0000000000641691
AUTHOR
Noora J. Ronkainen
showing 24 related works from this author
Restoring Harmony in the Lifeworld? : Identity, Learning, and Leaving Preelite Sport
2020
Sport provides many youth participants with a central life project, and yet very few eventually fulfill their athletic dreams, which may lead them to disengage from sport entirely. Many studies have explored the processes of athletic retirement, but little is known about how youth athletes actually reconstruct their relationship with sport and embodiment postretirement. The authors explored these issues in the story of “Pilvi,” a Finnish alpine skier who disengaged from sport in her late adolescence. Employing an existential-phenomenological approach, they conducted six low-structured interviews with Pilvi, combined with visual methods, and identified key themes relating to the body, space,…
‘That is Why I Gave In to Age My Competitive Ability, but Not My Soul!’ A Spiritual Journey in Endurance Running
2012
In this article, we explore the spiritual dimensions of endurance running. Utilizing existential psychology as our theoretical framework, we approach spirituality as a broad concept encompassing both religious and humanistic worldviews. Through the first author's reflexive narrative and a discourse analysis of a Finnish runner's magazine, Juoksija, this study aimed to gain a deeper understanding of how distance runners negotiate dominant discourses on sport and religion in the process of making running existentially meaningful to them. The research results suggest that spiritual aspects of running underlie, but are rarely given voice in, the performance discourse that is dominant in Finnish…
‘I was excited to train, so I didn’t have problems with the coach’: dual career athletes’ experiences of (dis)empowering motivational climates
2019
In addition to investing in athletic development, adolescent elite athletes are expected to complete their secondary education. As a result of this expectation and the demands of sport and education, they may struggle to sustain high levels of motivation for both domains. Grounded in theoretical tenets of empowering coaching, this study sought to explore student–athletes’ perceptions of empowering and disempowering motivational climates and their possible implications for athletes’ dual career experiences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 Finnish student–athletes, and the data were thematically analysed. The analysis indicated that a majority of the athletes had experiences…
‘School, family and then hockey!’ Coaches’ views on dual career in ice hockey
2017
Despite the extensive research into coaches’ roles in supporting athletic development and motivation for sport, few studies have examined coaches’ attitudes and practices towards athletes’ dual careers. The present study extends European research into athletes’ dual careers by examining Finnish ice hockey coaches’ attitudes and practices surrounding players’ education. Ten male coaches aged 27–52 participated in semi-structured interviews. The data were analysed with an existential-narrative theoretical framework and with thematic and structural narrative analysis. Three composite vignettes were created entitled ‘supporting athletic development and players in reaching their own goals’, ‘enj…
A new perspective on adolescent athletes’ transition into upper secondary school : A longitudinal mixed methods study protocol
2016
The challenge of combining elite sport and education into a dual career pathway remains to be a source of concern for many high-performance athletes. Previous research findings suggest that committed participation in both domains is highly demanding and success in one pursuit often comes at the expense of the other. There are emergent studies, however, that argue for the beneficial and complementary nature of dual career pathways. Consequently, we emphasize the importance of understanding the processes underlying differences in the development of athletes’ life trajectories. This article presents a study protocol to explore new methodological and analytical approaches that may extend curren…
“She is where I’d want to be in my career” : Youth athletes’ role models and their implications for career and identity construction
2019
Abstract Objectives While role models have been documented to play a vital role in adolescents’ career development and identity exploration, in sport psychology they remain an untapped resource. The present study drew on narrative inquiry to explore the patterns of role model selection by adolescent student-athletes and the narrative maps these role models provide for self-construction. As a second objective, the study sought to understand the impact of gender on the selection and meaning of role models. Method Eighteen Finnish student-athletes (10 women, eight men) aged 17-18 participated in conversational interviews. We analysed the data with thematic and structural narrative analyses. Re…
Beyond Health and Happiness: An Exploratory Study Into the Relationship Between Craftsmanship and Meaningfulness of Sport
2021
Meaning in movement is an enduring topic in sport social sciences, but few studies have explored how sport is meaningful and for whom. The authors examined the relationships between demographic variables, meaningfulness of sport, and craftsmanship. Athletes (N = 258, 61.6% male, age ≥18) from the United Kingdom completed a demographic questionnaire, the Work and Meaning Inventory modified for sport, and the Craftsmanship Scale. Older age and individual sport significantly correlated with higher craftsmanship. Craftsmanship and religion were two independent predictors of meaningfulness, but emphasized somewhat different meaning dimensions. Meaningfulness in sport seems to be related to how a…
‘Strong and courageous’ but ‘constantly insecure’: dialogical self theory, intersecting identities, and Christian mixed martial arts
2021
Being a mixed martial arts fighter and a devout Christian seems to present an apparent contradiction that requires identity work to bring these identities into unity. We used Dialogical Self Theory and explored the autobiography of Ron ‘H2O’ Waterman, a professional fighter turned evangelist, to understand how the tensions between the different identities or I-positions were negotiated. We identified two I-positions, ‘Ron the Fighter’ and ‘Ron the Pater Familias’, which related differently to religion, sport, and masculinity. Importantly, the negotiations were not between MMA and faith, but between these two I-positions that served the different needs for self-enhancement and union with som…
Historicising Cultural Sport Psychology : Dare we De-centre Methodological Eurocentrism?
