Career Counseling for Student Athletes

Korrie Blanchard Smith&

Andrew Rowell

Mini Case Study: Rocky Balboa in Rocky II

Career interventions Program for Student Athletes Rocky’s case is a severe one! Student athlete’s deal with a number of issues for their careers

Difficulty accepting that there may not be a career in their sport after college due to ○ Increased level of competition,○ health concerns○ not viable for having a family, etc.

Moving on after their athletic career’s are over○ Missing camaraderie ○ Missing competitive atmosphere ○ No getting as much attention

SOLUTION!

We plan to integrate a more in depth and holistic approach of career counseling theory into their existing academic support program: USC 104

Research and Plan of ActionResearch showing that self efficacy is high

among athletes (Cunningham & Singer, Moran-Miller & Flores)

Applying SCCT to have our students reevaluate past career choices that have since been eliminated

Research and Plan of ActionHansen’s Integrative Life Planning Tasks:

Task 1: Finding work that needs doing in changing

global contexts

Task 2: Weaving our lives into meaningful whole

Task 3: Connection family and work

Task 4: Valuing pluralisms and inclusivity

Task 5: Managing personal transitions and

organizational change

Task 6: Exploring spirituality and life purpose

Plan of Attack

• Collaboration with ASPSA- Academic Support Program for Student Athletes

• http://aspsa.dasa.ncsu.edu/home• USC 104: USC 104 provides student-athletes with the

skills necessary to promote informed decision making in choosing an appropriate major and exploring possible careers. Additional areas of career development, academic success, and personal development will also be addressed as they would relate to the day-to-day responsibilities and challenges that student-athletes face, as well as a review of NCAA and NCSU continuing eligibility.

Schedule

• Class meets 1 day a week for 50 minutes• Would co-teach with ASPSA staff• Utilize Integrative Life Planning Model

(Hansen) and the Social Cognitive Career Theory (Lent, Brown and Hackett)

• Small tasks building as the weeks progressed

Example ScheduleJan 6 Intro to Global

PerspectivesMar 3 Career Impacts-Society

Jan 13 Hansen Pre-Test Mar 17

Career Options

Jan 27 Major Exploration Mar 24

Major Declaration

Feb 3 Minor Fair Mar 31

Success Schedule

Feb 10 Minor Fair Apr 7 Plan of Completion

Feb 17 Career Pathways Apr 14 Pathway Planning

Feb 24 Career Impacts-Family Apr 21 Presentations

In Class Activity

Pre-Test given Week 2

Adaptation of Hansen’s Integrative Life Planning Inventory

_______ I am aware of the positive and negative consequences of my vocational choices for society.

_______ I feel the various parts of my life (social, intellectual, physical, spiritual, emotional, and career) are connected and harmonious.

_______ I regularly and consistently work to gain increased understanding of my “self” and my place in communities and society.

_______ As a single person, I feel that I have achieved a balance among my family, learning and leisure roles.

_______ I am aware of my own cultural identity and seek opportunities to relate with people unlike myself in order to broaden my own worldview.

_______ I strive to value and celebrate diversity in all aspects of my life (home, school, work.)

_______ I have assessed and reflected on my own competencies as a multiculturally aware individual.

_______ I am aware of how money, consumerism and materialism fit into my life and relate to values, satisfaction, and a sense of purpose.

_______ I have assessed my own personal career aspirations and understand the effect they may have on society.

_______ I have developed an awareness of my own spirituality and how it affects my work, values, and sense of meaning.

Discussion of Integrative Life Planning Inventory

What do we hope to gain from the inventory “pre-test”?

How could the results be utilized to guide lessons in seminar?

What do the scores mean to us?

Case StudyThe NCSU Women’s soccer team (hypothetical)

Fall 2013: the Women’s soccer team is coming off of a very successful season in which they made it to the NCAA Final Four. Their star player spent the summer working as an alternate with the women’s national team and three others spent time with the US youth National teams. These players and a few others are hoping to continue their careers after college in a budding North American professional Women’s soccer league or with the US program. Because of the growing popularity and rising competition level within the sport, within his team, and because of the progression of the sport and opportunities now available outside of the college realm, nearly two thirds of Coach Santoro’s 25 girl roster are hoping to continue playing after college. While he doesn’t want to dash their hopes or not encourage them to pursue their dreams of playing at the next level, he feels this is getting out of hand. There is a very finite number of post college opportunities and it simply isn’t realistic for all of his girls to be blindly pursuing them. He wants his girls to start considering their lives and careers outside of soccer. He is familiar with the USC 104 program and the fact that all NCSU student athletes have gone through it. But with the new collaboration with the Counselor Education department and it’s implementation of the ILP philosophy, he thinks his players might benefit from the taking the course again in its new format.

Activity1. In the spirit of ILP, please discuss Hansen’s tasks #1, #2 and #5 (any one or

all).

Task # 1: “finding work that needs doing in changing global contexts”. Task # 2: “weaving our lives into a meaningful whole” ….

Task # 5: “managing personal transitions and organizational change”.

a) How might our student athletes approach these tasks?

b) How might these tasks help these SA’s begin thinking holistically about their lives and their post-athletic career possibilities?

c) Also, how might some of the skills/personality traits that they’ve gained from athletic participation factor into these tasks?

Discussion

If time remains….

How did your discussions go? What did you come up with for Hansen’s three tasks?

Are there other career counseling models that you think could be effective in counseling student athletes? Why?

Q & A

Questions about research, activities, program ?

Questions about ROCKY 2…..?

ResourcesCunningham, George B. and Singer, John N. (2010) You’ll Face

Discrimination Wherever You Go”: Student Athletes’ Intentions to Enter the Coaching Profession. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 40, 7, 1708-1727.

Hansen, Sunny. (2001). Integrative Life Planning: Critical Tasks for Career Development and Changing Life Patterns. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Company.

Moran-Miller, Kelli and Flores, Lisa Y. (2011) Where are the Women in Women’s Sports? Predictors of Female Athletes’ Interest in a Coaching Career. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 82:1, 109-117.

Niles, S. G., & Harris-Bowlsbey, J. (2012). Career development interventions in the 21st century. (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.