Biographical developments in team sport players—an explorative interview study with current top-level players in football and handball

Abstract

This exploratory study aimed to analyze the biographical developments of professional team sport players. We interviewed 10 male internationally experienced football and handball players, based on developmental and biographical assumptions by using semi-standardized interview guidelines. A qualitative content analysis according to Mayring was used to interpret the interviews. The objective of the study was to empirically explore the chances of such careers and to contribute to top-level sport career research with qualitative research methodology. Our results revealed considerable variability in biographical developments. There are six significant characteristics or categories that are coherently rooted in one core category. The article outlines the biographical developments, explicates and interprets the identified categories, and discusses the resulting theory with reference to top-level sports career research from childhood to early adulthood.