The main themes established as part of the career professional analysis were experiencing self and identity in professional football as well as, experiencing help and support. A hierarchy, or schematic diagram, of the main-themes and sub- themes can be found below (Diagram 1.1)
Diagram 1.1: Schematic diagram of potential career professionals
Theme 1: Experiencing Self and Identity 1.1.1. Rewards of performance 1.1.2. Portraying strength 1.1.3. Inauthentic self 1.2.2. Out of control 1.2.1. Controlled and disempowered 1.1. Performing as a professional footballer 1.2. Control Theme 2: Experiencing Help and Support
2.1. Conflict: the need for help versus the need to deal with it alone
2.2. A new reality- the benefits of seeking support
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7.1.1 Experiencing self and Identity in professional football
One of the main themes, revealed during the analysis of the career professional interviews, was the issue of experiencing self and identity as sportsmen. The players’ identity and self predominantly focused on their sporting identity, one that was built upon the requirements expected of them as professional footballers, by themselves and others.
What was common across the players’ experiences was the importance of
professional footballers’ relationships with themselves and others. In particular, to be a professional footballer is to feel as if you are being constantly watched and judged by others. Thus, it was important to professional footballers how others view them, especially in terms of their sporting identity and ability. To be a professional
footballer was to be held in a higher status and this gave the players a sense of privilege and, a job that most people would like to do. What is more, the field of play represented a place where they were comfortable, a place where they could escape and avoid the pressures of life, a place where they could express themselves and perform their sporting skills.
The need for performance was something that was also common for professional footballers off the field. In their experiences, it was important that they were seen to mirror the same characteristics off the field, as they did on it. Therefore, to be a successful footballer it was imperative that players showed masculine characteristics such as ‘strength’ and ‘leadership’ and avoid perceived feminine characteristics such as ‘weakness’ and ‘shying away’. These experiences of performativity were very rigid for the players, as they did not allow professional footballers the freedom to show any other characteristics that were not in line with masculinity- i.e. showing emotions and feelings. Because of this, during difficulties the players experienced conflict between a private self - one that was struggling to cope; and a public self - which needed, at all costs, to show to others that they were coping. These experiences of performance led the players to feel as if they were being inauthentic, where there was a need to put on an act, in order to keep things in- and contained- and thus, to avoid showing to others how things really were.
Because of the requirements/expectations for professional footballers to show
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(or fear) about how they would be perceived by others and how this in turn would affect how they would be viewed as professional footballers. In particular, there was a fear that seeking help would jeopardise their opportunities as a professional
footballer in the future, as not being able to deal with things was something that was viewed as ‘weakness’. Unfortunately, the sporting chance players had to continue to suffer with problems to the point where they had no other choice than to seek help. The experiences indicated that players would much rather continue performing that everything was okay and continue with their problems, than they would to seek help for their issues. This led the sporting chance players to experience isolation and loneliness both during and after their careers.
What was also common across the players’ accounts was the experience of feeling controlled by others within the culture of professional football. This led the players to experience a sense of disempowerment, and lack of certainty in their sporting and non-sporting lives. It was apparent that the players’ lack of empowerment reflected in their struggle to do what was best for them during their difficulties- i.e. seek help- despite knowing that they needed support and help for their problems. The need to be seen as a coping man- to conform to the expectations of others- was far more important than doing what was right for them. What is more, during their careers and subsequent transition out of the game, the players found it difficult to be assertive, make decisions and move things forward in a positive sense for themselves. The culture of professional football not only expected the players to be a certain way but it was also a culture where everything was done for the players. Therefore, the interviews suggest that the culture of professional football not only serves to control footballers in how they should be, but also disempowers them by encouraging co- dependent relationships within it.
7.1.2 Experiencing a need for help and support
Another theme that was common across the Sporting Chance players’ experiences was the need to seek help and gain support for their problems. However,
unfortunately, it was common for players to wait until things got bad for them before they sought help, and for one player this led to an attempted suicide. Furthermore, it was common for the players to experience worry around how they would be viewed if they sought help and, in particular, there was a fear of being seen as weak by
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others. However, interestingly once the sporting chance players had sought help for their problems they had a different outlook on the world and their place within it. Instead of being concerned with how others viewed them, they instead became more concerned with how they viewed themselves. This shift was borne out of the
opportunity to express their feelings and thoughts in a non-threatening and judgemental environment (i.e. The Sporting Chance Clinic). Indeed, what was
common across the sporting chance players was the feeling of strength and a sense of finding themselves after speaking out about their problems. Paradoxically, these players were more self-aware, authentic and felt ‘stronger’ after reaching out for help, which is the polar opposite to how they felt they would feel (or be perceived). What is more, these experiences were only apparent within the sporting chance players, when they looked back at their experiences retrospectively. This could suggest that the within career professionals may not consider the need to talk about their issues, whether that be because it wasn’t relevant to their experiences per se or, their current situation (the requirement to fully subscribe to their sporting identity) did not allow them to consciously regard their problems as being directly attached to their sporting role. In other words, the within career players may not have any
problems, or they may have problems but want to sweep then aside in order to continue focussing on their sporting role.