Transition out of a career in sports has been suggested as being a difficult and disruptive process for many athletes. An early and enduring identification, familiarity, and preference for the role of athlete may cause its loss to be a significant stressor for the elite, Olympic, or professional athlete. The purpose of this paper is to describe the various aspects of the career transition process in sports, beginning with early identification with the role of athlete and continuing through retirement from active participation in competitive sports. Athletes are often poorly prepared for the off-time event of leaving sports, and traditional theories of retirement may not be suitable. People associated with athletes (coaches, peers, management, family members, and sport psychologists) and athletes themselves need to be aware of the potential for difficulty during their career transition.

Retirement from competitive sports often poses significant difficulties for an athlete, whether competing at the high school college, elite, or professional levels. This article describes the meaning that sport involvement may have for an athlete, and indicates how the affiliation with an identity as an athlete may influence adjustment to retirement. Research has suggested that many athletes are poorly prepared for their retirement from competition and may face considerable difficulties in their coping with the significant life changes that accompany the end of their sports careers and sports identities. Suggestions are presented for various programs to assist athletes before, during, and after their retirement from competition, with special attention given to the application of a life development intervention (LDI) approach.

f applied sport psychology has an area of glamour, it likely rests in I the realm of providing services to elite athletes. We define elite athletes as those whose pursuit of excellence in sport has led to their participation and success in competition at the Olympic or professional level. Unfortunately, there is a tendency among some practitioners to promote themselves on the basis of the number of medals or championship teams with which they have been associated. More appropriately, working with elite athletes should be seen as an opportunity to work with talented and dedicated clients, athletes who have reached the pinnacle of their sport.Work with elite athletes brings into play special challenges for the sport psychologist. It is more than an extension of services offered to amateur sports clubs and other competitors. Travel schedules can disrupt the regularity of involvement. The media may look to the sport psychologist for that extra insight or news tip. Administrative structures may become increasingly burdensome. Substance-abuse issues may be prevalent and may put the sport psychologist in an ethical or even legal dilemma. At times, when consultation fails to lead to effective changes in service delivery, one side or the other may choose to terminate the consultation process abruptly.This chapter aims to address some of these unique issues, including gaining entry and acceptance with Olympic and professional athletes, recognizing differences between work with teams and work with indi-We thank Ken Ravizza and Hap Davis, who provided commentary and suggestions on earlier drafts of this chapter.

If applied sport psychology has a particular area of glamour, it likely rests in the realm of providing services to elite athletes. We define elite athletes as those whose pursuit of excellence in sport has led to their participation and success in competition at the Olympic or professional level. Unfortunately, among some practitioners there is a tendency to promote themselves on the basis of the number of medals or championship teams

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