Psychology of Sport and Exercise xxx (2014) 1e11

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Psychology of Sport and Exercise

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/psychsport

What a difference a “Mentally Toughening” year makes:

The acculturation of a rookie
Stephanie J. Tibbert a, Mark B. Andersen b, *, Tony Morris a
a
College of Sport and Exercise Science, Institute for Sport, Exercise and Active Living, Victoria University, P.O. Box 14428, Melbourne, Victoria 8001, Australia
b
Centre for Research on Welfare, Health, and Sport, Halmstad University, P.O. Box 823, Halmstad 30118, Sweden

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Objectives: This study investigated how one subculture's norms, traditions, ideals, and imperatives
Available online xxx influenced the attitudes, beliefs, emotions, and behaviours of a young athlete (Joe) as he moved from
resistance to acculturation.
Keywords: Design: Longitudinal case study of one athlete in one specific sport subculture.
Cultural influences Method: Joe took part in five open-ended in-depth interviews over a 14-month period to investigate his
Mental toughness
experiences as an elite athlete within an Australian football team. Joe's story was analysed through an
Overtraining
acculturation-process lens and models on mental toughness, overtraining, and stress-recovery to eval-
Traditions
Norms
uate the indoctrination of one athlete.
Findings: During the initial interviews Joe resisted the subculture demands of the football club and tried
to find success by maintaining his own beliefs. By the end of the 14-month study Joe had realised that to
be successful in the club he needed to embrace the norms, traditions, ideals, and imperatives of the
football culture. Joe gained acceptance at the club when he eventually internalised the hypermasculine
subculture and ignored injury, played in pain, subjugated his interests for football, and viewed physical
abuse as a positive and necessary part of the toughening process.
Conclusion: Joe's case study demonstrates that the subcultural ideals of mental toughness mean ignoring
injury, playing in pain, denying emotion and vulnerability, and sacrificing individuality, which inevitably
lead to stress/recovery imbalance and overtraining. In this subculture, demonstrating mental toughness
is similar to a hypermasculine environment typified by slogans such as no-pain-no-gain and rest-is-for-
the-dead where success is more important than individual wellbeing.
© 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

In society we grow up learning the psychological skills and Recent research in cultural sport psychology has identified a
behaviours that are necessary for acceptance within our cultures. number of difficulties and challenges of the dynamic acculturation
We familiarise ourselves with which characteristics and behaviours process immigrant athletes may face in elite sport. Challenges
are shunned, and which are admirable. When individuals move to included adopting a new language and coping with social isolation
new subcultures, for example, moving up to elite level sport or whilst attempting to prove their ability (Kontos, 2009), coping with
transferring to a new team, the process begins again, but this time changes in the structure and content of training (Schinke,
as an adult without familiar support networks and with fresh McGannon, Battochio, & Wells, 2013), different dynamics within
memories of their original culture. The term enculturation encap- coach-athlete relationships (Schinke et al., 2013), implicit and
sulates an individual's identification and continual engagement in explicit messages to adopt the new culture to fit in (Campbell &
the beliefs, values, and behaviours of their own culture (Berry, Sonn, 2009; Schinke & McGannon, 2014), and humiliation for
1993). In contrast to enculturation, Schinke and McGannon (2014) non-comprehension or not being coached until the athlete fits into
conceptualised acculturation as individuals' transitions into a vari- the team (Schinke & McGannon, 2014). In the psychology and so-
ety of processes of fitting (or not fitting) into subcultures (e.g., ciology of sport literature (Connell, 1990; Kidd, 2013; Messner,
school, work, sport), and suggested that this fluid process can 1992; Messner & Sabo, 1990) there has been much discussion of
involve challenges, stress, and sometimes compromising solutions. the influence of sport subcultures on athletes' attitudes, thoughts,
emotions, and behaviours. As young athletes venture towards
committed careers in sport, their athletic identities may become
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ4635167261; fax: þ4635167264.
constructed to be consistent with the dominant cultural values of
E-mail address: mark.andersen@hh.se (M.B. Andersen).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2014.10.007
1469-0292/© 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Please cite this article in press as: Tibbert, S. J., et al., What a difference a “Mentally Toughening” year makes: The acculturation of a rookie,
Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2014.10.007
2 S.J. Tibbert et al. / Psychology of Sport and Exercise xxx (2014) 1e11

