프로 축구 산하 학생선수 중도 포기에 관한 현상학적 고찰 = A Phenomenological Study on the Dropout of Student-Athletes in Pro-Soccer Youth Systems

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the dropout experiences of student soccer players who participated in professional youth systems through a phenomenological lens. By examining the experiential structures of the body, mind, relationships, and transition, the study seeks to identify meaningful educational implications for the holistic development of student-athletes.
Methods: To achieve this, student soccer players who had been active in elite professional youth environments and subsequently experienced a dropout were selected as participants. Data were primarily collected through in-depth interviews and participant observation, and analyzed following Max van Manen’s hermeneutic phenomenological procedures. To ensure the trustworthiness of the study, data triangulation, peer debriefing, and member checking were employed.
Results: First, the participants' dropout was not merely a result of performance limitations but an embodied consequence of accumulated physical tension and pain. Within a competitive training environment, the body remained in a constant state of tension, where pain and fatigue were perceived as objects to be overcome rather than signals for self-regulation.
Second, the environment centered on constant comparison and evaluation significantly impacted self-perception. Despite experiences of achievement, anxiety and self-doubt dominated their daily lives, suggesting that dropout is a gradual result of eroded self-efficacy and identity rather than a sudden loss of motivation.
Third, the role of a 'sacrificing player' was reinforced through various social relationships within the team, and the transition occurred at the point where this identity could no longer be sustained. The sense of liberation and the reconstruction of meaning experienced after the dropout redefined the act not as a failure, but as a process of becoming a 'courageous challenger' redirecting one's life.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that student-athlete dropout should be understood within the context of experiences shaped by the body, mind, and relationships, rather than being reduced to a lack of individual will or competitive failure.
A fundamental shift in perspective regarding dropout in elite sports is required to foster a more educational and supportive environment for student-athletes.