead somewhere, so motivation is probably not 100 when you study individual courses. (P5)
Setbacks in DC motivation
This theme refers to two more significant parts that influence the student-athletes' motivation, injuries and psychological well-being. DC can be mentally stressful, and a lot of feelings can occur that challenge their internal motivation.
The football I am playing is focused on performance. If you play bad at practice, you might not play the game next weekend. If you perfectly play one week, you feel great since you are one of the better on the team. It is like you get in an upwards and downwards psychological spiral. You end up in different places every week; one week, it feels like you want to do this forever, and the next, you feel the opposite. Elite football is like this all the time, especially when you have other things to do, like me with the studies, it is like a back-up if you stop playing football. (P4)
Things like this were mentioned several times by different respondents. Education is a back- up for the majority, and it can be tough to engage in both football and studies, both physically and mentally. Those things could affect the participant, and they must think differently to proceed and cope.
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Football is not solely physically demanding, but mentally too, and sometimes you feel totally drained. When you feel like this, the motivation to pursue is to think that it will get better, it will calm down. But in the long run, you just want that degree, so you just continue no matter what. (P5)
The participants who mentioned that they had experienced a severe injury had in common that it affected the motivation and the psychological well-being. It can vary a lot in football, and it also affects the mood and attitude you have outside of the sport and can quickly change from week to week. Four of the nine participants mentioned that they had been injured at least one time during their football career. This could be challenging and affect football negatively but affected the studies positively. Injuries could though make them feel emotional, and that affected them negatively.
Not depressed but emotional up and down. I have always cared about my physique and well-being and felt healthy. I have always had a driving force, even though I could not play football. A setback becomes exceptionally perceptible. Even though you are fully prepared and have been encouraged to continue at a potential setback, it strongly affects you; it is quite inevitable. (P8)
Some were injured several times, and that always became a setback in their football career.
The rehabilitation could last for months up to altogether years, the motivation suffers from this, but it is possible to grow from it physically and mentally.
I did not feel so good during a more extended period/…/The family pushed me and tried to do their best to help. I knew, though, that I could do this and that I have it in me/…/Actually, it was more or less three years where my self-confidence was low, and a lot of injuries were involved. Then, I got an “aha moment”/... /During these months, I had my first success/…/The hard work paid off, and people talked about me as one of the greatest central defenders for such a young age. Everything changed from that, and I started to play internationally/…/I grew a lot during these months, which made a difference in my self-confidence, almost like I became a new person.
(P7)
However, injuries do not solely come with negativity. Student-athletes who have a DC want to perform well in football and school, but football takes up a lot of their time. In line with being injured, they have more time for studies since it often is something they like and
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wants to do. The motivation grows for the better; “When you are injured, it is almost positive for your studies because you have more time” (P6). With this, they could evolve and get better in school and then return to football again.
Stressors and challenges to deal within DC
The category stressors and challenges refer to difficulties and obstacles that may arise with DC. The category is divided into five themes. The first theme, financial issues for student-athletes, relates to uncertainty in the economy during the career, mainly during Division 1. The second theme, the impact of injuries in DC, explains the impact of injuries in both football and studies. The third theme, the challenge with performance and pressure in DC refers to DC performance, pressure, expectations, and how it affects them. But also, what type of performance is most important for them. The fourth theme is lack of support as a stress factor. The support systems are essential for the student-athletes, but the lack of it may affect them differently. Dealing with time pressure in DC is the fifth and last theme and is divided into two sub-themes: lack of time in football and school and social challenges in DC.
These two explain the effect of time management in DC.
Financial issues for student-athletes
Some football players can make a living from football, however, far from everyone can. This part refers to the challenge’s student-athletes face from not earning enough money or having difficulties getting it all together financially. Nevertheless, only a few found the financial problem as a stressor in line with not getting enough paid in their club. It was more common that Division 1 players found it more stressful than players from Superettan and Allsvenskan. “I do take CSN [the Swedish national board of student aid], and it is natural. I pay rent because I live with another person, but it works. You do not get so much paid in Division 1, I get money but not at that point that it would help me” (P4).
It would be easier for some players if there were no economic problems because that would eliminate a stressor. Getting financial support when trying to reach the elite while studying would help the stress over financial questions.
If you would get support for playing in the semi-elite level and studying at the same time, it would maybe lead to not being stressed over such a thing/…/Now I am working as well, it would have been easier if I just studied and played football, but I do not make enough money from that. (P10)
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It is hard for football players to talk to coaches and show that you should get paid a lot better. Performing at your best is hard, but they believe in themselves somewhere and one of the participants described it as follows: “It is tough when I cannot put aside any money and do not earn as much money as I could on this level. But then you believe in yourself and know inside that you can get a better contract, which I eventually got” (P7).
In some clubs, you do not get paid because their financial state is sordid, even if it is the same level but in different teams. “They had an economic crisis, so I did not get paid at all... “(P2). In cases like this, they had to take loans or change clubs, and except what they got,
“I changed to xxx, got paid bad and could not do anything about it at that point, so I took student loans. But after about a year, I proved to them that I should have more in salary, and I eventually got it” (P2).
The impact of injuries in DC
Injuries are inevitable in sports, and football is no exception. This theme describes how injuries have affected them, both in their studies and football careers, but how it may affect their motivation and self-confidence are different. One participant experienced a tolerably better structure over his time after the injury because he could let go of football’s mental pressure and find more free hours. “You spend more time on studies when you are injured. Now I have a certain number of hours for how long I should study, what I should study and how many free hours I have…” (P5).
Furthermore, studies benefited from injuries; another participant explained it like this:
When you are injured, it is almost positive for the studies because you get even more time for that. Of course, it is hard football-wise because you cannot play and do what you love. But in a way, you just have to accept the situation you are in to make the best of it. (P6).
As a football player, it is vital to be healthy and able to play because it is their job and income source; this can contribute to stress if you are injured and do not have the opportunity to do so.
As a football player, it is very stressful when you play in Superettan/…/ it is my income as well, and it is not always the best conditions in Sweden when you are injured; it is often quite a lot of stress via the insurance fund. There is no transparent system for that yet, so it becomes very stressful. On top of that, you have to convince