their chosen profession. The subcultures of elite sport lend them- defining the complex construct of mental toughness is evolving
selves to hierarchical organisational structures where the minority from the early empirical offering from Jones, Hanton, and
(coaches, administrators) hold the power, and the majority (ath- Connaughton (2002). Regardless of the methodological problems
letes) work to live up to the expectations of the few. The pressure that have hampered the definition of mental toughness, a list of
from authority figures to adhere to the values and beliefs of a sport seemingly unending characteristics have been described as mental
subculture, in tandem with young athletes developing their iden- toughness, with Jones et al. stating, “that virtually any desirable
tities, may mean that athletes have substantial weight on their positive psychological characteristic associated with sporting suc-
shoulders to adopt the cultural ideals prevalent in their sports and cess has been labelled as mental toughness at one time or another”
subjugate their own beliefs (Brustad & Ritter-Taylor, 1997). To gain (p. 206). Some mental toughness characteristics that appear similar
acceptance in a team athletes may need to conform and adopt the to the hypermasculine subcultural expectations prevalent in a
subcultural norms set up by coaches or authority figures (Hughes & number of sports include: physical toughness, resilience, work
Coakley, 1991; Schinke et al., 2006), but not all sports may adopt ethic, and motivation. Coulter, Mallett, and Gucciardi (2010)
values, ideals, and expectations based on the athletes' health and described physical toughness as, “pushing through the pain bar-
wellbeing. rier to remain focused on the game, and maintaining a high level of
In some sports, coaches endorse the hypermasculine subculture performance while carrying an injury, fatigued or hurting” (p. 705).
typified by slogans, such as no-pain-no-gain, rest-is-for-the-dead, Gucciardi, Gordon, and Dimmock (2008) produced the following
and man up, and potentially create environments of risk and threat description, “the ability to overcome adversities with an excep-
instead of promoting positive self-care and self-awareness (Brustad tional work ethic and persevering determination to showcase your
& Ritter-Taylor, 1997). These subcultural imperatives seem closely mental and physical ability” (p. 272) to describe the term resilience
tied to the hegemonic, hypermasculine subculture of sport in Australian football. Coulter et al. described work ethic as “hard
(Richardson, Andersen, & Morris, 2008). work and pushing yourself (physically and mentally) to achieve
A number of researchers have supported the idea that in elite your goals in all areas of the game (e.g., preparation, training,
sport some subcultures exist where athletes are expected to accept matches)” (p. 705). Jones et al. described mentally tough athletes as
pain and abuse (Kimmel, 1995; Richardson et al., 2008; Wellard, having insatiable desires and internalised motives to succeed.
2009; Wiese-Bjornstal, 2010; Young & White, 2000). Richardson In reviewing the characteristics of mental toughness, one gets a
et al. interviewed a sport psychologist regarding the cultural de- sense of the almost superhuman qualities of mental toughness and
mands coaches pass on to athletes. The practitioner suggested that how trying to demonstrate these qualities appears to be an
in sport some subcultural values and abusive norms were accepted impossible task. Andersen (2011) proposed that some athletes who
that would not be tolerated in other areas of life, such as the edu- might attempt to demonstrate mental toughness may end up
cation system. “In sport we have normalized, I feel, an emotionally feeling psychological distress; he asked:
abusive environment, and we have just accepted it” (p. 80). Wiese-
What might be the psychological costs to an athlete who tries to
Bjornstal (2010) also suggested that athletes learn what the ex-
put on the mentally tough face, who keeps vulnerability in the
pectations and norms of their sport subcultures are through
closet, who does not seek help because that is a sign of weak-
socialisation experiences, and the expectation is generally for them
ness, who cries alone, and whose “insatiable” desire to make it
to be tough and play through injury and pain. Then these behav-
to the pros compromises his or her loving relationships? (p. 82)
iours become the norm in sport. Richardson et al. provided an
example, in a constructed narrative tale, of an Australian footballer
who struggled with the weight of expectation and pressure to Athletes who do not naturally possess, or have not acquired,
demonstrate the subcultural ideals of masculinity including: play- these traits may try to pretend that they have them, but it seems
ing with pain, hiding injuries, silencing emotions, and using his that there may be a cost. People are unique, but in trying to be
body as a weapon. Young and White described celebrating mentally tough, athletes may forego their individualities and try to
emotional denial, affective neutrality, and the importance of ac- behave in ways they perceive display mental toughness.
tions that exact a physical toll as part of the dominant form of The mental toughness characteristics described here bear
masculinity demonstrated in sports cultures. It appears that resemblance to a number of risk factors for overtraining identified
accepting high risks of injury and keeping silent about pain, in the overtraining risks and outcomes model of Richardson et al.
physical or emotional, is a central feature of the hypermasculinity (2008). Within this model, Richardson et al. suggested four cate-
found in some sport subcultures. gories of overtraining risks: athlete intrapersonal variables, inter-
Young, White, and McTeer (1994) interviewed 16 male current personal variables, situational factors, and the way each of these
and former athletes who suggested that “appropriate” male categories is embedded in sport sociocultural contexts or envi-
behaviour included suppressing affect and playing sport while in ronments. Richardson et al. suggested that risk factors might in-
pain. Young et al. concluded that even though males may not enjoy crease athletes' desires to train or increase athletes' demands for
pain or physical violence, there must be reward enough in hege- recovery that eventually upset the balance of stress and recovery,
monic hypermasculine subcultures to continue to expose their which could lead to overtraining syndrome. The most salient fea-
bodies to physical risk and serious injury. It appears that trying to tures within the athlete interpersonal risk factors category were the
live up to the ideals of subculturally-determined masculinity in influences of coaches and parents. Athletes' susceptibility to over-
sport means accepting physical pain and injury regardless of the training might increase if they internalised parents' and coaches'
costs to wellbeing (Wellard, 2009). overtraining ideals through patterns of reinforcement and
contingency-based expressions of love and approval.
Subcultures of mental toughness Athletes' personalities, behaviours, and beliefs may help them be
successful in sport, but particularly low or high levels of certain traits
A number of these subcultural values of masculinity seem and behaviours may exacerbate stress levels, prompting increased
similar to aspects of mental toughness (e.g., persevere until goals needs for recovery, which might increase susceptibility to stress-
are met, view adversity as a challenge, make sacrifices, ignore in- recovery imbalance (SRI). The risk factors identified in the model
juries, suppress affect, play with pain). Although the definition of include super-motivation, pushing through injury, seeking love and
mental toughness is, as yet, not universally agreed upon, research approval for performance, fitness levels, and injury/illness status.

Please cite this article in press as: Tibbert, S. J., et al., What a difference a “Mentally Toughening” year makes: The acculturation of a rookie,
Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2014.10.007
 S.J. Tibbert et al. / Psychology of Sport and Exercise xxx (2014) 1e11 3

