Abstract

Within high-performance men’s association football and rugby union, it is common to see recently retired competitive athletes transition into post-athletic coaching roles. Many of these individuals are ‘fast-tracked’ into these roles, a process of national governing bodies of sport shortening the pathway for current or former athletes to attain coaching qualifications required for employment. The thesis sought to shed light on this common yet under-explored topic by analysing the lived experiences of those who at the time of data collection were currently negotiating a ‘fast-tracked’ career trajectory. Specifically, the objective was to analyse how coaching identities were created. Results identified that the process of creating a coach identity was fluent for some but more problematic for others as individual aspirations had to be measured against structural expectancies. These difficulties were exemplified when three participants had their contracts terminated by their clubs within the first year of employment.