A case study of commitment and compensation: Examining a 52 year old Masters athlete

Abstract

Masters athletes are considered models of successful aging (Dionigi & Horton, 2010), who invest vastly in training and competition, and have a wealth of experiences in sport/physical activity (Young & Medic, 2011). Understanding factors that facilitate masters athletes’ commitment may provide other adults with adaptive strategies for remaining active (Langley & Knight, 1999). In this case study, we interviewed a male masters athlete (Andrew: aged 52, nationally ranked runner, provincially ranked squash player, and regional winner of cross country skiing and orienteering championships) about personal and social conditions facilitating sport commitment and strategies used to maintain elite performance. Andrew’s accounts were analyzed deductively (Joffe & Yardley, 2003) using the Sport Commitment Model (SCM; Scanlan et al., 2003) and the Model of Selective Optimization with Compensation (MSOC; Baltes & Baltes, 1990). With respect to SCM, Andrew committed to sport because he inherently enjoyed training and competing, benefitted from social connections around sport in the absence of social pressures, and was further afforded opportunities to compete and test him-self, to travel to new places, and to feel youthful. With respect to MSOC, Andrew sustained year-round activity by prioritizing his sports and reducing his participation intensity in low ranked activities before major competitions in other activities. Moreover, he increased his sport-specific practice, and used his knowledge and experience to alter his techniques and training to compensate for age-related losses. Results show support for using the aforementioned models to understand why masters athletes remain committed and how they continuously achieve high levels of success.