The sociocultural risk factors in the model refer to the attitudes, I specifically asked Joe to be involved in this study for a number of
norms, and imperatives imposed by the environment that can reasons: first, because he had been involved with the football club for
upset the balance between stress and recovery. Richardson et al. a short period of time; second, in a previous study he had identified
(2008) proposed that when athletes struggle to maintain an im- that he thought he was different from the other footballers; third,
age of toughness, as imposed by the sport's subculture, they have because all of the coaches (interviewed in a previous study) indi-
an increased susceptibility to overtrain, potentially increasing the cated that Joe was not performing well at the club potentially due to
likelihood of injury and illness. Hanin (2002) suggested that elite stress-recovery imbalance; and finally, one coach mentioned that Joe
sport cultures and subcultures could emphasise the benefit of was among the “mentally weaker” players in the team.
quantity over quality in training, thereby increasing the SRI risk.
The pressure on athletes to demonstrate their mental toughness Design
may mean that athletes have no other option but to risk increased
SRI, injury, illness, and potentially overtraining syndrome. Recently, Chirkov (2009) argued that the methodological process of
Tibbert and Andersen (2015) suggested that much of the research studying acculturation has been limited by using quantitative
into mental toughness may be focussed in the wrong places, analysis taken at only one point in the dynamic process of accul-
especially when it comes to forming consensus about what mental turation therefore losing the rich detail of the process. To maintain
toughness may be. They suggested that mental toughness is not the rich detail of the dynamic process we engaged in qualitative
what researchers say it is (e.g., determined, focused, confident, in research taken at various points through the acculturation process.
control under pressure, having unshakeable beliefs in themselves, Chirkov suggested that acculturation researchers use methods that
having insatiable desires to succeed), but rather, it is what the examine the fluid changes (e.g., longitudinal qualitative inter-
subcultures in sport say it is. For one team, the climate may be a viewing, participant observation throughout the acculturation
compassionate one (see Jackson, 2006) where mentally tough process) to gain depth and understanding of such complex phe-
athletes are the ones who pay attention to their bodies, speak up nomena. In keeping with Chirkov's suggestion, we tackled the
when in distress, and seek help when needed. For another team, it notion of fluidity by adopting a longitudinal case-study design
may be the hypermasculine and “tough” ideals we have written interpreted through the lens of an acculturation process to examine
about here. In short, we cannot know what mental toughness is how one subculture's (a professional football team's) norms, tra-
until we understand what the cultural ideals and expectations are ditions, ideals, and imperatives influenced the attitudes, beliefs,
of specific subcultures. Many of the mental toughness attitudes and thought processes, emotions, and behaviours of one individual over
behaviours are probably not housed so much within individual a 14-month period. We chose this case-study format because
character or personality, except in ways that they have been acculturation takes time, and we hoped that several interviews
internalised, imposed, or indoctrinated from the sport subcultural over a relatively long period of time would catch some of the ebb
imperatives and ideals. Further, the example of variations in the and flow of acculturation processes. Particular emphasis was placed
climate in different teams highlights how the context affects the on examining the subcultural definition of mental toughness and
experience of acculturation. how cultural expectations for athletes to demonstrate mental
In this study, the major focus was on one footballer's accultur- toughness (through their behaviours) can lead to a variety of out-
ation and his experiences resisting acculturation into a professional comes including overtraining and SRIs.
AFL team. The purpose of the study was to longitudinally investi-
gate (over 14 months) how one subculture's norms, traditions, Procedure
ideals, and imperatives influenced the attitudes, beliefs, emotions,
and behaviours of one athlete. Berry (1997) asked, “If culture is such The first author (Stephanie) conducted the interviews with Joe
a powerful shaper of behaviour, do individuals continue to act in over a 14-month period using an open-ended interview guide
the new setting as they did in the previous one … ?” (p. 6). In this approach (Patton, 2002). Joe engaged in our initial interview during
investigation we aimed to follow one rookie footballer's journey to the first month of preseason training. This first interview consisted of
gain an understanding of the evolution of his acculturation (e.g., building rapport and discussing feelings, beliefs, behaviours, and
initial resistance to the subculture's norms and ideals, subsequent experiences regarding mental toughness and stress-recovery
internalisation of the subculture's attitudes, beliefs, and behav- imbalance. The three interviews during the competitive season
iours). This study contributes to the cultural sport psychology focussed on how Joe was currently dealing with life in and outside of
literature by providing an in-depth, contextual understanding of football, what situations he was handling, and what was helping or
one sporting subculture (imbued with mental toughness ideals) in hindering his ability to perform during the season. During the final
one football club, and how an athlete slowly became acculturated interview, I asked Joe to reflect on his thoughts and feelings regarding
into an environment that was initially at odds with his values. stress, recovery, and mental toughness over the previous season.
Joe chose to meet in a cafe  near his home for each of the in-
terviews, and they lasted between 60 and 160 min. At the end of the
Method study, I offered Joe the opportunity to review all transcriptions to
ensure the interview content accurately reflected what we dis-
Participant cussed during our meetings and that he was comfortable with what
would be used in the reports of the research.
After the University Human Research Ethics Committee granted
approval for this study, I (first author) contacted a number of Analysis
footballers, one of whom was Joe (not his real name), who had been
involved in previous studies for my doctoral dissertation. Joe was a All interviews were transcribed verbatim and reviewed several
19-year-old footballer in his second “rookie” year at a professional times to gain familiarity with the content using the field notes
club. The rookie list is for players who were not successful in the generated from each interview to augment the analysis procedure. I
national draft or who may have been delisted from another club. used thematic analysis with key issues and concepts from the
Following the 2-year rookie contract, a player may be elevated to published literature serving as organising codes for deductive
the senior list or delisted. content analysis. When unique codes emerged from the data, I used

Please cite this article in press as: Tibbert, S. J., et al., What a difference a “Mentally Toughening” year makes: The acculturation of a rookie,
Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2014.10.007
4 S.J. Tibbert et al. / Psychology of Sport and Exercise xxx (2014) 1e11

inductive content analysis. I used the coding techniques Miles and somatization (stomach aches) and his tachycardia. Joe learnt early
Huberman (1994) recommended to draw categories and themes from the coaches to silence any emotion that showed weakness,
from the qualitative data. Researchers have used these techniques such as anxiety.
in earlier qualitative sport psychology research on mental tough- When Joe talked about his previous performances, he attributed
ness (e.g., Bull, Shambrook, James, & Brooks, 2005; Gould, Guinan, his inability to play well during matches to low fitness. His coaches
Greenleaf, Medbery, & Peterson, 1999; Jones et al., 2002; had continually told him if he could get fitter he would be able to
Middleton, Marsh, Martin, Richards, and Perry, 2004). As the in- perform, but when Joe reflected on his previous season, it sounded
terviews progressed, the themes developed into a clear pathway to like anxiety, more than fitness, affected his ability to play during
allow Joe's story to unfold with the aim being not to interfere matches:
excessively.
When I train I feel relaxed and more switched on, um, not nervous.
In the original longitudinal case study, Joe's story was analysed
I feel all mixed up on game day; everything is going through my
thematically through primarily three different, but related lenses:
head. It's all mixed up, and sometimes I get stomach aches. I just
current mental toughness theory (Gucciardi & Gordon, 2011), the
hate it. I tried to pretend I wasn't playing, that it's just training, but
overtraining risks and outcomes model (Richardson et al., 2008),
it doesn't work. I tried going out for a walk; I tried watching footy,
and the stress-recovery imbalance model (Kellmann, 2002). In this
not watching footy, but I dunno. Sometimes I was so up and
case study for the special issue of PSE, those three lenses are still in
hyped, like my heart was beating so fast I felt like I was going to
operation, but the focus is placed on the process of acculturation.
pass out before I went out there. Then, as usual, I played like shit. . .
Through the acculturation lens we look at how cultural traditions,
. I just get embarrassed to talk to the players afterwards.
norms, values, imperatives, and ideals lead, at the individual level,
to intrapersonal and interpersonal changes in attitudes, beliefs, and
behaviours that reflect the indoctrination and acculturation of one During the second interview Joe explained that his pre-match
athlete into one Australian Rules football team. anxiety had not abated, and it seemed to be getting worse.
The story is co-constructed by the researcher and the participant
I still get stomach pains from games … The pain in my stomach
and so the researcher's voice was included in this case study.
just kills … I can't think. I hate it. I make myself feel like I'm just
Including my personal thoughts and experiences maintained a
going through the motions, and I don't care. Then I play shit
confessional tale stance in the tradition of Sparkes (2002), who
'cause I don't care, but at least I don't get the stomach pains and
stated, “some suggest that researchers-as-authors need to indicate
the head thing … I hate it so much. Every time before a game I
their positioning in relation to the research process” (p. 17). The aim
wake up so tired. I don't know why. I hate it. I think to myself, “Is
of including a personal voice in this study was to clarify my position
it really worth it?”
in relation to the research process.

