# Finding the optimal balance: father-athlete challenges facing elite Nordic skiers

## TL;DR

This study explores how elite Nordic skiers in Norway balance being a father and an athlete, identifying challenges and strategies for maintaining success.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into the specific challenges and coping strategies of male athletes who are also fathers in elite sports.

## Key findings

- Four stages of the father-athlete transition were identified: Expecting incompatibility, Taking the step, The first blow, and Finding the optimal balance.
- Father-athletes faced challenges like performance decline, disturbed sleep, and role conflicts but developed strategies like adapting training schedules.
- Becoming a father increased structure, time efficiency, and motivation among the athletes.

## Abstract

In the last decade, a growing body of research has focused on the many aspects and challenges of combining parenthood with elite sport. Although the number of father-athletes is significantly higher than the number of mother-athletes, few studies to date have focused on male athletes’ experiences in a parenting context.

The aims of the present study were to explore how father-athlete challenges manifest among elite Nordic skiers in Norway, and to better understand how male athletes balance their priorities as they initiate, maintain, and/or discontinue their athletic career as a father-athlete.

Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 10 world-class male Nordic skiers in Norway (3 athletes without a child, 4 current father-athletes and 3 former father-athletes) and the content was analyzed using thematic analysis.

Four main stages were identified in the father-athlete transition: (a) Expecting incompatibility (b) Taking the step, (c), The first blow, and (d) Finding the optimal balance. Through these stages the informants expected/had experienced challenges such as performance decline, disturbed sleeping patterns, fear of sickness and role conflicts. To manage these challenges, the father-athletes had developed various strategies to balance their dual roles (e.g., adapting training and competition seasons). Among the benefits, the father-athletes mentioned that they had become more structured, time efficient and ruthless with their priorities, enhanced motivation to train and a better work-life balance.

This study offers valuable insights into father-athlete challenges that can be used to support career longevity and work-life balance among male athletes.