An Autobiographical Exploration: The Long-Term Impact of Softball on Former Players Turned Coaches, Trainers, and National Athletes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22098643Keywords:
softball, athlete-to-coach transition, narrative inquiry, athletic identity, resilience, sports leadershipAbstract
This qualitative narrative inquiry explored the long-term impact of softball on former players who transitioned into roles as coaches, trainers, and national athletes. Ten purposively selected participants from different cities in Luzon, aged 23 to 73 and with at least 10 years of playing experience, participated in in-depth, one-on-one interviews. The sample comprised four trainers, two national athletes, three coaches, and one coach-trainer. Video-recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed through thematic analysis using a six-step process, with in-vivo coding and manual theme refinement to preserve participants’ language and meaning. The findings showed that role transition required participants to navigate leadership responsibilities and unfamiliar roles through perseverance. Their continued involvement was sustained by family, friends, coaches, teammates, scholarships, education, and the possibility of financial stability. Personal growth emerged through fulfillment in helping others and through reflection on emotional pressure, identity change, and adversity. Participants also experienced role conflict, time-management difficulties, burnout, and the emotional demands of moving from peer or athlete to leader, while championships, awards, national representation, and personal progress strengthened confidence and purpose. Over time, softball developed lifelong discipline, resilience, leadership, teamwork, and identity; became a platform for mentoring and social contribution; and fostered legacy-building through family upliftment, community service, and continued influence in the sport. The study concludes that softball can function as a lifelong developmental pathway whose effects extend from athletic participation to education, leadership, service, and community involvement. The findings imply the need for structured athlete-transition support, mentoring, well-being services, and sustained grassroots development.
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