A rookie's acculturation: the case of Joe Joe had mentioned his struggles to a coach who told Joe, “It's
[stomach pains, inability to concentrate] just weakness.” Coaches,
To put the Australian Football League (AFL) in a national and along with other key figures in football hierarchies, are the keepers
international context, a little background seems necessary. In and propagators of subcultural ideals. Their words and messages
Australia the AFL is the most attended professional sport in terms of can be loaded with subcultural expectations as is clear in the pre-
number of fans attending per match and overall attendance per vious quote.
season. At the international level, it ranks fourth in the world in By the third interview Joe appeared to have lost motivation to
average match attendance behind the National Football League try to overcome his anxiety, and he contemplated giving up his
(USA), the Fußball-Bundesliga (Germany, soccer), and the English career in football:
Premier League (soccer; Australian Football League, 2014). Playing
I want to stop playing footy and get on with my life. I reckon I've
in the unique sport of AFL is a dream of many Australian teenagers
wasted 2 years. I could be in my second year at uni. That's really
and young men. It truly is The Big Show in Australia.
depressing. I'm getting upset with it now. I am getting over it. I
When I (lead author) first interviewed Joe, he described his po-
just don't know if I want to play AFL anymore … Some people
sition at the club as being on “shaky ground.” Joe had not managed to
really love footy, but I don't anymore. I don't do it for the love.
play for the senior team, and his contract was due to finish at the end
I'm not sure why I'm still doing this.
of the season; he needed to prove himself worthy of a new contract
this year. A few days prior to our fourth interview Joe signed a 12-
month contract at the club. He had hoped to be elevated onto the When Joe was offered a new contract there appeared to be a
senior list, but his contract was for a “development player,” not as a change in his attitude. The alteration in attitude seemed to coincide
member of the senior team. Joe said it was like a “we aren't sure with a talk from the head coach who had provided Joe with a list of
you're good enough, but we're giving you one more chance” contract. improvements for him to make.
Throughout this case study I have attempted to demonstrate
what happens, and what some consequences may be, when an
The head coach said, “You have talent, but you need to work on
individual is faced with challenging subcultural imperatives. These
your attitude.” He wants me to stop thinking about, um, forget
subcultural themes and consequences are split into the following
about everything before a match, and be better than that. I guess
sections: managing anxiety/silencing emotions, internalising
he's right, they [stomach cramps and fuzzy head] aren't gonna
abuse, living up to mental toughness ideals, making sacrifices, and
kill me, and if I keep trying I'll get over it.
incurring overuse injuries.

Managing anxiety/silencing emotions The subcultural message from the coach appeared to be that if
you are having problems you should be able to get over them, and
For Joe, managing anxiety and silencing emotions were prob- showing any vulnerability demonstrates weakness. The coach was
lems that he was dealing with in suboptimal ways. The unsuc- perpetuating the hypermasculine subcultural ideal that real men
cessful suppression of his anxiety was probably part of some of his do not show weakness.

Please cite this article in press as: Tibbert, S. J., et al., What a difference a “Mentally Toughening” year makes: The acculturation of a rookie,
Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2014.10.007
 S.J. Tibbert et al. / Psychology of Sport and Exercise xxx (2014) 1e11 5

By the final interview Joe had taken on the head coach's sug- Joe was fearful about his own teammates hurting him in training
gestion and tried to perform while suppressing his anxiety. When drills, because he was bigger than the other players. It was hard to
he talked about his previous year and his anxiety, he suggested that imagine this big muscular guy in front of me being physically scared
“last year I was shit. I need to not let myself go there again.” Joe of anyone until he started to talk about how the training drills made
thought that his anxiety and his attitude last year, “must have him feel. He seemed to me to shrink as he talked about it.
seemed a bit pathetic,” but now he was going to try harder to be a By the final interview, Joe talked about how much fun it was
footballer: being one of the bigger guys. This new season had been different for
Joe because, “I'm not the only big player now. Two of the rookies are
Look, it's different now. I'm going to try to be a footballer. Coach
big too. It's good, 'cause I'm not the target. Like I've done my time,
told me that I might get a senior role for the team if I can start
now it's someone else's turn to prove themselves.” I asked Joe to
performing well. To do that, I need to be a footballer. I wasn't
clarify what he meant by not being the target. “Well, the new
before, but [the person I was at] home is not who I am now. I am
rookies, the big ones, are the players the boys wanna take down. It's
now being a footballer.
not me anymore.” I asked Joe how he felt about being the target in
the previous year. He replied, “It's good. It helped me to toughen up.
The subculture prevalent within the club appeared to value It'll help them.” It seemed like Joe had adopted the club's subcul-
silencing emotion and hiding any vulnerability. Joe learnt that to tural traditions and ideals that players need to be abused to
become a part of this team he had to embrace the subcultural toughen up, and now he was thankful for the experience. I thought
values that being a footballer meant suppressing his anxiety and everything Joe had gone through over the last year would mean he
pretending that it did not affect him, while performing to the ex- knew how awful it felt to be the target, and that he would not have
pectations of the coach. condoned that behaviour. Joe explained:
It's not bullying. It's gonna help them. Like if I hadn't had it like
Internalising abuse that I wouldn't be here now. I wouldn't have got a contract and
been lucky enough to still be here. I wasn't tough enough last
It is a common practice that newcomers to men's groups go year. I know I need to be harder, but the new players they'll need
through periods of abuse (e.g., initiations and hazing in college to learn from it, same as me, or they won't last.
fraternities, rookies in the AFL, new recruits in military service).
Once these newbies have survived the abuse, and are accepted into
Joe continued to talk about how helpful being a target had been
the group, the abuse often becomes internalised and is seen as
for him, “The younger boys are told, ‘Look at Joe; he went through it
necessary, needed, and good and something to pass on to the next
[being a target], and look at him now.’” I asked Joe to reflect on last
round of new members of the group.
season and how he felt about it. Joe answered “It was tough, but I
During our first interview, Joe explained that there is a subcul-
needed it.” In Joe's football club, players needed to absorb the
tural tradition in his team that targets the biggest rookies. The
physical abuse without complaining as a rite of passage to be
largest new guys receive a lot more physical abuse than the smaller
perceived as being tough enough to be part of the team. The
(i.e., average-sized) rookies. Being one of the big rookies, and being
physical abuse, much like bullying or hazing in fraternities, gets
targeted and physically abused was difficult for Joe. He perceived
perpetrated on the new recruits who then later become abusers
his treatment as abusive at the time, but his relationship to the
themselves and come to see the abuse as a positive aspect of the
abuse changed over the season. By the final interview, Joe found
subculture in this process of acculturation. And so the traditions get
that by internalising the physical abuse the senior players inflicted
passed on and reinforced by each member of the subculture who
as something that was good for him, and himself perpetuating the
survives the abuse, leaving an environment where abuse is
subcultural tradition of abusing the big new guys the next season,
accepted and viewed as a positive learning tool.
he had become accepted into the team.
Initially when Joe spoke about doing his “extras,” he talked
about weight training to improve his strength. I was interested that Living up to mental toughness ideals
weights seemed to be Joe's favourite extra, because he constantly
mentioned that his technical ability (not his strength) was his Subcultural values and ideals in sport are often unclear to
weakness. Joe explained his reason for carrying out extra weight rookies just coming into a team. But there are powerful commu-
training: nicators of those values (e.g., coaches, senior players, staff). Joe
quickly learnt that the mental toughness values in his team had
I am bigger than most of the guys, and if the bigger man goes
everything to do with extras, playing with pain, putting the team
down they [players and coaches in his club] are going to talk
first, and giving 110%.
about it. I need the bulk, so I don't go down as easily. I know I've
During the initial interview, Joe seemed unsure what mental
gotta beat these guys whatever way I can. They are five, ten
toughness was in his club, saying, “I don't know what mental
years older than me, but they still wanna get me.
toughness is supposed to be. How can I do it when I don't even
know what it means? They [coaches] expect me to know.” He went
It sounded like Joe did extra weights to fend off the other players on to say that in the club he thought that mental toughness was
in his team. I asked Joe how he felt knowing that the other players when players had done everything the coaches told them to do:
wanted to take him down. He replied:
They [other players] do everything that the coaches want,
I sorta get scared. I get that feeling they are out to get me … I bloody mental toughness. They [coaches] go on about it all the
don't like it. Like, when I have to do one-on-one drills I feel like, time, X [a player in his team] is mentally tough. He just keeps
um, chucking up. I don't want to get hurt. When we are doing running, plays well again and again, goes in for the hard tackles,
contact drills I know they are coming to get me. I end up getting and just keeps getting up. He is amazing … I am trying to be like
that same nervous feeling, same as before games. I'm not a soft X; he can keep going every day. I try to train as hard as him. I see
person; I know that, but I always get that feeling, 'cause I don't him hang around the club all day training. He is mentally tough.
wanna get hurt. He can keep going longer than anyone else. He always pushes

