The Sport Psychologist, 2015, 29, 120  -133

http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/tsp.2014-0102
© 2015 Human Kinetics, Inc. applied research

Stressors, Coping, and Support Mechanisms

for Student Athletes Combining Elite Sport
and Tertiary Education: Implications for Practice
Suzanne Cosh and Phillip J. Tully
University of Adelaide

Participation in elite-sport and education is stressful and can result in sacrificed educational attainment. A dearth of research,
however, has explored the specific stressors encountered by student athletes and coping strategies used, resulting in limited
knowledge of how to best support student athletes. Interviews with 20 Australian university student athletes were conducted
and data were analyzed via thematic analysis. Interviewees reported encountering numerous stressors, especially relating
to schedule clashes, fatigue, financial pressure, and inflexibility of coaches. Athletes identified few coping strategies but
reported that support from parents and coaches was paramount. Athletes would benefit from upskilling in several areas
such as effective use of time, self-care, time management, enhanced self-efficacy, and specific strategies for coping with
stress. Coaches have the opportunity to play a pivotal role in facilitating successful integration of sport and education.

Keywords: athlete, qualitative research, collegiate athlete, barriers, coping, tertiary education, college

Increasingly, there is an expectation that athletes Stressors

undertake further education to forge postsport career
paths (Hickey & Kelly, 2005); and this expectation Participation in sport and education is highly stressful
extends beyond adolescent athletes who are legally (Burden et al., 2004), likely contributing to academic
required to complete education and to older athletes who sacrifices outlined above. Stress can be conceptualized
are enjoined to engage in tertiary education in preparation in a number of ways. Consistent with Lazarus’ model of
for life after sport. Despite this expectation, participation stress, emotion and coping, in the current study stress
in both sport and education is highly demanding and was defined as “a relationship between the person and
stressful (Burden, Tremayne & Marsh, 2004). Athletes the environment that is appraised by the person as rel-
have reported that success in one pursuit comes at the evant to his or her wellbeing and in which the person’s
expense of success in the other, with athletes frequently resources are taxed or exceeded” (Folkman & Lazarus,
sacrificing their educational attainment to prioritize their 1985, p. 152). A body of research has identified stressors
sporting success (Cosh & Tully, 2014; McGillivray, associated with elite-level sport, such as poor prepara-
Fearn & McIntosch, 2005). Athletes are less motivated to tion, injury, performance expectations, self-presentation,
perform academically than their nonathlete counterparts and rivalry (Mellalieu, Neil, Hanton & Fletcher, 2009).
(Lucas & Lovaglia, 2002) and have described choosing Athletes also experience stressors outside of the context
“easier” subjects to accommodate their sporting commit- of competition in relation to the sport organization itself,
ments (Burden et al., 2004). Student athletes have also including relationships and interpersonal demands in
described themselves as aiming only to pass; thereby sport settings, athletic career and performance develop-
restricting future study opportunities (Cosh & Tully, ment (Mellalieu et al., 2009). The nature of the training
2014). Sacrificed educational achievement has implica- environment (e.g., performance climates where the
tions for athletes’ future careers, potentially leaving ath- emphasis is on interpersonal competition) has also been
letes without clear career paths. Such career uncertainty identified as a potential stressor (Pensgaard & Roberts,
and resultant financial pressure renders athletes vulner- 2000). Olympic athletes also frequently reported ineffec-
able to anxiety and transition difficulties during and into tual support networks and the effects of travel as sources
retirement (Lavallee & Robinson, 2007). of stress (Hanton, Fletcher & Coughlan, 2005).
Specifically examining stressors within student-
athlete populations, it has been found that student ath-
Cosh is with the School of Psychology, and Tully the Free- letes report encountering a number of coaching-related
manson’s Foundation Centre for Men’s Health, University of stressors. Among French school students, it was shown
Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia. Address author correspondence that coaching style was related to athlete stress and
to Suzanne Cosh at suzanne.cosh@adelaide.edu.au. burnout (Isoard-Gautheur, Guilllet-Descas & Lemyre,

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 Stressors, Coping, and Support Mechanisms for Student Athletes   121

