Investigating the athlete-environment relationship in a form of life: an ethnographic study

Abstract

From the theoretical perspective of ecological dynamics, skilful behaviour in performance contexts like sport and education is predicted on the establishment of a functional relationship between an individual and the environment. The strength of this functional relationship is shaped over time by everyday behaviours, values, and customs (sociocultural practices) within a specific sport organisation. A growing body of research seeks to identify these influential sociocultural practices that emerge and exist in sport cultures and organisations.However, little is known from an ecological realism perspective how these practices affect an athlete's engagement with opportunities offered by the environment (e.g., affordances). In this study, we draw on ethnographic data and theoretical tenets of James Gibson's ecological psychology to identify how the sociocultural practices of a British rugby league football academy might shape an athlete's engagement with affordances. Findings revealed that masculinity and disciplined behaviours were the dominant sociocultural practices, instrumental in developing beliefs, values, and customs of athlete development practices. An ecological realism analysis of the data suggested that cultural pressures meant that key actors ignored the potential for development and learning of athletes' self-organisation tendencies, and inhibited individuals' capacities to respond to opportunities for action offered in many traditional practice designs. We conclude by discussing implications for sport practitioners that promote 'affordance-regulated' practice designs to enhance athlete-environment interactions.

Principles for technology use in athlete support across the skill level continuum

“…The one-way process of the coach continuously transmitting knowledge to the passive athlete is outdated and can reduce their responsiveness to critical information sources offered within performance environments. 37 In advocating a move away from such coach-centred approaches, Woods and colleagues have argued that a role re-conceptualisation is needed for sport practitioners to one of learning designer , where coaches facilitate athlete exploration of performance landscapes. 38 This idea of athletes self-regulating to find their way aligns with the arguments of the prominent ecological psychologist, Edward Reed, who suggested that individuals do not seek to construct internalised knowledge structures (as discussed previously) but seek values (affordances) and meanings (information) when negotiating a performance environment.…”

The Learning in Development Research Framework for sports organizations

“…We advocate that combining ethnographic form of inquiry and action research can support a suitable methodological approach to help us better understand and further player development environments. It can help us access experiential (through daily interactions of coaches, players, stakeholders in a form of life) and empirical knowledge that can uncover the influence of social, cultural, and historical constraints (Rothwell et al, 2020). Such (iterative) integration of knowledge types may emphasize a focus on co-creation, sharing and development of living knowledge, 'producing useful results to make positive changes' (Nelson et al, 1998, p. 12), and support the uptake of innovative and novel approaches to learning in sport .…”

“…A sports club or organization is part of a complex, multi-layered system with a potential rich range of outcomes, facilitating factors and challenges related to the athlete development environment and wider sociocultural influences (Henriksen, 2010). It has been argued that the athlete development setting alone cannot account for the behavior of its inhabitants (Rothwell et al, 2020). This idea highlights the extent to which learning and skill development are embedded in a larger sociocultural context, creating a potential for a myriad of possible complex, unpredictable and ill-defined challenges: a wicked problem (Bjørndal & Ronglan, 2019;Vaughan et al, 2019).…”

Exploring niche construction in sport coaching: an ecological dynamics analysis

“…In the same way that animals create and destroy affordances through modifying environmental conditions, coaches and athletes can bring about changes in the practice landscape by influencing selection pressures on the utilisation of specific affordances. In this way, pedagogical practice can potentiate athlete readiness for action through the co-design of specific, relevant "fields" of affordances during practice (for examples in team sports see Otte, Davids, Millar & Klatt, 2020;Rothwell, Stone & Davids, 2020a;Woods, Rothwell, Rudd, Robertson & Davids, 2021). An ecological conceptualisation of direct perception is integral to this interactionist perspective in sport because it emphasises the importance of exploratory behaviours to develop what Gibson (1979, p. 242) termed knowledge of the environment.…”