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6 S.J. Tibbert et al. / Psychology of Sport and Exercise xxx (2014) 1e11

through. He's confident and positive. He works heaps harder unrealistic example in the club for the new recruits to try to
than anyone else, and [he is] happy about it. I wanna be like that. emulate. As with the physical abuse and the subcultural tradition of
I try to train like that, but my legs are full of lactic acid, [and] I targeting big rookies, it seemed that Joe had internalised the sub-
just can't run, and I say to myself “keep going,” but I can't. cultural ideals of what it meant to be mentally tough: attitudes and
behaviours that are also significant risk factors for overuse injuries
and the development of overtraining syndrome (Richardson et al.,
The coaches clearly influenced the subcultural climate by
2008).
encouraging players to train as hard as the hardest worker in the
team could. Joe had mentioned that if a player did not keep up with
the rest of the team, his performance would be analysed detri- Making sacrifices
mentally in front of the whole team. The consequences of such
comparisons can be damaging. Brown, Frederick, Falsetti, Burke, For Joe, many of the sacrifices he was asked to make seemed to
and Ryan, (1983) suggested that athletes who compare them- be closely connected to giving up some aspects of his individuality
selves to successful others who train at high volumes, which are and his freedom along with missing out on a normal young
beyond the athletes' own capacities, increase the risk of over- adulthood (e.g., goofing off with his mates). Joe did not want to
training. By frequently drawing on the fittest player as a role model, make sacrifices to conform to the club's wishes, and that set him up
the coaches set unrealistic expectations, which, for Joe, increased for conflict.
the pressure he felt, and his risk of overtraining. Nevertheless, in When Joe initially talked about the things in his life that he had
the club, if one player could manage to complete the training, the to sacrifice he sounded resentful. One aspect Joe was particularly
expectation was that all players needed to learn how to manage the adamant about was his living arrangements. At the beginning of the
training load. year, the coach put pressure on him to move in with a supporter
In the second interview, Joe joked that he was not sure he could family or some of the footballers, but Joe had dug his heels in, and
keep trying to live up to the coaches' mental toughness expecta- because he was 18 the club could not force him to live with
tions. I asked him what made him continue to attempt to achieve strangers. Joe talked about his life away from the club and the
those expectations. He replied, “That's mental toughness isn't it? sacrifices he needed to make:
Keeping going even when you don't wanna.” Embracing the sub-
Here I do nothing. I just sit at home playing X-box on my own.
culture that being mentally tough was when one keeps going even
I've got nothing else to do. I don't have friends here, just the boys
if it makes one unhappy meant Joe kept pushing towards achieving
at the club. It's just so frustrating. The club don't help, because
the coach's goals and disregarded any damage that he may incur.
I'm not playing seniors. They just leave you to get on with it. It
By the fourth interview, Joe appeared exhausted, and when the
makes you think though, is it all worth it? I should be at home
coach offered Joe a new short-term contract based on performance,
just being happy, instead of being an AFL player.
Joe accepted and listened to the head coach's advice. Joe had been
told to work on being mentally tough and stop feeling sorry for
himself. I asked Joe what he thought was meant by being mentally Joe stated that he was trying to appease the club, but he was not
tough now. He explained: making much progress:
I can be mentally tough. When I have to be mentally tough I am The club want me to want to be here, and I try to prove that I do
focussed and do all the training. I just run through the pain. If wanna be here, but it's a massive change, and I can't help but
I've got niggles and pains I just run through them. I just keep (pauses), oh I do want to be here at the club. I miss my mates,
pushing. If I get hit, I just get straight back up, and all that stuff. and it's so boring here. [It] can't get much worse. I've done my
year, and I've showed I'm committed, like, I don't go out. They
don't want me to go out at night, so I don't. I've done everything,
The mental toughness subculture of Joe's football club appears
always wanting to learn things, and I train really hard. I do all the
to embrace the idea of hiding pain, injury, and weakness. Trying to
extras, but I don't know if it's enough.
live up to these damaging expectations would potentially lead to
overuse injuries, overtraining, and compromised wellbeing.
I asked Joe if he was able to be mentally tough now. He replied, “I The coaches at the football club fostered a subculture of sacri-
can be, but I don't wanna be now. I wanna rest.” I asked him to ficing many other aspects of life to become a footballer. The club
explain what happened when he was not mentally tough. “Not expected players to give up any interest outside football without
being mentally tough, then I just don't do it. I don't do all that crap complaining, creating a subculture where the sport is the most
(laughs). I relax and recover. I don't play when I feel like shit. I don't important part of life.
push myself till I throw up.” I asked him what motivated him to do Throughout the second interview Joe seemed to feel that the
“all that crap.” He grimaced and suggested that if he wanted a sacrifices constricted him, and he likened the football environment
career in football, then he needed to do all that crap, “it's the same to a prison, “It's just football. I try to be like themdfootball, football,
as the drills, putting your head over, [and] taking the hits. I need to football, but I wanna surf and hang out with my proper mates at
get over it, and just do it.” home. I can't. Kinda feels like I am in prison here.” Joe sounded
The final interview took place during the following preseason weary of life as a professional footballer. By the third interview Joe
when Joe suggested that he had changed, and now he was able to appeared miserable about the sacrifices he was making in his
be mentally tough. attempt to become an AFL footballer:
I've toughened up. I can take the hits like the rest of them now. I I live in a feral area. I don't wanna live with the other guys. I've
want the new boys to look up to me and try to train as hard as been broken into twice this year. I can't afford to move out. I've
me. I know I can do it. I can beat them. got no money. You don't get paid much until you play for the
seniors. This … is just shit. I just want to go up to them and say, “I
want to quit now.” I am always battling at the end of the week
Joe had adopted the subculture ideals that mentally tough
for money. I wanna go out for lunch sometimes, and I can't. I
footballers take the hits, and train excessively; he was now another
don't like looking poor or like I have nothing.

