Exploring English Youth Academy Footballers’ Experiences through Role Strain Theory

Throughout adolescence and early adulthood, talented athletes must dedicate increasing personal resources to their sport. Recent empirical research found that applying Role Strain Theory (RST) was useful contextualise international junior golfers’, acrobats’, gymnasts’ Australian Rules footballers’ experiences of how they combined coped with the competing role demands sport education. Findings demonstrated strain (RS) severity regularity fluctuated during youth careers but subsided latter teenage years. Surprisingly, limited exploring academy footballers simultaneously combine sport, education social exists. This study determined extent which RS experienced by six high performing male who each had between four five consecutive years’ experience within foundation development stage squads at an English professional football academy. Implications for most effectively supporting elite level players crucial developmental transitional career stages are provided.