Running  head:  DROPOUT  IN  AMATEUR  JUNIOR  HOCKEY  PLAYERS   Leisure Lifestyle and Casual Leisure’s Influence on Athletic Identity, Performance and Perception of Hockey in Dropout Amateur Junior Hockey Players Bradley MacCosham Master of Arts in Human Kinetics University of Ottawa © Bradley MacCosham, Ottawa, Canada, 2015 DROPOUT IN AMATEUR JUNIOR HOCKEY PLAYERS ii Table of Contents Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………….5 Chapter 1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………..6 Importance of study………………………………………………………………………..7 Research purpose and questions…………………………………………………………...8 Operational definitions…………………………………………………………………...10 Chapter 2 Review of literature………………………………………………………………………………11 Careers in sport and serious leisure………………………………………………………11 Amateurism………………………………………………………………………………12 Serious leisure characteristics…………………………………………………………….13 Casual leisure……………………………………………………………………………..15 Identification……………………………………………………………………………...19 Optimal leisure lifestyle…………………………………………………………………..23 Dropout…………………………………………………………………………………...24 Transitions………………………………………………………………………………..25 Theoretical framework…………………………………………………………………...26 Chapter 3 Methods…………………………………………………………………………………………..31 Sample population………………………………………………………………………..31 Construction of interview guide………………………………………………………….33 Distribution……………………………………………………………………………….36 Data analysis……………………………………………………………………………...37 DROPOUT IN AMATEUR JUNIOR HOCKEY PLAYERS iii Chapter 4 Results……………………………………………………………………………………………39 The Build-up……………………………………………………………………………..41 Theme 1.1. Serious leisure characteristics……….……………………………….42 Theme 1.2. Amateurism………………………………………………………….45 Theme 1.3. Casual leisure participation………………………………………….46 Theme 1.4. Benefits of casual leisure participation………………………………49 Theme 1.5. Nurtured identity through casual leisure participation………………55 Theme 1.6. Performance enhancement through casual leisure participation…….56 The Barriers………………………………………………………………………………59 Theme 2.1. Transitions and dropout……………………………………………...59 Theme 2.2. Over-identification to hockey………………………………………..61 Theme 2.3. Less than optimal leisure lifestyle…………………………………...62 Theme 2.4. Negative perception of hockey………………………………………64 Theme 2.5. Negative impact on identification…………………………………...65 Theme 2.6. Negative impact on performance…………………………………….66 The Reconciliation………………………………………………………………………..68 Theme 3.1. Current involvement in hockey and optimal leisure lifestyle………..68 Theme 3.2. Multi-dimensional identity…………………………………………..70 Theme 3.3. Positive perception of hockey……………………………………….71 Chapter 5 Discussion………………………………………………………………………………………...73 Summary of results……………………………………………………………………….73 Serious leisure and amateurism…………………………………………………………..73 DROPOUT IN AMATEUR JUNIOR HOCKEY PLAYERS iv Casual leisure utilization, and influence on identification and performance…………….76 Optimal leisure lifestyle, perception of hockey, and influence on identity and performance………………………………………………………………………………80 Dropout and transitions…………………………………………………………………..86 Current leisure lifestyle, perception of hockey and identity……………………………...87 Limitations………………………………………………………………………………..89 Recommendations………………………………………………………………………..90 Alleviating limitations……………………………………………………………………92 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………..93 Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………96 References………………………………………………………………………………………..97 Appendix A……………………………………………………………………………………...105 Appendix B……………………………………………………………………………………...107 Appendix C……………………………………………………………………………………...108 Appendix D……………………………………………………………………………………...109 DROPOUT IN AMATEUR JUNIOR HOCKEY PLAYERS v Abstract Athletes involved in competitive sport are often required to neglect certain aspects of their life to pursue their sport. One of these aspects is participating in valued activities outside of sport. However, an imbalance between sports, in this case hockey, and other valued activities can lead to living a less than optimal leisure lifestyle with a negative impact on well-being. The purpose of this study is to explore how amateur Junior hockey players leisure lifestyle and casual leisure participation influence athletic identity, performance and perception of hockey. Results indicate that most participants perceived over-identified to hockey, which led to living a less than optimal leisure lifestyle and a negative impact on perception of hockey, identity and performance. However, after dropping out participants perceived their leisure