Abstract: With the revamping of the reemployment scheme for retired athletes—where they select a new career by self-determination—gradually replacing the government decision, there has been concern that retired athletes might have less job opportunities. Relevant research pertaining to these issues in China often focuses on the external causes of unemployment among retired athletes but not on the internal causes. In particular, there is a lack of field research on this topic in China. Therefore, by using a qualitative approach, this study aims to explore why some Chinese athletes are able to restart new careers and others are unable to do so, while they are in the process of retirement.
On the basis of the model proposed by Torregrosa et al., this study employed the multiple-case design to select cases of successful and failed retirement. Data was collected through interviews, personal observations, and media reports. With discourse and text analyses, this case study investigated retirement awareness and coping behaviors in eight cases (four cases of successful and failed retirement, each).
The results revealed differences in the psychological states, retirement awareness, retirement plans, self-regulation, social support, and life contentment between the successful retirement cases and the failed ones. Specifically, successfully retired athletes were often aware that they were going to retire and had made plans to start new careers; athletes who failed to start new careers after retirement often used avoidance coping mechanisms. This article discusses the implications of these findings and provides suggestions for future research using quantitative research

Key words: qualitative approach, case study, retirement process, retirement awareness