Volleyball is a sports discipline that requires solid teamwork and practice in order to achieve individual goals, with a high level of excitement and pleasure to watch. Therefore, the aim of this research is to reveal the expectations of volleyball players behind professionalism through the metaphors they create for their own disciplines. 37 athletes performing in volleyball leagues participated in the study. The phenomenology design, which is one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the research. The data of the research were obtained by applying the personal information form to the athletes and asking the athletes “like volleyball……/similar; because…” by completing the sentence. The data collection tool was applied by the researchers. Participants took part in the research on a voluntary basis. The data were analyzed by content analysis technique, and the stages of naming, screening, category development, validity and reliability, calculating and interpreting the frequencies of the obtained metaphors were followed in the analysis of the data. The metaphors produced by the athletes are divided into four conceptual categories: "emotion", "element of success", "struggle", "source of livelihood". It is thought that the evaluation of the pressure on the athletes can have a positive effect on the athletes, knowing that volleyball has different needs such as work and income sources, as well as the increasing environmental factors in every age group, as well as the fact that the athletes move away from the game and entertainment form with the transition to professionalism.

Volleyball, sport, metaphor, perception, phenomenology, qualitative research.