Psychology Commons^™

From Playing To Directing: A Qualitative Inquiry Into The Athlete To Coach Transition, Jamie M. Zalasin

Theses and Dissertations

The following dissertation explored six (n = 6), current, professional baseball coaches' experience with transitioning from playing to coaching. Some experiences associated with athletic transitions based on the literature include missing sport or competition, body changes, social status changes, and vocational concerns (Wylleman & Reints, 2010; Park & Lavallee, 2015). Additionally, the salience of one's athletic identity can create difficulties such as identity loss, emotional distress, and grief (Lally, 2007; Fortunato & Marchant, 1998; Grove, Lavalle, & Gordon, 1997). Within vocational concerns, there can be uncertainty about the next career's link to sports. For many professional athletes, their age of …