The following is excerpted from the Deseret News. To read the full report, CLICK HERE.
Photo: Two missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints serving in Fiji wave a friendly hello. Two college students recently published study examining the experiences of 10 Latter-day Saints college athletes and challenges and benefits associated with serving a mission. Photo credit: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
An academic study examining the experiences of 10 Latter-day Saints who served full-time missions and returned to compete at the NCAA Division I level was recently published in the Journal of the Christian Society for Kinesiology, Leisure and Sports Studies.
The authors interviewed 10 returned missionary student-athletes, including eight men and two women, to better understand the challenges and benefits associated with a serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and returning to elite competition.
“Overall, it appears that participants’ perceptions were that both the benefits of and challenges with serving an LDS mission — and being gone for between 18-24 months from NCAA DI competition — had significant implications on their athletic identity as well as their return to performance,” the study said.
“Extra Points,” a blog, highlighted some of the study’s findings:
To read the full report, CLICK HERE.