2012). Likewise, a study examining collegiate coaching influences coping, with elite-athletes with high levels
highlighted that athletes reported that coaching style, of experience relying more on problem-focused and
such as perceived poor teaching or being uncaring, was emotion-focused coping than less experienced athletes
associated with their coping and motivation for sport (Hanton, Neil, Mellalieu & Fletcher, 2008). Personality
(Gearity & Murray, 2011). Coaches have also been argued dimensions such as neuroticism and extraversion further
to contribute to the stress of sport participation for student determine the style of coping with sport-related stressors
athletes through fostering feelings of incompetence or (Kaiseler, Polman & Nicholls, 2012). In addition to per-
lack of control (Kimball & Freysinger, 2003). sonality, motivation and perceived level of social support
The transition to tertiary education and college-level have also been suggested to help buffer top performers
sport has also been reported to be a source of stress and from the stressors associated with elite competition
frustration for student athletes (Papanikolaou, Nikolaidis, (Fletcher & Sarkar, 2012).
Patsiaouras & Alexopoulos, 2003; Wilson & Pritchard, In relation to student athletes’ coping, it has been
2005). Wilson and Pritchard (2005) demonstrated that stu- shown that freshman collegiate-athletes lacked coping
dent athletes reported different sources of life stress during skills to manage the challenges associated with adjusting
this transition than their nonathlete counterparts in areas such to college life and college-level sport (Papanikolaou et al.,
as romantic relationships and lack of sleep. Yet, the extant 2003). From their observations, they argued that student
research largely examines stressors experienced in relation athletes aimed to avoid feelings of inadequacy by acting
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to sport participation or general life stress, with only a as though they did not care about classes, and fought
limited focus on the specific stressors that are encountered within their sport to cope with frustration. However, the
by student athletes in relation to combining elite sport coping strategies that student athletes employ, and the
and education. A study exploring the specific stressors support and coping mechanisms upon which they rely
of integration faced by student athletes competing in an in relation to stressors specifically related to combining
Australian professional sports league, reported stressors sport and education, require further examination.
such as time-management, fatigue due to lack of sleep,
and schedule clashes (Hickey & Kelly, 2005).
Study Aims
The stressors specific to contemporaneously engaging
Coping Mechanisms in elite sport and education require further examination
to understand how to best support athletes in combining
To overcome the stressors associated with elite-sport
sport and education. The aim of this paper is to examine
competition, athletes are required to employ a variety
the stressors that student athletes report encountering,
of coping strategies. In the extant sport psychology
as well as the coping strategies and support mechanisms
literature, coping has been understood via either a trait
that they draw upon, to integrate sport and education;
approach, suggesting that individuals have stable coping
thereby informing how to best support student athletes.
styles with which they approach an array of stressors (e.g.,
Penley, Tomaka, & Wiebe, 2002) or as a process or trans-
actional approach, with the coping strategy employed spe- Method
cific to the stressor and cognitive appraisal thereof (e.g.,
Lazarus, 1999). A number of macro-dimensions of coping Twenty Australian athletes1 completing tertiary educa-
have been theorized. Lazarus and Folkman (1984) out- tion participated in semistructured interviews that were
lined problem-focused coping (i.e., a focus on strategies approximately one hour in length. A semistructured
to reduce or resolve the problem) and emotion-focused format was selected as this provides a framework that
coping (i.e., strategies to reduce negative emotion/dis- ensures comprehensive data collection across all inter-
tress). Others have suggested that coping fits within the views, but allows for topics to be covered naturally in
structure of task-oriented, disengagement-oriented and conversation and in an individualized manner, depend-
distraction-oriented (Compas, Connor-Smith, Saltzman, ing on what is salient to the interviewee (Tenenbaum &
Harding Thomsen & Wadsworth, 2001), while avoid- Driscoll, 2005). In addition, semistructured interviews
ance coping (i.e., removing self or cognitive distancing; allow for interviewees to raise salient topics not appear-
e.g., Anshel, 2001) and appraisal-focused coping (i.e., ing in the interview-schedule (Locke, 2004). Interviewees
reevaluating the situation to reduce importance; Cox & were firstly asked to outline their sport and study pro-
Ferguson, 1991) have also been theorized. gram before being asked to describe their experiences
It has been noted that the gender of student athletes of combining elite-level sport and higher education (for
(Gan, Anshel & Kim, 2009) and age of athletes partially interview schedule, see Figure 1).
determines the coping strategy employed in relation to Participants (12 female, 8 male) competed in a range
sport-specific stressors (Nicholls & Polman, 2007). For of individual and team sports: field hockey (n = 3), rowing
example, middle adolescent athletes employ more emo- (n = 3), Australian rules football (n = 2), kayaking (n = 1),
tion- and problem-focused coping strategies than early baseball (n = 1), equestrian (n = 1), trampolining (n = 1),
adolescent athletes (Reeves, Nicholls & McKenna, 2009). table tennis (n = 1), cricket (n = 1), soccer (n = 1), archery
The competitive level and experience of the athlete also (n = 1), fencing (n = 1), water polo (n = 1), athletics

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 122  Cosh and Tully
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Figure 1 — Interview schedule.

(n = 1) and netball (n = 1). Of participating athletes, nine (as outlined by Braun & Clarke, 2006), that is, while it is
were competing at an international level and 11 at national acknowledged that the researchers’ prior knowledge nec-
level. Athletes were aged between 18 and 33 years of essarily will influence data analysis, the aim of the present
age (M = 21, SD = 4.45) and half were in their first year inductive analysis was to ensure that the analysis was data
of tertiary education. Interviewees were enrolled in a driven, rather than try to fit the data to a predetermined
variety of courses including, medicine, physiotherapy, set of themes or theory of coping. Once key themes were
dentistry, law, arts, science, finance, international studies, identified, the data were reread and sections of interviews
commerce, marketing, and media. were coded according to the theme/s. Subthemes relating
Athletes were recruited through an e-mail sent by to specific strategies/supports and stressors were also then
a support service provided to elite-athletes enrolled at identified and the data were coded accordingly. The collated
the University and participants were compensated AUD data were then checked for coherence within the theme and
$25 for their time. Ethical approval was obtained from the each theme was checked for conceptual distinctiveness from
University of Adelaide Research Ethics committee. All par- the others. Identifying and coding of data into themes
ticipants provided informed written consent. Interviewees was completed independently by two researchers and
were ensured confidentiality and were given pseudonyms any discrepancies were settled through discussion until
and identifying information was removed from transcripts. consensus was reached. Discussions were also conducted
Participants were informed that they were not compelled regularly throughout the data analysis process to identify
to answer any questions and could pause or terminate the and attempt to minimize the imposition of researchers’
interview at any point (and still receive the compensation interests or prior knowledge on the data analysis. The
for their time). Interviews were audio-recorded and then proportion of athletes reporting each (sub)theme was
transcribed verbatim by either the first author or a research then quantified to provide an indication of their ubiquity.
assistant. Transcripts were checked against the recordings
by either the first author or research assistant for accuracy
and to minimize the role of the researchers’ interpreta- Results
tions upon the transcripts (see Potter & Wetherell, 1987).
Data were then analyzed using thematic analysis, Stressors
according to the protocol outlined by Braun and Clarke All athletes in the study indicated encountering a number
(2006). This process involves the reading and rereading of stressors in combining sport and education. Four
of the data to identify key and recurrent themes common overarching themes were identified: scheduling, fatigue,
across all interviews. The coding of themes was inductive coaches, and finances (see Figure 2).

