<p>The purpose of this study was to retrospective investigate perceived demands and barriers for</p><p>golf juniors in their transition from regional to national junior elite competitions, and to find</p><p>out what resources and coping strategies the juniors used to succeed with this transition. The</p><p>developmental model (Wylleman & Lavallee, 2004), The analytical career model</p><p>(Stambulova, 2003) and The athletic career transitions model (Stambulova, 1997; 2003) were</p><p>used as theoretical framework for this study. The interviews were conducted with nine junior</p><p>golf players. A semi-structured interview guide was used consisting of five main themes:</p><p>background information, changes/demands experienced in the transition, resources that helped</p><p>the golf juniors to adjust to the new level, strategies the golf juniors used to adjust to the new</p><p>level and an evaluation of the transition. The result showed that the players perceived the</p><p>practice as more serious with an overall higher quality when they started to compete in</p><p>national competitions. The players increased their training time and started to use a variation</p><p>of exercises that were similar to the different parts of a competition. The competitions were</p><p>also perceived as more challenging with stronger opponents and an increased rivalry between</p><p>the players. Confidence and self-esteem, the will to practice and win are characteristics that</p><p>many players consider to be important internal resources in order to adapt to the national</p><p>junior level. The players observed other players to learn from them and to see what they</p><p>needed to improve. Many players changed their golf coaches around the same time as they</p><p>started to compete at national junior level. The coaches and parents were seen as the most</p><p>important external resources in order to adapt to the national junior level. Many players</p><p>experienced that it would have been hard to play and compete in golf without their parents’</p><p>financial help and support. During the time of the transition, outside golf the players learned</p><p>how to take responsibility and how to take care of themselves through traveling alone,</p><p>meeting new people and living by themselves. The players experienced that the school didn’t</p><p>have any understanding for their need to be free from school. The players also had to give a</p><p>lower priority to some other things in their life in order to have enough time for golf. The</p><p>biggest change was that they had to spend less time with their friends and the different</p><p>activities that they used to do before.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA/oai:DiVA.org:hh-1275 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Jorlén, Daniel |
| Publisher | Halmstad University, School of Social and Health Sciences (HOS), Högskolan i Halmstad/Sektionen för Hälsa och Samhälle (HOS) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, text |
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