The influence of social capital on the duration of the period of professional activity of athletes of the highest achievements 

Anna V. Ermilova, Candidate of sociological sciences, associate professor of the sub-department of general sociology and social work, Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod (23 Gagarina avenue, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia), ermilova.75@bk.ru

Background. The relevance of studying the duration of professional age of ath-letes is associated with the identification of the importance of social capital in the process of their functioning in the field of high performance sport, as well as its impact on the reali-zation of athletes’ potential. To analyze the duration of professional age of athletes the essence of the concept “professional age” of representatives of the sports field of activity and its features are revealed; the etymology of the concept “social capital” is specified. The purpose of the study is to identify the influence of social capital on the duration of profes-sional age of athletes of the highest achievements. Materials and methods. To identify the impact of social capital on the duration of professional age of athletes, the following inter-pretations of social capital by P. Bourdieu, J. Coleman and R. Putnam; data from the au-thor's sociological study carried out in 2021–2022 were used. by in-depth interview meth-od, which involved athletes of the highest achievements (n = 52) and members of the Lobachevsky State University volleyball teams (n = 26); a continuous questionnaire survey of professional athletes of Nizhny Novgorod club “Sparta-2” (n = 25) in 2022; secondary analysis of sociological research data (questionnaire survey of representatives of the school and school of Olympic reserve, n = 150, N.V. Dorofeeva, 2022). Results. A positive factor in both the realization of the athletes’ potential and the duration of their professional age is a high level of social capital, namely, the absence of social disunity between the agents; the presence of feedback, well-organized structure of sport / sport, team; awareness of sports agents; compliance with legal and moral norms. A special role in the realization of an ath-lete is played by such a component of social capital as trust at the level of interpersonal interaction of sports agents, and at the level of implementation of domestic and foreign pol-icy of the state, which, in turn, can contribute to a longer professional age. Conclusions. Socialization of athletes mainly within the boundaries of sports activities, especially those whose formation and realization takes place in schools / boarding schools / schools of Olympic reserve, leads to the formation of a certain type of social capital (socio-sports capi-tal), which is characterized by the commonality of specific settings and attitudes on the vital activity of individuals. Underestimation of the importance and completeness of social capi-tal by agents of the sports field may have a negative impact on the performance of athletes, shortening their professional age.

professional age, elite athlete, social capital

Ermilova A.V. The influence of social capital on the duration of the period of professional activity of athletes of the highest achievements. Izvestiya vysshikh uchebnykh zavedeniy. Povolzhskiy region. Obshchestvennye nauki=University proceedings. Volga region. Social sciences. 2022;(4):5–18. (In Russ.).doi:10.21685/2072-3016-2022-4-1