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 Stressors, Coping, and Support Mechanisms for Student Athletes   123
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Figure 2 — Stressors encountered in combining sport and education.

Scheduling.  Schedule clashes between training pro- begins to outline schedule clashes as a difficulty that he
grams and university timetables were reported to be a key has encountered.
stressor by 16 of the 20 interviewees. Athletes reported
having difficulty fitting their university timetable in with I needed a lot of flexibility between the university
their training schedules; often resulting in clashes. These and the, the um {sport} club and I found at times
clashes forced athletes to prioritize either sport or educa- that the uni weren’t as flexible…you had to attend
tion; and such prioritization decisions were described as a certain number of pracs [practicals]…and if
a central source of stress. Students reported facing pos- you don’t you’re going to fail. (Max, post-graduate
sible failure for not attending courses, or were concerned marketing student)
that missed learning opportunities from missing classes The following quote comes from Adrian’s response
would have a detrimental impact on their grades; as is to a question about if there are any things the he finds
highlighted in the examples below. hard about combining sport and education.
The first example forms part of the response to the
initial question asking Max to describe his experiences The thing that probably stresses me the most is know-
in combining sport and education. Max immediately ing that I haven’t been keeping up and especially at

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 124  Cosh and Tully

this stage now where it’s before exams I realize that In the next example, the interviewee had outlined
I’ve got to kind of teach myself everything that I that to manage combining sport and education he chose
missed and that, kind of, can get stressful. (Adrian, to sacrifice the quality of the work. The following segment
second year media student) comes in response to the interviewer’s question regarding
how he feels about sacrificed quality of work.
On the other hand, interviewees reported missing
training sessions due to their educational commitments It does sort of frustrate you sometimes that you’re
to be a stressor. In particular, they expressed their concern handing it [assignments] in and you think of all the
about a) possible nonselection due to nonattendance at other people who’ve got, you know, who’ve had…
all training sessions and b) decreased performance due to that haven’t been away for the last two weeks and that
missed training sessions. The following examples high- have, you know, just been at least able to think about
light this stressor. The first instance comes from early in it [assignment] and focus in on it and do whatever
an interview. Matthew is responding to the question about they want with their sort of time to, to devote it to
how he fits in sport and education. Before the start of this study. (Scott, first-year science student)
extract he has stated that he sometimes misses training
to complete assignments on time. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the majority of interviewees
also reported that the time commitments associated with
You do worry about it [missing training] and sort of both sport and attending classes resulted in them having
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think it’s bad and you know you’re getting worried insufficient time to complete study and assignments. Poor
when it comes to selection or something and you’re, academic outcomes were then attributed to this lack of
you’re up in, in a race you think well I’ve missed time, as can be seen from the following examples. The
this session I’ve missed that session. (Matthew, first first extract immediately follows the interviewer’s ques-
year international studies) tion regarding if there are things that Kristin has found
difficult about combining sport and education.
The next example follows from a section of talk in which
the interviewee described missing classes and training in The amount of time that they both want from you.
her attempts to combine sport and education. The quote It’s kind of hard to balance it um, yeah I think the
forms part of her response to a question about how she time commitment is the hardest thing. (Kristin, first-
feels about missing classes and training. year medicine)

I’m definitely not as strong as I used to be, I went The following illustration comes from the interview-
to the gym all the time, was easy to push everyone ee’s response to the question ‘how do you think you’ve
around. I fall over heaps now. Um if I can do more kind of gone so far in combining sport and education?’
gym that would definitely be better for my {sport} … I find it quite hard to do the amount of like study
but those things have been cut out because of, you that we’re supposed to do because, um it really
know, what it is to achieve in both fields. (Lauren, needs to be about three to four hours a night and
second-year media student) when you have like 6 till 9 taken up [by sport], its,
it doesn’t leave you much time. (Samantha, second
In addition to class and training schedule clashes,
year medicine student)
12 athletes reported difficulties with competitions occur-
ring during the semester or exam periods. These clashes Fatigue.  Consequently, nearly all student athletes
were reported to be highly stressful due to the difficulty in reported fatigue to be a key stressor. Fatigue was attrib-
catching up on missed periods of study and assignments, uted to the high time commitment required by both pur-
often exacerbated by reported difficulties in completing suits, in addition to the physical fatigue associated with
study while traveling for sport. Athletes further cited a demanding training schedules and the mental fatigue of
lack of support to catch up on missed materials as addi- concentrating during study. Interviewees reported that
tionally challenging, as is illustrated below. This extract the stress of fatigue was twofold, impacting upon both
comes from the opening of an interview and was produced study and sporting commitments. Firstly, it was reported
in response to the question asking ‘how do you think that fatigue impacted upon interviewees’ capacity suc-
you’ve gone so far with combining the two?’ cessfully to complete study. Such difficulty included
concentrating in classes after long training sessions, as
Not too badly, like um I fi- I just finished school last well as difficulty in completing assignments and tests.
year so it’s similar having the same workload. Um the The first illustration is the interviewee’s response to a
hardest bit would be you’re expected to catch every- question regarding if he finds any aspects difficult about
thing up yourself and no one makes it easier for you … combining sport and education.
for example I went away for two weeks during the
first part of the semester and lecturers and tutors were I get tired and I think that’s probably the hardest
really good like ‘you can go that’s fine’, but when I thing, because after training you do get tired and then
came back I sort of had this stack of work to catch having to do study after that and that can get really
up on. (Matthew, first year international studies) stressful, especially when you have assignments and