2021
In this essay we critically reflect on our respective journeys to and within cultural sport psychology (CSP). Since the inception, CSP scholars have advocated for opening the privileged academic space for marginalised voices and omitted subject themes; as well as cautioned researchers that the CSP project itself needs to be constantly revisited and reworked to keep it in progressive flux. We argue that, despite some notable advances, CSP remains a predominantly white Anglo-American intellec-tual space and that previous calls to engage with issues of power and privilege in the prevailing knowledge production have been largely unanswered. The lack of diverse voices within the CSP community ma…
Understanding youth athletes' life designing processes through dream day narratives
2018
A number of studies have investigated career pathways in elite sport with retrospective designs, but few studies have explored how youth elite athletes construct narratives about their future lives and how their dreams and hopes relate to their careers in sport and other life contexts. We drew on career construction theory to understand youth elite athletes' dreams for the future and prominent life themes. Seventeen Finnish youth elite athletes (7 men, 10 women) in the first year of upper secondary sport school participated in the study. They were asked to make visual representations of their “dream days”, and these were used as aids for reflection in low-structured interviews where partici…
“I want to do well for myself as well!” : Constructing coaching careers in elite women’s football
2019
There is a limited understanding of career development of sport coaches, especially from the subjective perspective focused on personal meaning and evaluation of this life project in sport. We drew on career construction theory and narrative methodology to explore football coaches’ career development, adaptability resources, and the meanings they assigned to their journeys. Ten women’s football (soccer) coaches (2 women) aged 23-60 in England took part in narrative interviews which we analysed using thematic narrative analysis. Our analysis indicated that early immersion into the football narrative context most often resulted in low career exploration and a strong commitment to coaching as …
Three team and organisational culture myths and their consequences for sport psychology research and practice
2019
In this article, three prevailing myths about team and organisational culture – an increasingly popular topic in applied sport psychology research and practice – are identified, reviewed and challenged. These are; that culture is characterised only by what is shared, that culture is a variable and therefore something that a particular group has, and that culture change involves moving from the old culture to an entirely new one. We present a challenge to each myth through the introduction of alternative theoretical and empirical material and discuss the implications for sport psychology research and practice. The intent of this endeavour is to stimulate debate on how to best conceptualise a…
“If my family is okay, I’m okay”: Exploring relational processes of cultural transition
2017
The experiences of athletes who relocate from their home country have recently been in the centre of attention in sport psychology. The present study examined how migrant athletes construct meaning...
The transnational migration of mindfulness: a call for reflective pause in sport and exercise psychology
2021
Abstract Objectives Research on transnational migration has flourished in recent years, but the transnational movement of ideas, practices, and cultural norms, especially within the sport and exercise psychology community, has received scant attention. We explored the transnational migration of mindfulness to understand how the concept has been culturally adapted to fit the mainstream sport and exercise psychology research and practice. Method Sport-based mindfulness interventions, journal articles in Psychology of Sport and Exercise in 2008–2020, and sessions of the FEPSAC 2019 Congress were examined to reflect on the current positionality of mindfulness within sport and exercise psycholog…
What can gender tell us about the pre-retirement experiences of elite distance runners in Finland?: A thematic narrative analysis
2016
Abstract Objectives This study explores gendered experiences of the mastery stage in endurance runners' athletic careers in terms of (a) key themes in this period of life, (b) retirement decision-making and (c) changes in athletic and runner identities. Design and method Ten male and nine female athletes aged between 25 and 62 participated in individual interviews. The data were analyzed via thematic narrative analysis. Results and conclusion Gendered meanings permeate career decision-making and retirement patterns of Finnish runners. Female athletes reported many difficulties, including health problems, loneliness, societal pressure and lack of social support during the final years of thei…
The Philosophical Underpinning of Athlete Lifestyle Support : An Existential-Humanistic Perspective
2022
This study aims to highlight how an existential-humanistic perspective can inform athlete support and in doing so, emphasise the importance of explicating the philosophical underpinnings of athlete lifestyle support. Drawing on applied experience with elite youth cricketers over a twelve-month period, ethnographic data was collected through the observation, maintenance of case notes and a practitioner reflective diary. Based on thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), we created three non-fictional vignettes that we use to illustrate how existential-humanistic theorising can inform lifestyle support. We discuss the implications of this professional philosophy in terms of considerations for…
Me, Myself, and My Thoughts: The Influence of Brooding and Reflective Rumination on Depressive Symptoms in Athletes in the United Kingdom
2020