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 S.J. Tibbert et al. / Psychology of Sport and Exercise xxx (2014) 1e11 7

technical training on top of the prescribed training sessions soun-

During the fourth interview Joe appeared to be trying to ded like a pathway towards OT.
conform to the subculture where football is more important than
During preseason training, Joe had sustained a groin injury and
everything else, but he did not sound convinced that the sacrifices could not complete the full preseason training prior to the season
were worth it:
starting, but he was back to full mobility by the time we met for the
It's what I want, yeah, it's um, aw, you know how it is. I wanna be second interview. “Having the osteitis I had to stop training. I felt I
happy. I don't, I don't love football, but … I wanna love it, like I was losing fitness. I still feel I am losing fitness, 'cause I didn't get to
really, really wanna love it. It'll be good being here next year do as much as the others.” I asked him what had caused his injury.
(smiles sarcastically). I wanna be here. Joe explained, “It's a bit stupid. It's the new guys that get this, but I
guess 'cause I haven't played long, and I've done heaps of kicking to
During the final interview Joe had moved in with some of his get my skills up. I guess that probably caused it.” Joe had carried out
teammates. He said it was good having the other boys to talk to, extra training throughout the offseason and preseason to enhance
“because they understand what it takes to be a footballer.” Joe his technical skills to impress the coaches. The result was an
elaborated: overuse injury that was consistent with those first-year players
often incur. I asked why it was stupid, and he replied, “I'm not a
Like there is no pressure from them [housemates] to do things.
first-year player. I'm not supposed to get that. I don't want them
Like at home my mates don't get it, but the boys I live with get it.
[coaches] to think I can't handle it [preseason training].” Joe
It's all about football; we all know that. It would be weird if one
sounded embarrassed that his body had broken down with a first-
of them wanted to do those other things [surf, play rugby].
year player's injury. Now that he was back to training and
completing the extras, it sounded like he was starting to enjoy how
Joe's change of opinion clearly shows his acculturation into the
the additional training made him feel:
world of professional football by accepting that the club's needs
were more important than his individual needs. Joe explained that, You get addicted to the pain of training a bit. I always do extra
“It's good for me [living with the other footballers]. We watch footy weights. I like being in real good shape. I try not to abuse my
together now. They help me with what I need to do for my position. body. Sometimes I try to ignore that need to do more. I still feel
It's better now.” When Joe discussed the previous season, and his like I need the extras all the time, (laughs) that keeps X [per-
decision to live on his own, he explained that, “I dunno why I didn't formance coach] happy.
do what the club wanted me to do. It would have been easier for me
to have done it their way, but I thought I knew better. I won't make
Damaging himself to please the coach appeared to be the norm
that mistake again.” Joe seemed to have taken on the club's sub-
in this football subculture. By the third interview Joe appeared
cultural values and internalised them. Subjugating his individual
bemused by the amount of training that the coaches expected and
needs for the needs of the club, and possibly even shedding a
the impact the excessive training had on his body.
personal identity for a collective subcultural identity, seemed to be
part of the acculturation process. Like all these little injuries are getting me down now. My groin
was bad at the start of the year, and then my quad, and then my
Incurring overuse (overtraining) injuries
quad again, then my knee. Now I've got a cold, had it for weeks
[I'm] sick of it … I always get these little injuries now. I never
AFL is a subculture, like many other sport environments, where
used to get them.
overtraining and overuse injuries are common. The pressures to
train and become fit seem to outweigh the needs for recovery. For
Joe, the overuse injuries came in what seemed like a never ending Trying to live up to the subcultural ideals of being able to cope
succession of injury, partial recovery, and then incurring another with training excessively regardless of injury or illness meant
overuse injury (groin injury, quad strain, another quad injury, and athletes were likely pushing into overtraining, which resulted in
then a knee injury). overuse injuries and damaged immune systems. I asked Joe why he
When Joe initially arrived at the club, he went through a thought he was experiencing so many injuries and illnesses. He
rigorous week of fitness testing, which resulted in the coaches laughed, saying “too much training, not having enough [fitness]
telling Joe he needed to get fitter. Joe had worried about not being base to do the hard stuff. My body is telling my head ‘We have a
fit enough because he had not completed a full preseason training problem.’” Joe was able to do a little bit of rehabilitation, but mostly
the previous year: he trained with the senior team. He explained:
It's 'cause I didn't do a full preseason. I didn't get that proper It's different during season, like in preseason when you are
training in. I did heaps of extras, but I couldn't get fit enough last injured you rehab. During season you don't get that; it's crazy. I
season. I started off playing ok, but then dropped off at the end had to keep playing with sore bloody everything. They [coaches]
of the season, 'cause I wasn't fit enough. got mad at me 'cause I couldn't do it [play well while sore]. Like I
could do it, but I didn't wanna. What if it got worse?
Joe talked about how he was working much harder now than he
ever had before, and he said that he was trying to become the
At the football club the subcultural norm is that players should
player the club wanted him to be:
be able to perform while in pain. Individuals who are unable or
I do so many extras like ice baths daily, and I try to run extras every unwilling to hide pain and play were labelled amongst the weakest
week … I'll go to the local gym to do weights. I go to a local football in the group, but conforming to the cultural demands of hiding pain
club to play and train with them to get my game sense. I watch AFL was viewed as tough behaviour. Joe continued:
games, so I can see how I am supposed to play. The more I can do
now [preseason], the better it's gonna be this season. It's one thing trying to get properly fit when I'm a bit sore. You
know you can get over it, and it [soreness] hardly gets in the
Joe was participating in numerous extras striving to achieve the way. It's another thing that I'm in so much pain like I can't
expectations of the club. Carrying out physical, tactical, and even sleep at night. Guess it's just another way that they