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 Stressors, Coping, and Support Mechanisms for Student Athletes   125

you just want to sleep. (Owen, first year law and that they reported encountering. Coaches were reported
media student) to be a source of stress in two key ways: through lacking
flexibility regarding scheduling to allow for interviewees’
The next example is from the start of the interview educational commitments, and by demanding too great a
and came as the response to the opening question ‘how time commitment from student athletes.
do you think you have gone with combining sport and Coaches were reported (n = 7) to expect interviewees
education?’ to attend any sport related commitment (including extra
This is sort of my first year of uni. I spent a a year training sessions to those already scheduled) regardless
off last year um … I think the biggest struggles I’ve of the athletes’ educational commitments (either lecture/
had is with time management and getting motivated tutorial attendance or study time) and coaches were
to do study after being tired after sort of long train- described as unwilling to make exceptions for their edu-
ing sessions and concentrating in, in classes (Scott, cation. Especially when athletes had schedule clashes or
first-year science student) during exam periods, interviewees reported that this lack
of flexibility was highly stressful and difficult for them.
Secondly, that fatigue impacted upon their ability This lack of coaching flexibility is highlighted below in
to train for sport was also reported. Several interviewees the following extracts. The first example comes from a
expressed concerns regarding their performance at train- segment of talk produced in response to Adrian being
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ing due to fatigue associated specifically with combining asked to describe his relationship with his coach.
sport and education, as is shown. The first extract comes
from toward the end of the interview with Ellen and We don’t really have much of a relationship, I mean
follows an extended period of talk in which Ellen had it’s just what he yells out to me from on the water
discussed her experiences with getting extensions for and apart form that um there isn’t much and that.
assignments. The interviewer then asked if Ellen found He was my only coach in my first year and that was
it difficult to meet assignment deadlines. really hard because he wasn’t flexible and I felt like
I couldn’t say I can’t come to this because I have
I’ve been um ok meeting the deadlines this year like this at uni and that was really hard. (Adrian, second
oh I had an assignment a couple of weeks ago due year media student)
and it was due on like the Monday and I had to work
on the, all day most of the day Sunday and I’d been The next extract comes in response to the inter-
training all weekend so that was a bit of a hassle like viewer’s question regarding how Rebecca prioritizes sport
you know I had to stay up late Sunday night which and education. This specific extract follows a lengthy
meant my training session wasn’t as good Monday response in which Rebecca discusses her coaches’ expec-
(Ellen, second year physiotherapy student) tation around prioritizing sport.

The next example comes from late in an interview I think {sport} takes the front seat. You don’t really
with Max. Max had been describing finding it hard to get much choice in prioritizing, that’s sort of made
fit in study and sport with his family commitments. The for you by the {sport} coaches really, with how much
interviewer then asked how Max managed to fit in all pressure they put on you to, to be at sessions and be
his commitments and he produced an account of stay- at places. (Rebecca, second year arts student)
ing up late at night to finish study, before providing the
following example. Relatedly, athletes reported their beliefs that the
time commitment required by their coaches was too
About a month ago had to do some ah, some assign- large for them to be able to successfully complete their
ments and, ah, and they, they were talks that we had study requirements. Again, athletes reported that this was
to do and ah the night before the talk (laughs) wasn’t highly stressful, resulting in concern regarding selection
looking very good at all so I stayed up to you know and difficulty to complete assignments and study (as
to probably one o’clock in the morning or something can be seen in the examples). Before this extract Lauren
like that, and just the next day had to get up and, and had been discussing that she was considering changing
train at 9 o’clock and even though you don’t think to part-time study. When asked if her squad members
it would affect you very much it’s just harder to get studied fulltime, Lauren reported that most did not due
out of bed and then on the training track you’re a bit to demands of sport.
more sluggish and not as fresh as you should be. I
think if you did that on a regular basis it- you would With our {sport} team um you need to show more
get into a bit of trouble on, on the {sport} field (Max, than just like the fitness sessions and the field ses-
post-graduate marketing student) sions, they want you to rock up to recovery and it’s
all important but you can actually do it quite quickly
Coaches.  Coaches were described by almost a third on your own. Um so I could actually keep up with
(n = 7) of interviewees to be a stressor. When the coach the player next to me in terms of their preparation for
was reported to be a source of stress, for each of these the actual game but their involvement in the team is
athletes, this was the most important and difficult stressor beyond mine and then it’s like I said … if you show

