Transition and the coaching process

In 2014, 20-year-old Eugenie Bouchard was a finalist at Wimbledon and was ranked 5th in the world.

- Tania Cassidy

Yet Bouchard was unable to maintain this ranking and subsequently played in qualifying tournaments to make the draw in grand slam tournaments. Ten years later, and reflecting on her tennis career, Bouchard said the experiences she gained whilst playing in the qualifying tournaments 'gave me the confidence to be able to win back to back matches and get myself back in the top 100, which is where I feel like I belong and hopefully I can go much higher' (Long, 2024).

Bouchard's experience of going from being a finalist at Wimbledon to having to gain entry into grand slams via qualifying tournaments could be described as an 'interruption'. Athletes can experience 'interruptions' at various points throughout their careers, but they can be more prone to them during a transitional phase. Yet an 'interruption' can be a mechanism to facilitate learning and development (Byrne & Cassidy, 2017; Cassidy, 2024). Negotiating these interruptions requires resilience.

The purpose of this article is to briefly introduce the concept of transition (in sport) as it is discussed in the literature, make links between transition and developing resilience and provide coaches with a tool that may enhance the coach-athlete relationship, facilitate the development of resilience, and thereby reduce the challenges associated with transitions in sport.

Athlete transition in sport