Individual differences in vulnerability to depression are still underexplored in athletes. We tested the influence of different brooding and reflective rumination profiles (i.e., repetitive thought processes in response to low/depressed mood) on the odds of experiencing clinically relevant depressive symptoms in competitive athletes (N = 286). The Patient Health Questionnaire–9 and the Ruminative Responses Scale–short form were utilized to measure depression and rumination, respectively. Compared to athletes with a low brooding/reflection profile, athletes with a high brooding/reflection profile had significantly higher odds of experiencing clinical levels of depressive symptoms (OR = 13.40…
From athletic talent development to dual career development? A case study in a Finnish high performance sports environment
2020
The focus of dual career (DC) research has shifted from exploring individual experiences within Athletic Talent Development Environments (ATDEs) toward understanding the impact of the environment and the broader cultural context on individuals’ developmental trajectories in Dual Career Development Environments (DCDEs). To comply with national and EU recommendations for socially responsible elite sport, many successful ATDEs list DC as one of their primary values and advertise themselves as DCDEs in order to attract more athletes. The present study aimed to evaluate whether and how a talent development environment for youth athletes in Finland has transformed from an ATDE to DCDE by explorin…
Continuity and Discontinuity of Sport and Exercise Type During the COVID-19 Pandemic : An Exploratory Study of Effects on Mood
2020
Involvement in sport and exercise not only provides participants with health benefits but can be an important aspect of living a meaningful life. The COVID-19 pandemic and the temporary cessation of public life in March/April/May 2020 came with restrictions, which probably also made it difficult, if not impossible, to participate in certain types of sport or exercise. Following the philosophical position that different types of sport and exercise offer different ways of “relating to the world,” this study explored (dis)continuity in the type of sport and exercise people practiced during the pandemic-related lockdown, and possible effects on mood. Data from a survey of 601 adult exercisers, …
Organizational Culture Beyond Consensus and Clarity: Narratives From Elite Sport
2020
In sport psychology, organizational culture is usually depicted as shared, consistent, and clear—the glue that holds people together so they can achieve success. There is, however, growing discontent in sport psychology with this idea of culture and extensive critiques in other academic domains that suggest this perspective is limited. Accordingly, the authors draw on narrative interviews with participants (n = 7) from different areas of sport and use Martin and Meyerson’s three perspective (integration, differentiation, and fragmentation) approach to culture alongside thematic analysis to reconstruct three “ideal cases” that exemplify each perspective. The findings emphasize a different pa…
Transnational athletic career and cultural transition
2020
Transnational movement of sports participants is an important dimension of the internationalization and globalization processes in sports industry and also has become a crucial element of athlete professional development in the 21st century. Since Bale and Maguire’s (1994) pioneering work on athletic talent migration, sports sociology and human geography scholars have made strides in mapping international movement flows of skilled sports migrants. Furthermore, with a recent shift in sports labour migration studies from macro- to microsociological perspectives, there has been an increased interest in the agency and multidimensionality of migrant professionals’ life and work experiences acros…
Beyond Health and Happiness : An Exploratory Study Into the Relationship Between Craftsmanship and Meaningfulness of Sport
2021
Meaning in movement is an enduring topic in sport social sciences, but few studies have explored how sport is meaningful and for whom. The authors examined the relationships between demographic variables, meaningfulness of sport, and craftsmanship. Athletes (N = 258, 61.6% male, age ≥18) from the United Kingdom completed a demographic questionnaire, the Work and Meaning Inventory modified for sport, and the Craftsmanship Scale. Older age and individual sport significantly correlated with higher craftsmanship. Craftsmanship and religion were two independent predictors of meaningfulness, but emphasized somewhat different meaning dimensions. Meaningfulness in sport seems to be related to how a…
Implications of the identity position for dual career construction: Gendering the pathways to (Dis)continuation
2021
Objectives To examine how gender functions in the narrative construction of dual career styles, and how these styles impact the (dis)continuation of a dual career pathway. Design Longitudinal qualitative study. Method Life story interviews with 18 talented Finnish athletes (10 cis women, 8 cis men) at four points in time – when they averaged 16, 17, 19, and 20 years of age – followed by an integrative narrative-discursive analysis. Results (a) contrapuntal style was gender-typically female; (b) monophonic style was gender-typically male; and (c) dissonant style was an important pathway to dual career discontinuation through which gender ideologies impacted the emergent adults with different…
Urheilijoiden kaksoisuraan liittyvän tutkimuksen tämänhetkinen tilanne Suomessa
2016
Urheilijan kaksoisura tarkoittaa huippu-urheilun ja opiskelun/ koulutuksen yhdistämistä. Tämä helpottaa urheilijan siirtymistä urheilu-uralta työmarkkinoille. Vaikka kansainvälisen tutkimuksen mukaan useimmat huippu-urheilijat pitävät koulutusta tärkeänä, he useimmiten asettavat urheilu-uran etusijalle yrittäessään sovittaa harjoittelun ja kilpailemisen asettamat vaatimukset koulutusjärjestelmien vaatimuksiin ja rajoituksiin. Tutkimusten mukaan monet lahjakkaat eurooppalaisurheilijat usein joko lopettavat urheilu-uransa panostaakseen koulutukseen ja sitä kautta työllistymiseen tai viivästyttävät tutkinnon hankkimista keskittyäkseen kokonaan urheiluun. Kysymys on otettu osaksi EU:n strategis…