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 126  Cosh and Tully

enough commitment you play the games. (Lauren, No, definitely living off the parents (laughs). Yeah
second-year media student) it’s not great but at the same time there’s, they know
I can’t, I don’t have time to work. (Jack, first year
The next example comes from an exchange following law and commerce student)
a question about asking for assignment extensions. Owen
replied that he had not asked for extensions because it Coping mechanisms
would put him behind in his next assignments. He then
continued to discuss his time pressures and the demands The sample of athletes interviewed described having few,
his coach placed on him regarding time. if any, coping strategies that they used. The interviewees
did, however, report receiving high levels of practical and
The most stressful part of it [coach’s time demands] emotional support from coaches and parents, and cited
is like, if I have to, if it takes like an all-nighter [to this support as being crucial in their ability to overcome
complete study], I just have to. I know that I’ll always the stressors associated with combining sport and educa-
hand it[assignment] in even if it’s substandard, but tion (see Figure 3).
that’s the thing that probably stresses me the most
(Owen, first year law and media student) Support from Parents.  Parents were cited as crucial in
enabling athletes to overcome stressors and facilitate suc-
Financial.  Repeatedly throughout the interviews, stu- cessful integration of sport and education by all but one
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dent athletes cited experiencing financial stress. Such athlete (and for this athlete, the lack of parental support
stress was exacerbated by the costs often associated with was reported to be a central source of stress). Parents were
competition and travel for sport, as is highlighted in the frequently cited to offer a range of types of support; and
following example which follows an extended segment these were all reported to be equally important for dual
of talk about support Matthew receives from his parents. success. The provision of emotional support was the most
frequently cited and parents were reported to be central
They [parents] pay my rent and I pay everything else in helping to ease acute stressors such as deselection and
out of savings so it’s, yeah that’s the biggest issue failed assignments, as well as motivating, encouraging
not having any money (laughs). The other thing is and supporting interviewees in response to chronic stress
you throw in, oh um we want to go to this country or encountered by combining both pursuits. The first extract
whatever that’s 4000 dollars and I just go I don’t have follows an extended period of talk regarding Matthew’s
it… that’s a big major number one stress. (Matthew, parents. Matthew now lives interstate and this extract fol-
first year international studies student) lows the interviewer’s question regarding if the support
his parents offered differed now.
The next example forms part of Jan’s response to
being asked to outline her training and study commit- Oh like they’re always there to give advice if I needed
ments. Jan described her commitments and also reported it, um support and you know sort of bring the people
the additional time pressure of her work commitments, that could help me the most close if I needed them.
outlining that she needs to pay sporting as well as living (Matthew, first year international studies student)
expenses.
Before the extract presented below, Max had outlined
I haven’t got any sponsorship or any um scholarships a period in which he had been deselected from the top
or anything recently um so yeah I have to cover the side. The following extract comes from his response to
costs of all my equipment um all the yeah training the question of how he managed to gain reselection.
fees club fees (Jan, first year computer science
student) My family are very supportive as well so ah I think
just knowing that, well that they were going to be
In addition, a lack of time and flexibility in addition there to help me just sort of kept me going and um
to existing sporting and educational commitments report- trying to do the best at what I could do. (Max, post-
edly rendered athletes either unable to engage in paid graduate marketing student)
employment, or unable to work sufficient hours to have
financial comfort, as is illustrated below. Before the first The following illustration is part of a lengthy seg-
extract, the interviewee had been describing the financial ment of talk that follows from a question regarding if
support he received from his parents, before explaining other people help or make it hard for Scott to combine
that he does not have time to work. sport and education. Scott has outlined a number of ways
in which his parents are supportive, before stating that
During uni time I really do not have any free time… they provide emotional support and encouragement.
no one really wants to hire anyone for just a few
hours a week. (Alan, first year economics student) They [parents] understand and they help with both
[sport end education] and they encourage me to go to
Before this extract, Jack had been describing the both and, you know, if I’m getting down on {sport}
financial support that he received from his parents. The a bit they sort of say well you know this is what you
interviewer then asked whether Jack had a job. want to do and you know you need to go and stuff

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Figure 3 — Coping mechanisms.

like that and they sort of if, if it’s getting bad then like too much. (Rachel, second year health science
they try and make it a bit easier for me (Scott, first- student)
year science student)
The following example also comes as a response to
A further, and central, source of parental assistance the interviewer’s request for specific examples of how
was through providing financial support. As was outlined Rebecca’s parents are supportive, following her statement
above, financial pressures were a key stressor for a large that her parents are crucial in enabling her to combine
proportion of student athletes, and financial support was sport and education.
often considered crucial in allowing athletes to complete
both endeavors, by reducing or removing the need to They [parents], um they make it a lot easier because
engage in employment. This example comes from a seg- it means that I don’t have to work (Rebecca, second
ment of talk following the question what makes combin- year arts student)
ing sport and education easier or harder. Rachel replied
that her parents are very supportive and this extract comes Parents were also cited as frequently providing a
from her response to being asked for specific examples. range of practical supports, such as providing transport to/
from training and domestic assistance, such as preparing
They [parents] make, make it easy with my {sport}. meals and washing training clothes. Athletes described
Sort of they help me out with paying for some of the such supports as greatly reducing time pressures and
trips and they know if it’s a small cost they sort of thus allowing them to devote further time to study. Such
help me out with that so that I don’t have to work assistance was reported by both student athletes currently

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 128  Cosh and Tully

residing with their parents and those who were not. The timetabling, or provided opportunities for alternate train-
extracts below provide illustrations of these sources of ings when athletes had clashes (e.g., making up weights
support. The first example follows from the response to sessions at other times, rather than completing them with
a question about if other people make it harder or easier. the squad). This flexibility, when offered, was viewed as a
Julia outlined that her parents are a key source of support key mechanism of support that enabled student athletes to
and this extract comes in response to the interviewer’s overcome stressors associated with integration. The first
request for examples. example is from the response to a question about how
Julia has managed to combine sport and education; Julia
Generally sort of being helpful around the house reported that her coaches were very flexible.
and, and doing things for me. Sort of taking a lot
of the other worries off so that for me it is only sort There was times when they um said that I didn’t
of {sport} and uni. (Julia, first year health science have to come to training that afternoon and went to
student) uni instead ah that probably happened two or three
times or ah just turned up late for training and they
Before the following extract, Samantha had reported [coaches] were very, very you know flexible in that
that her parents were a key source of support for integrat- way. (Julia, first year health science student)
ing both pursuits. The interviewer then asked for specific
examples. Before the next extract, the interviewer asked about
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how Jack fits in sport with education. Jack outlined set-

