Successful Transitions to the Olympic Training Center, Colorado Springs: A Mixed-Method Exploration with Six Resident-Athletes

Researchers examine athletic career transition in a quest to optimize performance achievements and the well-being of athletes (Alfermann & Stambulova, 2007). This exploratory study examined the internal and external resources that contributed to a successful transition to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs (CSOTC). Six athletes (four males and two females; M age = 23.5 when entering CSOTC) participated in individual interviews (dominant feature of the mixed-method design) and responded to a battery of psychometric tests (less dominant feature). The composite (qualitative and quantitative) findings included three meta-themes: optimism, sport-life balance, and transition- and performance-enhancing resourcefulness.