Transitioning out of the professional player pathway: A grounded theory on the process in South African Men’s tennis

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dc.contributor.advisorGrobbelaar, Heinrich W.en_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorBabchuck, Wayne A.en_ZA
dc.contributor.authorSkinstad, Deborah Anneen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorStellenbosch University. Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. Dept. of Sport Science.en_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2022-02-28T07:46:56Z
dc.date.accessioned2022-04-29T09:23:50Z
dc.date.available2022-02-28T07:46:56Z
dc.date.available2022-04-29T09:23:50Z
dc.date.issued2022-04
dc.descriptionThesis (PhD Sport Sc)--Stellenbosch University, 2022.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractENGLISH ABSTRACT: To understand and describe the athlete and their environment(s), researchers, historically, have confined their description of retrospective events, such as sport participation, development, career transitions, etc., to the sport context. This approach has been limiting to researchers’ scope of interpretation (qualitative designs) and / or projection (quantitative designs) of past, present and future (athletic) selves along with transitioning and non-transitioning sporting careers. In other words, the person and athlete are portrayed as mutually exclusive. Considering this, the motivation for the current research project was to understand, reimagine and amplify the human experience of South African men’s tennis players, i.e., the people within their development pathways. To do this, a rigorous constructivist grounded theory (GT) methodology was employed both as the research process and as a strategy to generate theory. This GT study explored South African men’s tennis player transitions within and out of the professional player pathway in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Four research questions guided the study: 1) what is happening in the development process of a promising competitive junior tennis player in the Western Cape, South Africa?; 2) what is happening [on and off the court] in the development of these players?; 3) what are the transitional processes throughout the junior career pathway and how are these transitions understood?; and 4) how do men’s tennis players [with a promising national junior ranking] transition out of the professional player pathway? To best answer these research questions, a range of tennis participants (n = 34) were selected using purposeful sampling (theoretical sampling) along with maximum variation sampling. Data collection entailed semi-structured interviews augmented with observational work. Theory generation adhered to the procedures for constructivist GT analysis (initial codes, focused codes, categories and categories underpinning theory). As a result, a GT model that explains South African men’s tennis player development and transition processes was developed. This model is underpinned by eight core categories: 1) pursuing a rich man’s sport; 2) transitioning steps; 3) playing inside the lines [small world]; 4) SA Coaching world; 5) life orbiting tennis; 6) college: driving the tennis vehicle; 7) manhood eclipsing childhood; and 8) being a pro at life, not tennis. The practical implications of this model are recognised firstly in its approach to tennis development, i.e., placing greater emphasis on the person and their individual life transitions and how these influence their tennis trajectories. Secondly, this model provides a unique context to the South African tennis player journey. A journey that Tennis South Africa’s (TSA) current long-term player development model (LTPD) generically and collectively attempts to accommodate in a long-term development plan. However, without context and individual experiences of junior to senior transitions, i.e., sport within life domains, the South African tennis player remains (figuratively) confined to a linear, reductionist and prescriptive approach to development and the complexity of their path is grossly misunderstood and misrepresented. A practical recommendation for TSA is to accommodate the doubles format as a mechanism for tennis development and utilize it as a viable professional tennis pathway.