I’ll come home and there’ll be you know dinner there tling for average grades, before moving into the following
and I just need to heat it up or whatever and you sequence regarding exam periods.
know it just I think it saves so much time. (Samantha,
second year medicine) My coach knows that if there’s exams coming up
then he’ll, he won’t push me so hard or anything
Support from Coaches.  Although coaches were and he’ll understand when I say no I can’t make it.
reported to be a source of stress by a proportion of inter- (Jack, first year law and commerce)
viewees, they were also reported by over half of athletes
(n = 11) to be a crucial source of support in overcoming Educational Choices.  A large proportion of interview-
stressors. It should be noted that within the data col- ees also reported making choices around their education
lected, coaches were reported to be either a stressor to better manage the stressors associated with combining
or a support; the same coach was not identified to be sport and education. Notably, eight of the 20 athletes
both. This finding highlights the crucial role that coaches reported changing their study arrangements, such as
can play in hindering or facilitating integration of sport transferring to less time intensive courses or switching
and education. to part time study to enable them to successfully engage
When coaches were cited as a source of support, in both pursuits (with an additional three reportedly con-
interviewees reported that coaches offered support sidering changing to part time study). The first example is
through enhancing enjoyment of sport. Through making taken from the opening of an interview, after the athlete
the training environment enjoyable, athletes reported that was asked to outline her sport and study commitments.
this helped in managing stress and functioned to facilitate So I study part time I changed that ah. First, this is
their commitment to their sport. This extract comes in my first year ah, um, of subjects. Last year, I’ve sort
response to the question how Samantha had gone with of continued as well, but first semester last year I
combining sport and education. Samantha provided an was doing full-time and I found that that was, yeah
extended account of how her experiences combining the it was just too much. So um I failed two subjects so
two varied depending on the coach she had. I figure well part time I might as well study properly
and saves having to repeat ‘em. (Rachel, second year
I played much better when I um trained with [new health science student)
coach] as opposed to training with [previous coach],
definitely. It’s very much yeah, very mu- the coach The following extract comes from the opening sec-
is very much um integral in how much you enjoy tion of an interview and follows the interviewer’s initial
it and how much you perform. [New coach] was question regarding what Ellen was studying and what
really good … she made it very easy to do, to enjoy. sport she competed in. Ellen described that she had
(Samantha, second year medicine) recently transferred from studying medicine to physio-
therapy before the beginning of this extract.
In addition, although coaches were described as
inflexible by a third of interviewees, half of the inter- Medicine is mainly exam based helped you know
viewees conversely described their coaches as offer- there weren’t many assignments throughout the year
ing flexibility in training schedules to allow for their that I, you know, missed out or anything like that.
educational commitments. For instance, some coaches Um, but yeah, in the end like probably one of the
reportedly reduced training loads during exam periods, reasons that I transferred over was because it was too
allowed athletes to arrive late to training due to university hard to do [medicine] once you get into fourth year of

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 Stressors, Coping, and Support Mechanisms for Student Athletes   129

