Between Growth and Overload: Navigating the Dual Career Paradox in Student-Athletes
Date and time: Wednesday May 27th, afternoon
Student-athletes operate in a constant tension between development and overload. While dual career policies and support structures increasingly emphasize performance, employability, and personal growth, many student-athletes experience monitoring systems as fragmented, burdensome, or disconnected from their lived reality. This creates what can be described as the dual career paradox: systems designed to support development may unintentionally contribute to stress, disengagement, or reduced autonomy.
In this 3-hour interactive workshop, participants will explore how monitoring and support can be reframed as tools for connection, meaning, and shared responsibility, rather than control or surveillance.
Drawing on research and applied experience across elite sport schools, universities, and high-performance sporting environments, the workshop combines:
• real-life case stories (successful and failed approaches),
• theoretical frameworks from dual career and sport psychology research,
• and practical tools for day-to-day applied work with student-athletes.
Participants will be invited to critically reflect on:
• what we monitor versus what truly matters to student-athletes,
• how timing, tone, and context influence the impact of monitoring,
• and how practitioners can balance institutional demands with authentic athlete-centered support.
Participants will also be introduced to concrete tools, including reflective instruments and a dual career monitoring tool, with space to discuss implementation challenges and practitioner positioning.
By the end of the workshop, participants will:
• gain a deeper understanding of the dual career paradox from the athlete’s and practitioner’s perspective,
• be equipped with practical frameworks and questions to guide monitoring conversations,
• and leave with concrete ideas to design or refine monitoring systems that support both performance and well-being.
Who Is This Workshop For?
Designed for professionals working in and around sport, including:
- Sport psychologists
- Performance and Mental Skills Consultants
- Coach educators and developers
- Sport coaches
- PE teachers and practitioners working in performance and development contexts
About the Workshop Leader :
Koen De Brandt is an assistant professor and coordinator of the dpt. Topsport & Studie at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). He works at the intersection of sport psychology, dual career development, and athlete well-being. A former professional volleyball player and student-athlete himself, Koen brings a strongly applied perspective to his work, focusing on authentic connection, meaningful monitoring, and sustainable support for student-athletes. He coordinates and contributes to numerous international projects and collaborates with a wide network of partners across sport, education, and policy. His work consistently bridges research and practice, with a strong emphasis on listening before measuring.
