Extant research indicates that performers are required to negotiate their way through a plethora of athletic (e.g., increased physical intensity), organizational (e.g., selection), and social (e.g., non-sport relationships) stressors if they are to make successful transitions into professional soccer at the senior level (Mills, Butt, Maynard, & Harwood, 2012). Despite the national funding of professional soccer academies, only a small proportion of individuals (= 10%) make the transition to senior level (Finn & McKenna, 2010). Although Professional academy coaches (Mills et al., 2012) and youth development directors (Relvas, Littlewood, Nesti, Gilbourne, & Richardson, 2010) have offered insights in to the factors perceived to facilitate successful transitions, limited research has considered the experiences of athletes who have been deselected from professional soccer academies. The purpose of this study was to explore ex-professional academy soccer players' experiences of deselection and adjustment. Following institutional ethics approval, 10 male academy soccer players (Mean age = 20.4, SD = 0.9) within 3 years of being released from their respective sports teams were interviewed. A combination of inductive and deductive thematic analysis procedures (Braun & Clarke, 2006) resulted in the emergence of the following 4 general dimensions: Factors prior to deselection (e.g., development of a strong athletic identity), adjustment difficulties following deselection (e.g., a sense of loss, relationship difficulties), altered attitudes towards athletic development schemes (e.g., development of life skills), and recommendations for future athlete development initiatives (e.g., increase career awareness). The findings highlight the importance of developing social support resources for both academy players and within professional soccer academy systems. From an applied perspective, professional sport academies need to consider how talent development structures not only facilitate the successful transition to senior level, but also the psychological well-being and long-term adjustment of those who are involuntarily deselected.
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