Exploring How NCAA Personnel Discuss Post-Sport Physical Activitywith Collegiate Athletes: A Qualitative Analysis

Research suggests that collegiate athletes display insufficient levels of physical activity (PA) post-retirement. Due to their influence on athletes’ training, college athletics personnel (i.e., coaches, athletic trainers, strength and conditioning coaches) potentially impact athlete’s perceptions of healthy PA levels post-sport. However, it is unclear whether such discussions are held with athletes, as well as the content thereof. PURPOSE: Explore if/how National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) personnel discuss PA behavior maintenance with current college athletes. METHODS: Personnel from Divisions (D) I-III completed an online survey asking if they discuss PA maintenance with their athletes (yes/no/unsure), followed by an open-ended question to elaborate on how/why they discuss/do not discuss post-sport PA maintenance with current athletes. Frequency and content analyses were used to describe yes/no/unsure responses and construct themes from open-ended responses, respectively. RESULTS: Respondents (N = 129, 66.7% men, 43 ± 11 years, 84% Caucasian, 83% coaches) from 30 NCAA-sanctioned sports (DI 36%, DII 26%, and DIII 38%) completed the survey. 54.5% responded “yes” to discussing PA maintenance with athletes, 40.3% responded “no”, and 5.2% were “unsure”. Theme 1, Perceptions of Transition and Maintaining Health, included 3 subthemes: 1) acknowledgement of transition differences and difficulties, composed of responses related to external (“lose all the resources that kept them in shape”) and internal transitional changes (“you do not have the same types of goals”); 2) perceptions for maintaining health (“we discuss general lifestyle habits”); and 3) perceptions of athletes’ knowledge and practices (“most of them figure it out on their own”). Theme 2, Practices/Non-Practices for Maintaining PA and Health, included 3 subthemes: 1) practices for maintaining PA and competitiveness (“provide opportunities for them to continue to be active”); 2) practices for maintaining general health (“we talk about creating good habits”); and 3) do not promote PA (“I never thought about that”). CONCLUSIONS: The practice of discussing PA behavior with athletes pre-retirement varies among NCAA personnel. Themes identified through this research may identify barriers to discussing PA maintenance.