Junior-to-senior transition in elite female football -identifying predominant sources of stress among junior players, perceived from a player and coach perspective

Stian Aa SelbekkMarthe Sofie LilleengenJanita StålesenDaniel RansomStig Arve Sæther^*

• Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

The purpose of this case study is to gain insight and a deeper understanding into the predominant sources of stress in the junior to senior transition experienced by current and former female junior players and their male coaches both from the junior and senior team. All three groups of participants came from the same Norwegian professional football club. In total, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 female players (5 junior elite players, mean age 16,8 years, SD= 0,96, and 5 senior elite players, mean age 23,4 years, SD= 2,01). In addition, 4 male coaches on the junior and senior team (mean age 32,5 years, SD=3,84) were interviewed. We conducted a thematic analysis of the interviews. The findings reveal that the players experienced several sport and non-sport stressors. Among the sport stressors, disparities in performance level between junior and senior, especially in matches, and higher expectations and demands from their coaches was prominent. Among the non-sport stressors, struggles with balancing football with social life outside the sport was prominent. Since education was the elite female players backup plan, the club and school collaboration were considered important. Combined, the results indicate a need for facilitating the athletes' daily lives, which supports and smoothens their transition. On a broader level, this study contributes to insights into junior to senior transition in women's football, an area that remains underrepresented in the research literature.