Social perspectives on athlete pathways

The ‘athlete pathway’ has become a popular concept in sport governance and coaching. Research on this theme is primarily concentrated on notions of athlete development or sports careers, with a focus on individual development. However, athlete pathways are constructed, supported and restricted by the social environment and could be analysed through many social theories. In a diachronical perspective, the life course of athletes can be conceptualised as stages and transitions in divergent strands of life, like sport, education and family path. The interplay of these strands provide the social conditions for continuing along, or leaving, the athlete pathway. In the synchronical or systemic perspective, various factors from the micro to the macro level, such as family, sport systems and policy, are seen to affect athlete pathways throughout all stages of careers. The challenge in research and practice is to take into consideration the complexity of athletes’ pathways and their social structuration.