Abstract
The future of sport arguably lies in the extent to which athletes can be
nurtured to fulfil their potential. Consider the case of Jennifer Capriati,
encouraged and coached to play tennis as a small child by her father, the family
then moved to Florida so that 10-year-old Capriati could begin an intense
training programme. In her first professional tournament at the age of 13
(Virginia Slims tournament, 1990), she progressed to the finals, losing to
Gabriela Sabatini, who at the time was rated second in the world. The following
year, at 14 years of age, Jennifer reached the semi-final of the French Open and
then won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. At this point she was
experiencing personal difficulties and was reported to say ‘I wasn’t happy with
myself, my tennis, my life, my coaches, my friends . . .’(cited in Hello Magazine,
http://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/jennifercapriati/ accessed 8 July 2005).
In 1993 she was arrested for shoplifting and in 1994 was arrested for marijuana
possession. Jennifer withdrew from the sporting world for two years and did not
fully reassert herself on the tennis world until 2001.
High-profile examples such as this could represent the tip of a metaphorical
iceberg whereby the pressures of sporting excellence lead to disengagement,
unhappiness and ultimately sport withdrawal. The responsibility of researchers
and applied practitioners alike is to identify and develop strategies to alleviate
these kinds of issues that athletes experience. Enhancing coping skills that could
be used to manage stress in different domains of an athlete’s life is a strategy that
is worth pursuing.
nurtured to fulfil their potential. Consider the case of Jennifer Capriati,
encouraged and coached to play tennis as a small child by her father, the family
then moved to Florida so that 10-year-old Capriati could begin an intense
training programme. In her first professional tournament at the age of 13
(Virginia Slims tournament, 1990), she progressed to the finals, losing to
Gabriela Sabatini, who at the time was rated second in the world. The following
year, at 14 years of age, Jennifer reached the semi-final of the French Open and
then won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. At this point she was
experiencing personal difficulties and was reported to say ‘I wasn’t happy with
myself, my tennis, my life, my coaches, my friends . . .’(cited in Hello Magazine,
http://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/jennifercapriati/ accessed 8 July 2005).
In 1993 she was arrested for shoplifting and in 1994 was arrested for marijuana
possession. Jennifer withdrew from the sporting world for two years and did not
fully reassert herself on the tennis world until 2001.
High-profile examples such as this could represent the tip of a metaphorical
iceberg whereby the pressures of sporting excellence lead to disengagement,
unhappiness and ultimately sport withdrawal. The responsibility of researchers
and applied practitioners alike is to identify and develop strategies to alleviate
these kinds of issues that athletes experience. Enhancing coping skills that could
be used to manage stress in different domains of an athlete’s life is a strategy that
is worth pursuing.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Sport and Exercise Psychology: Topics in Applied Psychology |
| Editors | Andrew Lane |
| Publisher | Hodder-Stoughton |
| Pages | 73-90 |
| Publication status | Published - 2008 |
| Externally published | Yes |