lifestyle as optimal and returned to playing recreational hockey with renewed joy for hockey and a multi-dimensional identity. Keywords: dropout, leisure lifestyle, serious leisure, casual leisure, identity, performance DROPOUT IN AMATEUR JUNIOR HOCKEY PLAYERS 1 Leisure Lifestyle and Casual Leisure’s Influence on Athletic Identity, Performance and Perception of Hockey in Dropout Amateur Junior Hockey Players Chapter I - Introduction Dropout in sports is an important issue to address for two reasons. First, individuals are going from living a physically active lifestyle, which is what the Canadian government emphasizes for the population to stay healthy, to living a less active lifestyle and therefore potentially moving away from healthy living habits (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2012). Being physically active has many health benefits such as lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, type-2 diabetes, obesity, colon and breast cancers, injuries and falls, and mental health issues (Miles, 2007). Second, dropout has been negatively associated with withdrawing from sport. Therefore, dropout contrasts retirement from sport, which is associated with a positive experience when leaving sport (Butt & Molnar, 2009). Participating in sports can be a way to maintain a physically active lifestyle and healthy living habits for the population. Thus, avoiding dropout can be important in reducing the risk of having individuals no longer wanting to take part in physical activities such as sports. Participating in sports comes in different forms, but individuals are said to be serious about sport when “it is seen as so important to that person that he or she is willing to commit the time and effort needed to do his or her best at it in practices and games, even at the expense of other interests” (Stebbins, 1993, p. 81). However, research has demonstrated that an unbalanced lifestyle between sport (i.e., serious leisure) and other leisure activities (i.e., casual leisure) can lead to negative effects on well-being and quality of life (Stebbins, 2001a). Even though athletes are engaged in sport, they also enjoy participating in valued leisure activities outside of sport as well (Stebbins, 1997a). Thus, an athlete’s lifestyle must encompass the aspect of sport but also, DROPOUT IN AMATEUR JUNIOR HOCKEY PLAYERS 2 the values activities they have outside of sport. This may help prevent athletes from having difficulties and negative impacts on their well-being during their athletic career (Stebbins, 2005). Importance of Study To examine the topic of this study, recruited participants will represent the sport of amateur ice hockey in Canada. Most of the Canadian population (48%) agrees that hockey is strongly associated with Canadian pride and culture (CBC, 2014). Many are registered to play starting at a very young age and continue to play well into their adult life. However, according to CBC (2014), in 2010 hockey was second to golf for the most practiced sport among Canadians aged 15 years and older. CBC (2014) also indicated that in 2010, hockey was the third most practiced sport among Canadians aged between five and fourteen years of age. Soccer and swimming were both ahead of hockey. Thus, it may be possible that the cultural significance of hockey in Canada may be diminishing or is not as important to the population as it once was. Moreover, even though there is a small annual growth rate in hockey registration each year by 1.5% (comparatively to a 5.2% annual growth rate in the United States) (CBC, 2014), those who participate and have the dream of making it professionally some day must face the reality of the situation. The chance of making it to professional level hockey is nearly zero (MacGregor, 2013). According to Kesselring (2014), out of the roughly 22000 newly registered hockey players in Canada each year, only 132 will make it to the Junior leagues just below the National Hockey League (NHL). Additionally, of those 132 who made it to Junior level hockey, only seven of them will actually play an NHL game. This reaffirms the near impossibility of making it to the NHL someday as MacGregor (2013) indicated above. Making it to the NHL has been compared to winning the lottery, yet it is still every players dream to make it one day. Additionally, it is estimated that approximately 50% of registered hockey players between the ages of twelve and 17 drop out of hockey each year, which is a concern for hockey in Canada DROPOUT IN AMATEUR JUNIOR HOCKEY PLAYERS 3 (For the sake of