Abstract
Purpose: Elite student-athletes in Canada report issues balancing their dual careers. Eighty percent of student-athletes in British Columbia indicated having difficulties balancing school and sport commitments (Way et al., 2010). Canadian university student-athletes' lives were found to revolve around three competing pillars: social, academic, and athletic (Miller & Kerr, 2002). Student-athletes often had to make compromises among these pillars leading to failings in academics, social isolation, or diminished athletic pursuits (Miller & Kerr, 2002). This research examined the experience of elite student-athletes participating in an elite sport school academy in Ontario, specifically focusing on the impact of the program on athletic, academic, and psychosocial development.
Method: A qualitative case study design employed in-depth, semi-structured interviews with female student-athletes participating in the academy's basketball stream (n=9; mean age=16). Interpretive thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.
Results: Results indicate that the elite sport school academy had a significant impact on the lives of the student-athletes; participants discussed many factors that impact their dual careers. Specifically, four themes include: perceptions of living up to the standards of an ideal athlete, the unique requirements of an elite sports academy (e.g. structure, holistic training), reconciliation of competing pillars, and what constitutes successful social support.
Conclusion: Participation in the elite sport school academy played a critical role in the well-being of student-athletes as well as their performance in both athletics and academics. These results have implications for Canadian student-athlete development and more specifically in terms of the future of this academy.
