Transitioning Out of Professional Sport: The Psychosocial Impact of Career-Ending Non-Musculoskeletal Injuries Among Male Cricketers From England and Wales

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to document the lived experiences professional cricketers who had encountered a career-ending non-musculoskeletal injury. Three male cricketers each with over nine years of playing experience in professional cricket representing England and Wales in participated in retrospective in-depth semi-structured interviews. The Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith et al., 1996) revealed that at the time of the injury, the participants were at the “final stretch” of their professional sporting careers and that despite a range of unpleasant reactions to injury, all participants experienced a healthy career transition out of sport. To best prepare athletes for a life outside of sport, ensuring athletes have sufficient plans in motion early on in their careers can reduce external and internal stressors, which if not addressed, can increase sport injury risk and have a negative effect on athletes’ reactions post-injury.