medicine. Fourth fifth and sixth are all clinical. Um and coping in relation to stressors specific to elite-sport
so I did eight weeks of fourth year in the hospital and participation (Gearity & Murray, 2011; Isoard-Gautheur
it’s like eight o’clock in the morning till sometimes et al., 2012). Evidently, the role of coach as support/
nine o’clock at night and I just couldn’t fit in training stressor goes beyond sport-specific stress and coping and
around it (Ellen, second year physiotherapy student). extends to stress specific to integrating sport and educa-
tion. Thus the coach’s level of understanding and support
In addition, a majority of interviewees reported of educational commitments can be crucial in athletes’
that they chose to sacrifice the quality and standard of (in)ability to combine sport and education.
their academic work to complete both pursuits; again In addition, interviewees reported that financial
suggesting that it would not be possible to achieve high concerns, fatigue, time pressures and scheduling clashes
grades as well as sporting success. Examples of these between training and classes were key stressors encoun-
academic decisions can be seen below. The next extract tered when integrating sport and education; consistent
comes from a segment of talk produced in response to with findings from Australian footballers competing in
the interviewer’s question ‘how do you cope with stress?’ a professional league (Hickey & Kelly, 2005). Impor-
Jack replied that he forgoes sleep, before describing how tantly, interviewees in the current study were engaged
he also opts to settle for lesser grades. in a range of sports, competitive levels and study pro-
I don’t know, I just run on little sleep when I have to grams, and stressors were widely reported throughout
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(laughs) and coffee and stuff, but I know it’s, it’s not the data, thereby indicating their ubiquity across dif-
good like I know how you need to sleep properly… ferent levels of competition, types of sport (including
I get upset because I think oh I could’ve done more individual and team), study programs, and levels of pro-
earlier but half the time I couldn’t so I just figure you fessionalism.
do as well as you can in the time you’ve got and hope A lack of sleep has previously been reported as a
it’s good enough. Yeah, yeah I’m sort of settling for stressor for student athletes (Wilson & Pritchard, 2005;
average marks though when it’s probably not really Hickey & Kelly, 2005). Within the present data, fatigue
good enough but don’t have time to do it any better. was also a recurrently reported stressor; however, fatigue
(Jack, first year law and commerce) was reported not only in relation to a lack of sleep (due
to completing assignments). Interviewees also reported
The next illustration comes from the interview with experiencing fatigue due to the demands of study and
Max. When asked about how he prioritizes sport and training and that such fatigue then impacted on their
education, Max responded that sport is his job and so he ability to complete assignments, study, focus in class, and
dedicates more time to sport, at the expense of his grades. train adequately. That fatigue from study was considered
a stressor in terms of potential deficits in sporting or
[Sport] is my number one priority and with ah with academic performance likely has implications for student
uni, I wanna get as good a marks as I can, but ah it’s athletes’ motivation for education and overall academic
not the end of the world if I only get a credit and not a and sporting success.
distinction. (Max, post-graduate marketing student) In addition to schedule clashes with training and
classes, missing classes and opportunities for study due
Discussion to travel was also identified as a key stressor in the current
study. Travel has previously been reported as a stressor
Given that many athletes report making educational among elite athletes (Hanton et al., 2005). This stressor is
sacrifices to succeed in sport (Burden et al., 2004; Cosh likely amplified and especially salient for student athletes
& Tully, 2014), the current study explores the integration- who have the compounded stressor of missing classes
related stressors encountered and coping mechanisms and study opportunities.
employed by student athletes in combining elite-sport
and education. In the current study, athletes reported Coping Mechanisms
experiencing numerous stressors including in relation
to finances, coaches, time, schedule clashes, and fatigue; Despite experiencing numerous stressors, the inter-
however, athletes reported having few coping mecha- viewees described having very few strategies with
nisms for overcoming these stressors. which they are able to overcome stress. Thus, although
athletes appear to have a range of strategies to draw on
in coping with pressures associated with sport (Nicholls
Stressors
& Polman, 2007), athletes’ coping resources appear to
A key finding was that coaching staff were described as a be limited in relation to the specific stressors associated
key stressor, especially in regards to inflexibility around with integrating sport and education. A dearth of coping
training schedules; yet also as a crucial source of support strategies leaves athletes unable to overcome stressors. A
where flexibility was offered. The role of coaches as both lack of coping has previously been noted among freshmen
a stressor and support mechanism shows consistency collegiate-athletes with regards to adjusting to college life
with prior findings that have shown that coaching style (Papanikolaou et al., 2003). Notably, the present results
is associated with student athletes’ experiences of stress indicate that a lack of coping extends beyond freshman

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 130  Cosh and Tully

and the entry to college to experienced students and ath- consistent with the macro-level coping dimensions of
letes across a range of aspects of combining sport and problem- or emotion-focused coping (Lazurus & Folk-
education. This lack of coping was also noted across both man, 1984). Athletes employed emotion-focused coping,
individual and team sports (as well as competitive level), largely via seeking emotional support from parents and
thus contrasting findings regarding sport-related stressors, coaches. In addition, although avoidance coping has
which have demonstrated that athletes from individual previously been more commonly noted among adolescent
sports use more coping strategies than those competing athletes (Kowalski & Crocker, 2001; Nicholls & Polman,
in team sports (Nicholls & Polman, 2007). In the sports 2007), support was found for the notion of avoidance-
realm, such an inability to manage stress has been shown focused coping strategies (Anshel, 2001; Kowalski &
to reduce sport performance and overall wellbeing (see Crocker, 2001). Athletes in the current study used a range
Nicholls & Polman, 2007), whereas coping can generate of behavioral avoidance strategies to cope with stressors
positive emotions (Nicholls, Hemmings & Clough, 2010). specific to sport and education, such as disengaging from
Thus, a lack of coping strategies for combining sport and study, avoiding levels of high academic achievement, and
education is likely to impact upon performance in both missing classes.
domains as well as athletes’ emotional wellbeing. It appears, however, that student athletes largely
Especially pertinent was the high rate of student lacked problem-focused coping strategies. This may, in
athletes who reported choosing to accept a lower qual- part, be due to perceived uncontrollability of stressors,
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ity of academic work as a means of managing the stress such as timetabling clashes (see Nicholls, Levy, Grice
of combining sport and education, echoing previous & Polman., 2009; Nicholls, Levy & Polman, 2012).
findings of educational sacrifice for sport (Burden et al., Although coping with sport-related stressors has been
2004; Cosh & Tully, 2014; McGillivray et al., 2005). reported to be mediated by age and experience level, with
Such a means of coping may be detrimental to athletes’ older and more experienced athletes using more problem-
long-term careers (such as by limiting entry to graduate focused and fewer avoidance-focused coping strategies
programs) and further highlights the deficit of adaptive (e.g., Reeves et al., 2009; Hanton et al., 2008), evident
coping strategies athletes have to manage integrating here was that even highly experienced older adult student
sport and education. Whereas based on their observa- athletes were found to have a limited repertoire of coping
tional report, Papanikolaou et al. (2003) suggested that strategies, especially problem-focused coping strategies,
student athletes pretended not to care about grades as for overcoming stressors specific to sport and education.
a means of coping with lack of academic success, the
present findings instead suggest that for student athletes, Implications for Practice
poor academic success is in fact a means of coping with
complex time and fatigue demands. In addition, although Student athletes would benefit from upskilling in a
student athletes have previously been reported to choose number of ways. Student athletes would benefit from
easier subjects (Burden et al., 2004), a substantial portion training regarding appropriate coping strategies, espe-
of interviewees reported that they also changed degree cially problem-focused, to overcome associated stressors
or to studying part time as a means of coping with the and manage pressure related to integration; or with the trans-
stressors of combining sport and education. Such deci- fer of existing coping skills to integration stressors. Such
sions have significant long-term consequences regarding interventions appear crucial given the limited coping strate-
future career trajectories. gies reportedly employed. In addition, it has been argued
All but one interviewee in the current study reported that coping self-efficacy training may facilitate coping with
that support from parents was a leading mechanism sport-related stressors by altering appraisals of stressful
of support, especially through the provision of emo- events (see Nicholls et al., 2012). Given that many of
tional and financial support. Past research has likewise the stressors were appraised as outside of the athlete’s
indicated that parents may provide athletes with an control, such training might aid student athletes to cope
important source of emotional support for sport-related with various sport- and education-related stressors also.
stress (Baker, Horton, Robertson-Wilson & Wall, 2003) Fostering flexibility and support within educational
and that social support can reduce competition-related institutions to assist students to catch up from missed
stress (Fletcher & Sarkar, 2012). Thus, it appears that study periods are vital in allowing student athletes to be
the social and emotional support as offered by parents is successful in both pursuits. Similarly, encouraging and
crucial beyond sport and performance and was a central supporting coaches to offer flexibility for student athletes
way through which student athletes overcame both acute may be imperative for student athletes’ dual success.
and chronic stressors in integrating sport and education. Facilitating positive coach-athlete relationships would
Parental support also went beyond emotional support, also assist student athletes to better manage combining
with parents providing crucial financial and practical sport and education, consistent with notions that coaching
support. Such additional forms of support may be unique style enhance/ inhibit coping with sport stressors (Gearity
to the student-athlete context and the specific stressors & Murray, 2011).
encountered. Findings indicating that approaches to study are
When the athletes in the current study did employ more significant determinants of academic outcome
coping strategies, the strategies reported were largely than quantity of study per se (Kember, Ng, Harrison,

