The athletic career, defined as the time an athlete devotes to achieving their maximum performance in one or more sports, is divided into four stages: initiation, development, mastery (elite), and retirement; however, each sport has its own unique characteristics, and the lengths of the stages and ages vary greatly. As a result, an athlete's career attributes may be influenced by the sport they play. The athlete is viewed as an individual in accordance with the holistic paradigm of sports career development. As a result, the athlete is growing both personally and in his or her connections with others, as well as, in some circumstances, building a second job outside of sport, all while advancing their athletic careers. This model assumes that the various aspects of an athlete's life, including their careers, finances, psychological and psychosocial well-being, and sports, interact with one another
