Student Athlete Foreclosure

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On a positive side, while the feeling of belonging is extremely important, especially to the adolescent, tying oneself too closely to one narrow aspect of life can be limiting. It was found that first year high school football players perceived themselves more as identifying as a jock or footballer than those in older grades (Mitchell et al., 2014). This appeared to be due to the fact that the association was newer for them and therefore they were more status obsessed. Similarly, college level athletes displayed increased foreclosure in the first two years at the university than in their last years (Miller & Kerr, 2003). Reason being that young intercollegiate athletes often have big egos with pro-athlete dreams, but as their college experience …show more content…

Anderson and Miller (2011) stated, “90% of youth players that embark on a professional football career fail to ever achieve professional status.” Supporting this notion, Linnemeyer and Brown (2010) assert that, less than 2% of student athletes will ever have a professional sport career no matter what their aspirations, or those of their parents or coaches. This has a strong psychological affect especially when the athlete has been identified from a young age as a football player instead of a person, and when statistically unrealistic goals have been placed upon them. Athletes with identity foreclosure depict highly authoritarian behavior and their thinking is labeled as stereotypical. They also suffer from lower levels of self-directedness, morals, and autonomy (Brewer & Petitpas, 2017). In fact, when an athlete has the goal of a professional career it has been linked to limited educational development and alternative career pursuits. Findings show that student athletes have lower career maturity and experience more identity foreclosure when compare to other general, non-athlete college students (Linnemeyer & Brown, 2010). Collegiate athletes often choose majors that are not necessarily within their areas of interest but rather seek those that are more simple and do not conflict with their sport …show more content…

Studies show that, “athletic identity and identity foreclosure tend to increase from late childhood into adolescence and remain elevated until the prospect of reduced sport involvement are faced” (Brewer & Petitpas, 2017). Research has proven that with this information athletic clubs, coaches, high schools, and colleges should adapt their philosophy and be wise in how they speak to and set up athletes. Athletic staff and parents would be aware and not foreclose upon an athlete, especially a young athlete, and limit their options in other areas of life. Balance is key to living life and finding ones pursuit and path. Both the AIMS and the Objective Measure of Ego-Identity Status (OM-EIS) measure levels of exclusivity of an individuals identification with sport roles and lack of exploration of other domains of life that make a well rounded person. Petitpas and France (2011) and Linnemeyer and Brown (2010), were able to prove through several studies using the OM-EIS that athletes consistently report high levels of identity foreclosure compared to results of non-athletes. The media, parents, and coaches are highly responsible for this condition by over emphasizing commitment to improving a single sport skill, making an athlete hesitant to pursue any other activity that may deter

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