Abstract
Emerging research supports that some former collegiate athletes (FCAs) can become physically inactive after retiring from sport, which can exacerbate unfavorable changes in long-term health. While researchers have addressed transitional difficulties FCAs may experience after retiring, little empirical evidence exists on how to promote healthy post-sport physical activity (PA) levels for those who are insufficiently active. Because of FCAs' past sports training, considering their opinions for effective PA program components may be beneficial in early stages of behavioral intervention development. As such, 17 insufficiently active former National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I athletes engaged in semi-structured interviews exploring their post-sport PA experiences and perceptions of effective program characteristics. Using Consensual Qualitative Research procedures, five domains were constructed. Three domains were discussed in a previous article; this paper overviews the remaining two, which describe participants' opinions of what would effectively promote PA in their population: (a) a desire for an 'athletics-lite' atmosphere in an FCA-targeted intervention, and (b) using technology to positively engage former athletes in their PA transition. While participants believed an athletics-based program where they are provided feedback and individualized workouts would be effective in maintaining PA, this may indicate underdeveloped autonomy in some FCAs regarding PA maintenance post-sport. Initially utilizing college sports personnel in a program may aid FCAs at risk of inactivity in transferring skills used in sport to independent PA maintenance after retiring. Further, the introduction and use of technology may help facilitate self-monitoring of progress, social support, and individualization when external resources are unavailable.Lay summary: Seventeen, inactive former college athletes (FCAs) were interviewed to understand enablers for promoting physical activity (PA) in their population. Utilizing sport/exercise personnel to help FCAs become more autonomous in their behavior and promoting self-monitoring through technology may help those in this population who struggle to maintain PA post-sport.
On-campus programs should consider involving athletics personnel (e.g., coaches, athletic trainers, certified mental performance consultants) and, pending available resources, outside experts (e.g., exercise physiologists) to deliver techniques, strategies, and education to explicitly support retiring student-athletes in maintaining PA after retirement.The perceived need for an athletics atmosphere, such as a coach-figure and teammates to be competitive with, may indicate underdeveloped autonomy for maintaining PA in insufficiently active FCAs. While athletics personnel may be useful in early promotion of PA, programs should strive to help them build more self-determined forms of motivation and be self-sufficient in maintaining PA post-sport.Programs may consider promoting the maintenance of PA to students-athletes via the use of wearable devices, PA applications, and online resources to promote self-monitoring of behavior, facilitate social support, and provide education on healthy PA practices.