Transitions, trajectories, terminations: exploring career pathways of children and young people in high-performance sport using Lego® Serious Play®.

Abstract

This study explores how to better support the social and psychological impacts of career transition upon children and young people (CYP) at the start of their sport careers. The career transitions and trajectories of young elite athletes in professional high-performance sport are particularly complex, and the ‘voices’ of children and young people receive limited coverage in both sport and leisure studies. This co-created study navigates these challenges using the creative methodology of LEGO® Serious Play® (LSP). It adds value to leisure studies by highlighting how creative and participatory research approaches prioritise the authentic voices of children and young people (CYP). Data was collected from eighteen young male athletes in the academy system of an English Premier League (EPL) Association Football club. Preliminary findings provide insight into better understanding the nuanced, every day, lived experiences of young athletes during their early introduction to the social world of highly pressurized professional football environments. The broader scope and scalability of LEGO® Serious Play® (LSP) as a creative play-based learning methodology to advance understanding across the full spectrum of leisure settings is highlighted. This study contributes new theoretical knowledge for leisure through the creation of the ‘Career Transition for Children and Young People (CYP) in High Performance Sport Matrix’.