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Although the biopsychosocial model of sport injury rehabilitation (Brewer, Andersen, & Van Raalte, 2002) is one of the most comprehensive frameworks to address athletes’ postinjury responses, there has been little research centralizing the myriad of cultural factors (e.g., nationality, ethnicity, socioeconomic status) that can impact psychological, social/contextual, and biological factors that, in turn, impact athletes’ recovery. The purpose of the current study was to explore high-level South Korean athletes’ experiences of injury and rehabilitation. Retrospective semistructured interviews were conducted with 11 retired high-level South Korean athletes. Employing Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) methodology (Hill, 2012), four domains were constructed from the data: (a) Experience of the South Korean Sport System, (b) Immediate Post-Injury Perceptions, (c) Experience of Recovery Process, and (d) Post-Injury Reflections. The findings indicated that participants’ experiences of the forced hierarchy and power dynamics within the South Korean athletic specialist system influenced perceived sport injury rehabilitation outcomes.

The historic Boston Marathon was struck by tragedy in 2013 when two bombs exploded near the finish line during the race. This tragedy provided the opportunity to study resilience in marathon runners, whose experience overcoming minor adversities may help them respond resiliently to trauma (Dyer & Crouch, 1988). The purpose of this study was to employ qualitative methods to examine the role of resilience in helping runners overcome their experience at the 2013 Boston Marathon. The researchers used Galli and Vealey’s (2008) Conceptual Model of Sport Resilience as a guide. Sixteen 2013 Boston Marathon runners were interviewed. Participants reported experiencing a confusing, unpleasant race day, followed by months of mixed emotions and coping strategies, which were mediated by personal resources and ultimately led to positive outcomes including increased motivation, strength, new perspectives, and a greater sense of closeness in the running community.

Adolescent athletes can use psychological skills immediately after being taught, but a dearth of empirical evidence exists regarding whether these skills are maintained over time. A 12-week curriculum (i.e., UNIFORM; Gilbert, 2011) was taught to a high school varsity soccer team with three data collection points: pretest, posttest, 4-week follow-up. Use of several skills was significantly greater posttest compared with pretest as measured by the Test of Performance Strategies (Thomas, Murphy, & Hardy, 1999). Follow-up results were also salient. Relaxation, imagery, and self-talk use in practice was significantly greater than pretest at follow-up; relaxation, imagery, goal setting, and self-talk in competition showed similar results. Descriptive statistics and qualitative data triangulate these results. The UNIFORM curriculum enabled the athletes to use the skills more consistently. This study makes a contribution by measuring the skills at follow-up and providing evidence of their continued use four weeks after the curriculum’s conclusion.

We examined transformational leadership behaviors are exhibited in an elite sport environment. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 9 professional county cricket players to explore perceptions of transformational leadership behaviors of their captain and head-coach. Behaviors were firstly deductively categorized based on the Differentiated Transformational Leadership Inventory, with the most frequently cited being high performance expectations and individual consideration from the coach, and appropriate role-modeling of the captain. Further inductive analyses revealed a range of other factors which may influence players’ perceptions of transformational leadership. From these findings, suggestions are offered for those working in an applied context with sporting leaders.

Competitive engineering is a process whereby sport organizations modify the rules, facilities, and equipment involved in sport to facilitate desirable athlete outcomes and experiences. Competitive engineering is being increasingly adopted by youth sport organizations with empirical evidence positively supporting its influence on skill development and performance. The purpose of this study was to explore young female athletes’ experiences in their modified soccer environment. Seventeen recreational and competitive soccer players, aged 8–11, participated in semistructured photo elicitation interviews that featured several visual qualitative methods (i.e., athlete-directed photography, drawing exercises, and pile-sorting) to facilitate insight on their sport environments. Results revealed that the athletes’ competitively engineered soccer experience was perceived as being a distinct environment that emphasized personal development, positive relationships, and the underlying enjoyment of sport. These findings shed light of how youth sport structure modifications influence the athletes’ experiences, providing practical implications to further promote positive youth sport experiences.

This paper presents a case study of an elite female coach and her career termination from a 20+ year career following a critical life incident. A novel autobiographical approach was adopted whereby the participant undertook expressive writing to describe her experiences before, during, and following coaching an athlete at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Thematic analysis indicated seven phases related to the participant’s experiences of the critical incident: Build up to the event, the event, the aftermath, recovery and reflection on the event, sampling of new avenues, enlightenment, and career rebirth. The findings reinforce the high demands placed upon elite coaches, the subsequent threats to physical and mental well-being, and the importance of having robust psychological skills and suitable social support to cope with these demands. Implications for preparing and supporting coaches for successful career transition are discussed.