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8 S.J. Tibbert et al. / Psychology of Sport and Exercise xxx (2014) 1e11

[coaches] can tell me that I'm not tough enough (laughs The head coach was attempting to motivate Joe by encouraging
sarcastically). him to think about failing. The subculture in the club appeared to
foster fear and failure avoidance. Joe had been so happy to finally
At the club the expectation was for players to cope with constant receive some feedback that it did not matter how the information
pain without complaining. The club subculture idealises sacrificing was given as long as he had something he could work on to try to
one's body for the good of the club. Joe knew some of his peers impress the coach. By our final interview, Joe had acculturated to
played injured and hid injuries so they could continue playing, but the club's ideals, and he was back trying to train as hard as he could,
he did not want to do that: enjoying the pain that was dished out to him, “I love the training …
I love the pain of training.” At the end of the interviews by con-
Some of the other boys, because they are so close to playing in
forming to the subcultural ideals and expectations within the club, I
the senior side, will pretend not to be injured. You know they are
could see Joe felt accepted and worthwhile. The flowing stream of
really in pain, but they want a game and won't let anything
Joe's acculturation into the ideals and imperatives of football
stand in their way 'cause it might be their only chance. If I'm
seemed to have settled, at the time of our last interview, into a lake.
injured I think I should just tell someone. I don't wanna get
worse. Coach is like “don't be soft.” But, when I'm really sore or
ill, I play shit. I hate it. Every time I am sick, I play crap when I am Discussion
forced to play. If I had the choice, I would pull myself out. Coach
is like, “It's just a cold. Take some pseudoephedrine.” I don't see Joe's case study provides a rich yet cautionary tale on the pro-
it that way. Like I can't run. My lungs hurt and stuff like that. I am cesses of attempting to gain acceptance and success in football by
buggered. There's no point in playing. trying to live up to ideals of physical and mental toughness. The
only path to success seemed to be to internalise his sport sub-
The coach's attempt at motivating Joe seemed to be to belittle culture's philosophy by attempting to live up to the unrealistic
concerns regarding his injury or illness; the strategies for dealing expectations and norms set by the coaches, staff, and senior
with pain included ignoring the pain or taking masking agents to players. Hughes and Coakley (1991) suggested that, “in many cases,
allow Joe to continue to play. It seemed like the club subculture was strict conformity to these norms becomes the basis for acceptance
not to look after the body as a tool of the trade, but to abuse it until onto a team and a measure of status among athletes themselves” (p.
the tool broke down and then be expected to keep on going. Joe 308). Joe's story represents an athlete who does not initially
continued to talk about his recent training sessions: acculturate to the traditions of his football club, but learnt that
being different than his teammates meant that he was perceived as
I probably had one of the worst training sessions last week. The weak and worthless. Throughout Joe's story, he appears to swing
coach was going nuts at me for doing stuff wrong. I am just so between his original enculturation and his unstable, but growing,
tired, but yeah, that was pretty depressing in front of everyone. I new acculturation. Following his brush with failure he realises that
had been trying so hard, but then I just wanted to get out of to maintain a career in football he has to acculturate unquestion-
there. I'm sick of it. ingly to the ideals, beliefs, and values of the hypermasculine culture
found in certain sports, regardless of the damage he might be doing
Joe looked close to tears when he recalled the humiliating to himself physically and mentally. The process of acculturation
training session. All the little injuries upset him, and the coaches could mean that athletes embark on a dance that moves fluidly
used the injuries as excuses to tell Joe that he was not tough between acculturation by taking on board behaviours or beliefs
enough. Joe thought the training at the club was too much, and was from the new culture, and enculturation by maintaining beliefs and
the cause of his injuries. behaviours from their old culture (Chirkov, 2009; Schinke et al.,
2006, 2013).
It's mental. X [performance coach] says “No excuses” but we train Joe's journey represents a path of initially wanting to impress
6 days a week all through the season. We are getting smashed everyone at the club, followed by frustration regarding the depth of
every single day. Like you wake up after a match, and you have to the sacrifice he was expected to make, and finally followed by
go and do recovery at the club and have all the meetings. Then indoctrination, or acculturation, into the dominant sport subcul-
the next day you are training again. They [coaches] wonder why ture. This journey was demonstrated in all aspects of his story:
at the start of the season they [the team] dominate. The last few managing anxiety/silencing emotions, internalising abuse, living up
years we have dominated the first ten games or so, and now we to mental toughness ideals, making sacrifices, and incurring over-
are playing crap. It's only going to get worse for the rest of the use injuries. A similar story is evident in the acculturation processes
season. It's from overtraining all the time. I'm over it. of immigrant athletes. Schinke et al. (2013) suggested that experi-
encing frustration might mean immigrant athletes distance them-
Joe's loss of motivation was evident. “I never used to think like selves from their new sport environment, because they preferred
this, I reckon it's … too much. I'm sick. I'm injured. I reckon my body their original environment/culture/values. Athletes who do not
has been run down. I just can't be bothered.” acculturate run the risk of becoming outsiders in their host culture
After Joe had been offered a new contract, although he seemed and potentially leave them unable to gain acceptance within the
exhausted, he thought all he needed was a short break before being team (Kontos, 2009).
able to return to the club with more determination to succeed than Richardson et al. (2008) cited an interviewee who suggested
the previous year. The head coach had told him what he needed to that the concept of mental toughness, in some sport cultures, so-
think about at home to motivate him: cialises men to suppress emotional aspects of life, and the inter-
viewee recommended that moving away from identifying
He [head coach] said, “go home at the end of the season, [and] emotional expression as being weak or lacking mental toughness
think about how you would feel if I hadn't given you another would be beneficial for men. This concept seems similar to the idea
chance. Think about how failure would feel.” He wants me to put that the sport cultures focus excessively on stories of toughness
that feeling into training next year … Coach gave me a list of (Gucciardi et al., 2008) and “as a result, stories of vulnerability are
things I need to do. It's good, 'cause I can get working on them. largely absent in elite sport culture” (Douglas & Carless, 2014, p. 71).

