The Sociology Of Sports Coaching

This is the first book to describe a critical sociological perspective on sports coaching and as such it represents an important step forward in the professionalisation of the discipline.

Sports coaching is a social activity. At its heart lies a complex interaction between coach and athlete played out within the context of sport, itself a socio-culturally defined set of practices. In this ground-breaking book, leading international coaching scholars and coaches argue that an understanding of sociology and social theory can help us better grasp the interactive nature of coaching and consequently assist in demystifying the mythical ‘art’ of the activity. The Sociology of Sports Coaching establishes an alternative conceptual framework from which to explore sports coaching. It firstly introduces the work of key social theorists, such as Foucault, Goffman and Bourdieu among others, before highlighting the principal themes that link the study of sociology and sports coaching, such as power, interaction, and knowledge and learning. The book also outlines and develops the connections between theory and practice by placing the work of each selected social theorist alongside contemporary views on that work from a current practicing coach. This is the first book to present a critical sociological perspective of sports coaching and, as such, it represents an important step forward in the professionalization of the discipline. It is essential reading for any serious student of sports coaching or the sociology of sport, and for any reflective practitioner looking to become a better coach.

In recent years there has been a steady increase in the racial and ethnic diversity of the playing workforce in many sports around the world. However, there has been a minimal throughput of racial and ethnic minorities into coaching and leadership positions. This book brings together leading researchers from around the world to examine key questions around ‘race’, ethnicity and racism in sports coaching. The book focuses specifically on the ways in which ‘race’, ethnicity and racism operate, and how they are experienced and addressed (or not) within the socio-cultural sphere of sports coaching. Theoretically informed and empirically grounded, it examines macro- (societal), meso- (organisational), and micro- (individual) level barriers to racial and ethnic diversity as well as the positive action initiatives designed to help overcome them. Featuring multi-disciplinary perspectives, the book is arranged into three thematic sections, addressing the central topics of representation and racialised barriers in sports coaching; racialised identities, diversity and intersectionality in sports coaching; and formalised racial equality interventions in sports coaching. Including case studies from across North America, Europe and Australasia, ‘Race’, Ethnicity and Racism in Sports Coaching is essential reading for students, academics and practitioners with a critical interest in the sociology of sport, sport coaching, sport management, sport development, and ‘race’ and ethnicity studies. Chapter 1 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Women in many Westernized countries encounter a wider variety of career opportunities than afforded in previous decades, and the percentage of women leaders in nearly every sector is on the rise. Sport coaching, however, remains a domain where gender equity has declined or stalled, despite increasing female sport participation. The percentage of women who coach women are in the minority in most sports, and there is a near absence of women coaching men. This important new book examines why. Drawing on original multi-disciplinary research from across the globe, including first-hand accounts from practicing coaches, the book illuminates and examines the status of women in coaching, explores the complex issues they face in pursuing their careers, and suggests solutions for eliminating the barriers that impede women in coaching. Developing an innovative model of intersectionality and power constructs through which to guide research, the book covers issues including sexual identity, race, motherhood, cross-gender coaching and media coverage to give voice to women coaches from around the world. As such, Women in Sports Coaching is essential reading for serious students and scholars of sports coaching, sport sociology or anyone with an interest in gender and sport.

This book introduces the fundamentals of sport sociology and social issues in sport for students of physical education (PE) and coaching. It provides an accessible, jargon-free foundation for understanding the relationships between sport, education, and wider society that puts into context the reader's applied studies in PE and coaching. Drawing on cutting-edge research, this book examines core topics in the study of sport and society, including the origins of sport, sport education, sport as business, commodification, globalisation, sport and health, sport and the media, gender, migration, and Indigenous people in sport. Throughout this book, in-depth ‘commentary’ pieces look closely at particular pieces of research that illustrate the sociological themes being examined, from the impact of sport media on school children to the effects of hegemonic masculinity in rugby. This book is invaluable reading for any course on sport and society, physical education, sports coaching, or sport development.

Research shapes our understanding of practice in powerful and important ways, in sports coaching as in any other discipline. This innovative study explores the philosophical foundations of sport coaching research, examining the often implicit links between research process and practice, descriptions and prescriptions. Arguing that the assumptions of traditional single-disciplinary accounts, such as those based in psychology or sociology, risk over-simplifying our understanding of coaching, this book presents an alternative framework for sports coaching research based on critical realism. The result is an embedded, relational and emergent conception of coaching practice that opens new ways of thinking about coaching knowledge. Drawing on new empirical case study research, it demonstrates vividly how a critical realist-informed approach can provide a more realistic and accountable knowledge to coaching stakeholders. This knowledge promises to have important implications for coaching, and coach education and development practices. Sport Coaching Research and Practice: Ontology, Interdisciplinarity and Critical Realism is fascinating reading for any student or researcher working in sports coaching, sport pedagogy, physical education, the philosophy or sociology of sport, or research methodology in sport and exercise.

'Understanding Sports Coaching' is relevant for working with athletes of all abilities. It explores every aspect of coaching practice and includes practical exercises to encourage reflective practice and to highlight the issues faced by the successful sports coach.

Melnick, PhD, Contemporary Issues in Sociology of Sport includes: an exploration of topics and themes that have received limited attention in other sociology of sport texts but have been long-standing social concerns; a review of the attitudes toward female athletes and the anti-homosexual phobias present in sport; an in-depth look at the impoverishment of children's games in America; an overview of high school sport participation; a study of the challenges and benefits of the big-time collegiate sport experience; a critique of television's impact on sport and its portrayal of gender and race, and a review of sport and globalization. Unit I provides the reader with a historical background on the development of sociology of sport and addresses several critical issues about the relationship between sociology, physical education, and sociology of sport.

This title surveys the full depth and breadth of contemporary coaching studies, mapping the existing disciplinary territory and opening up important new areas of research.

The facilitation of learning is a central feature of coaches’ and coach educators’ work. Coaching students and practitioners are, as a result, being expected to give increasing levels of thought towards how they might help to develop the knowledge and practical skills of others. Learning in Sports Coaching provides a comprehensive introduction to a diverse range of classic, critical, and contemporary theories of learning, education, and social interaction and their potential application to sports coaching. Each chapter is broadly divided into two sections. The first section introduces a key thinker and the fundamental tenets of his or her scholarly endeavours and theorising. The second considers how the theorist’s work might influence how we understand and attempt to promote learning in coaching and coach education settings. By design this book seeks to promote theoretical connoisseurship and to encourage its readers to reflect critically on their beliefs about learning and its facilitation. This is an essential text for any pedagogical course taken as part of a degree programme in sports coaching or coach education.