The impact of post-collegiate playing opportunities on D1 field hockey players and their athlete identity

The sport of field hockey is popular around the world but has a unique history in the United States. The first part of this thesis, explores the history, fundamental rules, and current landscape of the sport in the U.S. The second part of this thesis explores the athlete identity of current DI field hockey players using the 10-item Athlete Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS) questionnaire. It was hypothesized that the number of years playing field hockey, grade level/graduation year, and the belief of playing at the next level will significantly impact athlete identity and DI field hockey players will have lower levels of athlete identity compared to other DI student-athletes and will score similar to DIII student-athletes. Both hypotheses were refuted; however, results elicit further conversation about NCAA competition levels, the belief of playing at the next level, and the impact of youth sport development. The current study found that athlete identity is complex and future research can utilize in-depth interviews to explore the complexities of athlete identity.