the game, 2003). Based on these statistics, many Canadian hockey players will face the reality and have their dream of playing professional hockey unachieved. Thus, the focus of this study will be held on voluntary withdrawal or dropout for hockey players in Canada. That is, those who were on their way towards reaching their goal of playing professional level hockey (i.e., NHL) and decided to withdraw themselves from reaching that goal. Also, Junior level hockey specifically will be the focus for this study as the Junior level is the stage just before professional hockey and a stepping stone for players on their way to professional leagues such as the NHL. These players have also had a prolonged engagement and strived towards success in the sport for a longer period of time than those who dropped out at twelve years old. In addition, amateur Junior hockey players perception of their leisure lifestyle and its influence on their athletic identity, performance and perception of hockey has yet to be explored. Also, Casual leisure participation’s influence on athletic identity, performance and perception of hockey for amateur Junior hockey has yet to be explored in past research. This study will therefore contribute to existing knowledge in leisure research by seeing if serious leisure pursuers in hockey actually perceive their leisure lifestyle as optimal. It will also aim to see if their leisure lifestyle can have an influence on how they identify themselves during their hockey career and how this influences their overall perception of hockey. As for the casual leisure component, this study will aim to explore if casual leisure participation can have an influence on amateur Junior hockey players athletic identity, if benefits of casual leisure can translate to serious leisure performance and if it can influence their overall perception of hockey. Research Purpose and Questions Exploring athletes’ leisure lifestyle and its impact on athletic identification, perception of sport and performance prior to dropout requires further inquiry, as the topic has yet to be acknowledged from an athletes perspective. Nor has this topic been explored with amateur Junior DROPOUT IN AMATEUR JUNIOR HOCKEY PLAYERS 4 level hockey players. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between leisure lifestyle and casual leisure on athletic identity, performance and perception of hockey in amateur Junior hockey players who have dropped out. Specifically, guiding questions to be answered are: 1) was the leisure lifestyle of drop-out amateur Junior hockey players perceived as optimal?, 2) did their leisure lifestyle impact their perception of serious leisure prior to dropout?, 3) did their leisure lifestyle impact their serious leisure identification prior to dropout?, 4) did their leisure lifestyle impact their serious leisure performance prior to dropout?, 5) how is casual leisure utilized prior to dropout by amateur Junior hockey players?, 6) did casual leisure participation impact their serious leisure identification?, and 7) did casual leisure participation impact their serious leisure performance? DROPOUT IN AMATEUR JUNIOR HOCKEY PLAYERS 5 Operational Definitions Dropout in sports: athlete who has voluntary withdrawn from pursuing a goal in a sport previously engaged in over a prolonged period of time (Alfermann, 1995). Serious leisure: activity that individuals pursue most of their life because of its appeal to that individual (e.g., sports, collecting, arts, etc.) (Elkington & Stebbins, 2014). Casual leisure: activity that individuals participate in because Alfermann, 1995of its immediate rewards to the self and well-being (e.g., watching television, listening to music, etc.) (Elkington & Stebbins, 2014). Leisure lifestyle. Leisure participation in daily life (Peterson & Gunn, 1984). Optimal leisure lifestyle: a combination of both serious and casual leisure participation to maximize an individual’s well-being and quality of life (Stebbins, 2007). Identity: a multitude of roles/statuses an individual possesses (e.g., brother, son, employee, athlete, student, etc.) (Lally, 2007). Athletic identity: the athletic role/status portion of the individual to which they identify (Brewer, Van Raalte & Linder, 1993). Central life interest: favored or prioritized role/status of an individual over their other identities (Dubin, 1992). Perception: term inspired from phenomenology: thoughts expressed or explained from the point of view of the participant (Leedy & Ormrod, 2005), i.e., how participants perceive a certain situation.