Abstract
In high-performance interdependent sport, athletes will inevitably experience injuries while competing with teammates for limited resources such as playing time. Despite the prevalence of both injuries and positional competition (PC), the intersection between the two has yet to be investigated. Such an omission is surprising given that following injury, teams must adjust positional hierarchies, roles, and playing time. The current study explored athletes’ experiences with PC during the presence of injury. In Phase 1, 12 USports (OUA) football athletes (Mage = 21.50; SD = 1.57) representing every position group (e.g., quarterbacks, running backs) and a range of years of eligibility (Meligibility = 3.42; SD = 1.16) were recruited for one-on-one semi-structured interviews. These interviews informed the creation of an executive summary that served as the foundation for follow-up focus group interviews. In Phase 2, eight additional USports (CWUAA and AUS) football athletes (Mage = 22.25; SD = 1.49; Meligibility = 3.50; SD = 1.41) participated in two focus groups, each with four participants. In Phase 1, analyses resulted in three major themes: (1) injury is inevitable in football, and you cannot consider PC without it; (2) player status influences PC while injured; and (3) injury creates and removes opportunity. In Phase 2, athletes reinforced injury’s inevitability and connection to PC while considering status a central factor in the injury-PC relationship. These results are expected to provide coaches, athletes, and other invested partners with valuable information for fostering adaptive PC and for consideration during return-to-play decisions.
