Exploration of temporal changes in exercise and identity in former high school athletes entering college: a mixed methods study

Objective Understand former high school athletes’ (FHSAs) exercise and identity changes during their transition to college without organized sport.Participants Freshman FHSAs not continuing sport in college (N = 35, 28 women).Methods Utilizing a mixed methods, sequential quantitative-QUALITATIVE design, participants self-reported exercise and identity via online surveys over 22 weeks. A subpopulation (n = 14, 10 women) completed interviews incorporating survey data two weeks after the survey period.Results The sample was “active” over time, but intra-individual consistency was “poor” (ICC = 0.496) with considerable within-person variation. Athlete and exercise identity changed little and demonstrated “good” and “excellent” temporal within-person consistency, respectively (ICCs = 0.788; 0.898). Five themes highlight FHSAs’ similarities to other adult populations regarding exercise, and unique internal/external factors affecting their behavior specific to sports retirement.Conclusions While FHSAs exhibited exercise-related competence, balancing fitness losses and expectations was challenging. Exercise fluctuated cyclically with corresponding identity changes. Further research is needed to determine directions for research-to-practice.