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractAFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In ʼn poging om die atleet en hul omgewing(s) te verstaan en te beskryf, het navorsers histories gesproke hul beskrywing van retrospektiewe gebeure soos sportdeelname, ontwikkeling, loopbaan veranderinge, ens., tot die sport konteks beperk. Hierdie benadering het beperkend op navorsers se omvang van interpretasie (kwalitatiewe ontwerp) en / of projeksie (kwantitatiewe ontwerp) van die verlede, hede en toekomstige (atletiese) eie-ek, tesame met veranderende en nie- veranderende sport loopbane, ingewerk. Met ander woorde, die persoon en atleet word as wedersyds eksklusief uitgebeeld. Met dit in gedagte, was die motivering vir die huidige navorsingsprojek om die menslike ervaring van Suid-Afrikaanse mans tennisspelers, dit wil sê, die persone binne hulle ontwikkelingsroetes te verstaan, opnuut te bedink en toe te lig. Om dit te vermag is ’n onbuigsame konstruktivisties gegronde teoretiese (GT) metodologie gebruik as beide die navorsingsproses en as ’n strategie om die teorie te genereer. Hierdie GT studie het Suid- Afrikaanse mans tennisspeler veranderinge binne en buite die professionele arena in die Wes- Kaapse Provinsie in Suid-Afrika ondersoek. Vier navorsingsvrae rig die huidige studie: 1) wat gebeur in die ontwikkelingsprosesse van ’n belowende mededingende junior tennisspeler in Wes-Kaapland, Suid-Afrika?; 2) wat gebeur [op en van die baan] in die ontwikkeling van hierdie spelers?; 3) wat is die oorgangsprosesse tydens die junior beroepsloopbaan en hoe word hierdie veranderinge verstaan?; en 4) hoe verlaat mans tennisspelers [met ’n belowende nasionale junior ranglys posisie] uit die professionele ontwikkelingsroete? Om hierdie navorsingsvrae ten beste te beantwoord is verskeie tennisspelers (n = 34) deur middel van doelgerigte steekproefneming geselekteer (teoretiese steekproefneming) saam met maksimum variasie steekproefneming. Data insameling het semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude behels wat deur waarneming aangevul is. Teorie generering het getrou gebly aan die prosedures vir konstruktivisties GT analise (aanvanklike kodes, gefokusde kodes, kategoriee en kategoriee wat teorie ondersteun). As gevolg hiervan is ’n Gegronde Teoretiese model ontwikkel wat die Suid-Afrikaanse mans tennisspelers se ontwikkeling en veranderende prosesse verduidelik. Hierdie model word gerugsteun deur agt kernkategorieë: 1) die beoefening van ’n rykmansport; 2) oorgangstappe; 3) speel binne die lyne [klein wereld]; 4) Suid-Afrikaanse (SA) Afrigtingswereld; 5) lewensbaan tennis; 6) kollege: bestuur die tennis voertuig; 7) manlikheid wat die kinderjare verduister; en 8) om professioneel in lewe te wees, nie tennis nie. Die praktiese implikasies van hierdie model word eerstens erken in die benadering tot tennisontwikkeling, dit wil sê meer klem op die persoon en hul individuele lewensoorgange en hoe dit hulle tennis ontwikkelingsroete beinvloed. Tweedens voorsien hierdie model ’n unieke konteks aan die Suid-Afrikaanse tennisspeler se reis – ’n reis wat Tennis Suid-Afrika (TSA) se langtermyn speler ontwikkelingsmodel (LTSO) generies en gesamentlik poog om in ’n langtermyn ontwikkelingsprogram te akkommodeer. Dit is egter so dat sonder konteks en individuele ervarings van junior tot senior oorgangstydeperke, dit wil se, sport binne die lewensdomein, bly Suid-Afrikaanse tennisspelers (figuurlik) beperk tot ’n liniere, reduksionistiese en voorskriftelike benadering tot ontwikkeling en die kompleksiteit van die spelers se loopbane word erg misverstaan en verkeerd voorgestel. ’n Praktiese aanbeveling vir TSA is om die dubbelspel formaat as ’n meganisme vir tennisontwikkeling te implementeer en om dit as ’n lewensvatbare professionele roete aan te wend.af_ZA
dc.description.versionDoctoralen_ZA
dc.format.extentxvi, 194 pages : illustrations
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/124640
dc.language.isoen_ZAen_ZA
dc.publisherStellenbosch : Stellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.rights.holderStellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.subjectTennis -- South Africa -- Western Capeen_ZA
dc.subjectTennis players -- South Africa -- Western Cape -- Psychological aspectsen_ZA
dc.subjectTennis -- Instruction and study -- South Africa -- Western Capeen_ZA
dc.subjectTennis -- South Africa -- Western Cape -- Vocational guidanceen_ZA
dc.subjectTennis -- South Africa -- Western Cape -- Statisticsen_ZA
dc.subjectTennis -- Handbooks, manuals etc.en_ZA
dc.subjectSports administration -- South Africa -- Western Cape -- Sociological aspectsen_ZA
dc.subjectUCTD
dc.titleTransitioning out of the professional player pathway: A grounded theory on the process in South African Men’s tennisen_ZA
dc.typeThesisen_ZA
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