Drawing on Lent and Brown (2013) recently developed Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) model of Career Self-Management (CSM), we aimed to determine the key predictors and underlying theoretical mechanisms of college athletes' career planning processes for life after sport. Ten variables were operationalized (i.e., career planning for life after sport, career decision self-efficacy, career goals, perceived career planning support from coaches, perceived career planning barriers, conscientiousness, openness, extraversion, neuroticism, and agreeableness) to assess the hypothesized CSM model. A survey design was utilized on a sample of 538 NCAA Division I college athletes in the United States to test the model. The measurement and hypothesized models were tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The measurement model demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity for all measures. Several significant direct, indirect, and moderating relationships of the cognitive, contextual, and personality variables on career planning were observed. The CSM model was found to be a useful theoretical framework that explained 62.7% of the variance on career planning. The model, along with the validated measures that support it, can help both researchers and practitioners to leverage facilitating (i.e., self-efficacy, career goals, conscientiousness, openness, and extraversion) and impeding (i.e., career barriers) factors of the career planning processes in their work.

Institutions of higher learning may be considered dual-identity organizations because of the perceived distinctiveness between universities’ academic and athletic missions. One way in which these barriers can be weakened is through cross-sector social partnerships (CSSP), a form of collaborative engagement aimed at achieving a common societal goal. In this study, we examine the formation of a university-directed CSSP focused on enhancing environmentally sustainable initiatives within the athletic department. Interviews with 11 members of a so-called Green Team illustrate the processes of boundary spanning and boundary blurring. As demonstrated in the article, boundary spanning occurred under the leadership of a “champion” who assembled a team of stakeholders to assist with the major renovation of a pro-environmental football stadium. Though the sustainability committee has a common goal, not all experiences of Green Team members have been the same. In light of these differences, we identify key barriers and prescribe solutions that can lead to the realization of a new organizational form.

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In this exploratory study, we first intended to identify the underlying structure of components affecting the sport participation of 1258 elite youth athletes from the USA through a principal component analysis of 23 items related to motives and barriers to participation and created for this study. A six-component solution was proposed, including college and professional aspirations and competence beliefs, coach and peer relationships, pressures from parents and coach, intrinsic and self-determined extrinsic motivation, external barriers, and non-self-determined extrinsic motivation. Noteworthy differences by age, gender, and race on those retained components were also reported. Lastly, results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that 28% of the variance in sport enjoyment was explained by all retained components. Given the rapid growth of travel teams, this study provides a timely cross-sectional and multisport assessment of the state of elite youth sport in the USA. In consideration of optimistic outcomes observed in this study compared to alarming attrition trends commonly found in the elite youth sport environment, this study may serve as a reference as to the elements that influence sustained participation that is indispensable in today's youth sport landscape. Results also provided important theoretical contributions with respect to motivational processes underlying elite sport participation. Practical implications with regards to the influence of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and barrier elements on elite sport participation are also presented.

Objective We address the impact of policy intervention in youth tennis targeted at mitigating the influence of labor market‐persistent relative age effects known to exist in age‐grouped cohorts of students and athletes. Methods We take advantage of a natural experiment in policy implementation in U.S. youth tennis using a difference‐in‐difference‐in‐difference framework to identify effects among players born early and late in the year at the professional level using data from 1990 through 2015. Results Estimations reveal that the policy was successful in improving relative performance for U.S. men's tennis players born late in the year; however, there was no apparent effect on rankings for women. Conclusion We propose that while policy can have effects at the professional level, policy prescriptions that depend on physical or mental maturity may differ depending on sex or gender and require specificity in structure for various groups.