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 S.J. Tibbert et al. / Psychology of Sport and Exercise xxx (2014) 1e11 9

The suppressing aspect of this suggestion fits well with Joe's tale. During our fourth interview, Joe did not want to “do all that
Joe's coach had told him if he could get fitter he would be able to crap” explaining that he was too tired to be mentally tough. Joe
perform, but at the heart of Joe's performance issues were feelings appeared to understand what was needed to be mentally tough, but
of insecurity, inadequacy, loneliness, and anxiety. These feelings, had lost motivation to push himself to demonstrate the unrealistic
coupled with an uncertainty of whether he would have a football ideals set by the club subculture. When Joe returned for preseason
career at the end of the season, made it difficult for Joe to perform training, he was the new and improved mentally tough footballer.
regardless of how fit he tried to become. It was clear that Joe He vowed to be successful by pushing himself to the limits to be a
struggled with anxiety. He described both cognitive and somatic role model, ignoring pain (emotional and physical), and playing
components of anxiety when he explained how he felt on game regardless of injury. Joe had taken on the identity of a footballer. He
day. Numerous interventions exist that can help manage anxiety, had become entrenched in the subculture that promoted loving
but the club coaches suggested that mentally tough athletes just pain and valued the ability to physically abuse others.
needed to get fitter. Demonstrating mental toughness in this culture Joe initially believed that having interests outside of football
appeared to include hiding emotions and not allowing anxiety to would enable him to perform, and he felt constricted by the club's
influence your performance negatively, which ties into some pop- beliefs that his identity needed to revolve around football. By the
ular perspectives on mental toughness (Connaughton, Hanton, & end of our interviews, Joe suggested that it was easier having only
Jones, 2010; Connaughton, Wadey, Hanton, & Jones, 2008; football and footballers in his life, demonstrating his nearly com-
Gucciardi, Gordon, Dimmock, & Mallett, 2009; Jones et al., 2002). plete indoctrination into the club subculture. If sport or training
Joe changed his opinion throughout the period of interviews becomes the only opportunity for social interaction, then young
regarding how he perceived the regular physical abuse at the hands athletes may develop narrow identities, which can be fine when
of the playing group. Joe initially was scared and anxious trying to their performances are going well, but can lead to stress and anx-
cope with the abuse he was receiving at the club. By our last iety when failure or injury are present (Winsley & Matos, 2011).
interview, Joe explained that he was glad of the adversity he Being able to develop multiple aspects of identity may provide an
experienced, and he reflected on being a target, in particular, as a outlet to the stress related to professional sport (Coakley, 1992) and
good thing, because the experience helped him become mentally reduce the importance of a good performance for maintaining self-
tough. Coakley (2007) stated that deviant overconformity amongst confidence and self-esteem. Joe had no outlet, and the pathogenic
athletes can be common because it allows athletes to do whatever subculture of his club enveloped him. As Joe began to live, eat, and
it takes to gain acceptance and status into a group. Coakley breathe football, it was hard for him to maintain his own beliefs
continued that in sport, behaviours that might not be acceptable when the football subculture became the dominant paradigm for
anywhere else are often encouraged and not viewed as deviant, but his life. For young athletes so intimately tied into their sports,
may encourage overtraining, bullying, injury, and illness. In this adopting the subcultural imperatives of mental toughness would
football subculture, bullying was the accepted (and expected) appear the only route for survival. That route also contains be-
behaviour, and represented a setting where abuse is the norm. haviours and what might be called behavioural omissions (e.g., not
Richardson et al. (2008) suggested that the high levels of abuse of showing emotion, not showing vulnerability, not stopping when in
athletes can lead to dysfunctional coping strategies and behaviours pain) that may endure, for many players who may not survive long
as was evident for Joe when he became the abuser to “help toughen in their sports. Richardson et al. (2008) suggested:
up” the new players. This subculture seems similar to aspects of
The problem with the mental toughness concept is that it im-
hazing, where athletes participate in and endure hazing to become
plies a head-down-go-as-hard-as-you-can-and-close-off-
accepted in the team and to maintain the power structure of a team
everything-to-reach-the-desired-end [type of approach]. It's a
(Waldron & Kowalski, 2009). These hazing rituals are identified as
problematic and simplistic concept. We need to throw it out and
methods of demonstrating the ideals of hypermasculinity inherent
start working from a point of view of what kinds of behaviors
in sport. Sabo and Panepinto (1990) identified how coaches taught
are helpful for someone who wants to achieve excellence. (p. 96)
players that inflicting pain on others and silencing physical
suffering helped toughen athletes up. It appears that coaches
normalise physical violence in the soccer subculture as a necessity The literature identifies that one risk of acculturation is the
to enable young footballers to develop enough toughness. The sacrifice of one's own identity (Kontos, 2009). It is clear throughout
psychological climate that coaches establish can clearly influence Joe's story that he chose to sacrifice his own beliefs, emotions, and
athletes' behaviours with regard to normalising pain, violence, and attitudes, leaving only an identity encouraged by the football club
abuse, and the abused become the abusers; it is an old, old story. based on their beliefs and expectations.
Although Joe initially was not sure what mental toughness The subculture demonstrated in this case study appears similar
meant, he adopted the views of the coaches whose perceptions of to some of the risk factors identified in the overtraining literature.
mental toughness fit with the published literature in that mentally For example, overtraining risk factors include: poor coach-athlete
tough players can push themselves to the limit (Jones, Hanton, & communication (Botterill & Wilson, 2002), coach pressure to win
Connaughton, 2007), play to the best of their ability while car- and abusive coaching (Krane, Greenleaf, & Snow, 1997), and ath-
rying injuries (Gucciardi et al., 2008), keep anxieties in check letes who felt humiliated, denigrated, and verbally abused by
without revealing their emotional states to other people (Clough, coaches and senior players (Wrisberg & Johnson, 2002).
Marchant, & Earle, 2007), and maintain performance while There is no doubt from the research that the idea of mental
injured, fatigued, or hurting (Coulter et al., 2010). Hutchins and toughness can be used as a way to motivate and help athletes
Mikosza (1998) reported that players, who are most able to injure perform at their best. It is also clear mental toughness lends itself to
others legitimately and willingly put themselves in a position of being an umbrella term under which athletes conform to the
potential physical damage, are seen as heroes and valued highly. sport's subcultural ideals. In many cases, conforming to those ideals
Joe's story supports the belief that playing injured and in pain is may lead to stress, injury, and overtraining along with anxiety and
valued. In this club subculture, it appears that coaches endorse depression for those who try to be mentally tough enough. The
behaviours, such as pushing through pain and playing while results from this study suggest that the norms, values, and expec-
injured, encouraging athletes to conform to their ideas of what a tations of this particular football subculture influenced how Joe
mentally tough footballer must be. thought, felt, and behaved. Joe demonstrated the behaviours that

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Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2014.10.007
10 S.J. Tibbert et al. / Psychology of Sport and Exercise xxx (2014) 1e11

were acceptable in the club (the ones he had previously considered adopting subcultural ideals may be detrimental to mental and
unacceptable), and he came to regard bullying as a way to help physical wellbeing.
younger players. The change in beliefs, values, and behaviours
demonstrated by Joe represents his acculturation into the football
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Please cite this article in press as: Tibbert, S. J., et al., What a difference a “Mentally Toughening” year makes: The acculturation of a rookie,
Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2014.10.007