Performance lifestyle provision within the British High-Performance System (BHPS): A narrative review

Performance Lifestyle (PL) is a career assistance programme within the British High-Performance System (BHPS) which aims to provide a wide-ranging holistic service to meet the varied needs of athletes competing in high-performance environments. A broad range of support has been identified including in regard to dual career, life balance, mental health and wellbeing, and transitions amongst numerous others. PL practitioners have supported professional athletes for over twenty years, however, there continues to be confusion and misunderstanding regarding what this discipline brings to elite programmes. The aim of this narrative review was to appraise, summarise and consolidate relevant literature discussing the PL discipline and how it currently supports athletes in their sporting and non-sporting commitments. The review reveals that athletes and practitioners describe PL support as beneficial, however, due to the expanded and holistic remit of provision, it is recognised that PL is delivered inconsistently driven by the diverse and highly contextual needs of the sport and its athletes. Athletes cite benefits in career planning, education, lifestyle management and psychological support. Yet despite various benefits, athlete engagement in services is only partial. Several disciplinary challenges were identified including how PL practitioners struggle with consistently promoting benefits in performance-driven contexts and in articulating the impact of PL work. This review indicates that PL benefits are primarily wellbeing and duty of care related with sporting outcomes less obvious. PL would benefit from future research investigating differences in applied practices between sports informing future programme resourcing and practitioner education initiatives.