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 Stressors, Coping, and Support Mechanisms for Student Athletes   131

Wong & Pomfret, 1996) suggest that student athletes study programs; thereby more broadly capturing the
may also benefit from ‘learning how to learn’ programs experiences of student athletes across different sporting
to maximize their restricted time and ensure their abil- and study contexts than much of the prior student-athlete
ity to promptly catch up on missed study periods. Such research. In addition, this study simultaneously explores
efficient use of time might also usefully reduce fatigue stressors and how each of these stressors are reportedly
associated with missing sleep to complete assignments. overcome, rather than examining support and stress in
Although additional programs constitute a further time isolation. Limitations of the study included that it exam-
pressure for athletes, such programs might usefully be ined students at only one University, thereby limiting
offered before the academic semester (when athletes have the generality of findings to other education systems. In
fewer academic commitments) or could also be offered as addition, only student athletes who were involved in the
online tutorials, enabling them to be flexibly completed student-athlete support program were recruited for study
within student athletes already busy schedules. Such a participation. Other athletes may have been unaware
course may offer substantially improved use of time in of the (relatively new) program and therefore were not
the longer term and would likely warrant the short-term involved in the study. Students enrolled in the program
additional time pressure. might have found the combining of sport and education
In addition to learning how to learn programs, it more challenging and thus sought a support network.
appears that student athletes might also lack requisite Whether nonathlete students also report similar stressors
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time management skills, as has also been noted among with regard to completing education in addition to other
first year university footballers in Canada (Rotschild- commitments, such as part-time employment, was not
Checroune, Gravelle, Dawson & Karlis, 2012). Thus, able to be ascertained from this study and would prove
upskilling athletes with the time management skills to a fruitful avenue for future study, as would interviews
adequately incorporate their commitments would be with athletes who have successfully completed or failed
invaluable. Improved time management skills might also to complete combining sport and education.
reduce the currently reported dependence on academic
choices such as accepting poor grades or changing study
program as a means of coping with time demands. Conclusions
Enhanced supportive career counseling regarding Given the important implications of educational sacrifice
educational decisions may also further assist student for athletes’ futures, exploring stressors and coping strate-
athletes regarding prioritizing and managing education, gies is imperative to facilitate dual success. The present
consistent with research suggesting that the helpfulness study has highlighted the dearth of coping strategies held
of support predicted athletes’ career decisions following by student athletes to manage key integration stressors
change events (Samuel & Tenenbaum, 2013). Moreover, and suggested ways of supporting student athletes. Future
strategies and interventions offered by academic institu- interventions pertaining to upskilling student athletes
tions for enhancing motivation for education may also with coping strategies, time-management skills, self-care
reduce educational sacrifices made. It has been demon- techniques and appropriate learning strategies are neces-
strated that interventions using extrinsic rewards can sary for better improving support for student athletes.
enhance student athletes’ motivation for sport (Readdy, Additional flexibility from sporting and academic institu-
Raabe & Harding, 2014), similar interventions to better tions as well as coaches are also crucial for dual success.
support and improve motivation for study commitments
may also be of benefit for student athletes. In addition,
providing skills and strategies for physical and mental Notes
recovery (both from sport and study) such as via improved
1It should be noted that, although in some countries student athletes
self-care techniques may help student athletes in over-
coming fatigue and the associated performance (both receive scholarships to undertake tertiary education based on their
sporting and academic) deficits. sporting ability, this is not the case in Australia.
Cultivating sources of emotional support within
teams (from teammates or other sport staff) through References
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