Taking sporting autobiographies seriously as an analytical and pedagogical resource in sport, exercise and health

Abstract

This article makes the case for taking sporting autobiographies seriously as both an analytical and pedagogical resource. First, the nature of autobiography is clarified and the interest shown by other disciplines in this genre is discussed. Next, the prevailing negative view of sporting autobiographies and the assumptions underlying them are outlined. These are then countered by the presentation of a more positive view that challenges a number of alleged 'problems' associated with sporting autobiographies that include being tainted by commercial commitments, the presence of the ghostwriter, and not being able to guarantee unmediated authenticity and 'truth'. Various forms of narrative analysis (thematic, structural, performative/dialogical) are then described and examples of each of these being applied to sporting autobiographies are provided. Finally, attention is given to the use of sporting autobiographies as a pedagogical resource and the ways in which they might be productively used with students are discussed.

The Dark Side of Top Level Sport: An Autobiographic Study of Depressive Experiences in Elite Sport Performers

“…Informed by the narrative tradition, we adopted a combination of both thematic and structural analyses (cf. Sparkes and Stewart, 2016 ) that was similar to the process employed by Howells and Fletcher (2015) in their study of Olympic Champion swimmers. However, unlike the process utilized by Howells and Fletcher which involved two types of narrative analysis: holistic form and holistic content, the present study involved three types of narrative analysis: categorical content, categorical form, and holistic content ( Lieblich et al, 1998 ) with more of a focus on the categorical aspects of the autobiographies.…”

“… Howells and Fletcher, 2015 ), it wasn’t until the publication of Howells and Fletcher’s (2015) and Morgan et al (2015) studies on psychosocial aspects of elite sport that autobiographies became evident in the extant sport psychology literature. In their paper, Howells and Fletcher (2015 , p. 46) provided a rationale for the appropriateness for using autobiographies to address their research question and concluded that the analysis of such sources “provide valuable and privileged insights into psychosocial processes and changes.” Building on the case made in Fletcher and colleagues’ original studies, Sparkes and Stewart (2016 , p. 123) remarked that “the analysis provided by Howells and Fletcher makes a positive contribution to our knowledge in SHE [sport, exercise, and health]” and reinforced their argument for taking sporting autobiographies seriously as an analytical resource in sport psychology research. Due to the sensitive nature of depression, the reluctance of elite populations to disclose sensitive information to a stranger ( Parsons et al, 1993 ), and the involvement of the second and third authors who have experience in analyzing sporting autobiographies (cf.…”

“You Should See Me on the Inside”: Researching the Post-Stroke Mental Health of a Male Professor of Sport

“…Analysis is often moving and powerful when it connects successfully individual experience and broader politics of compassion, humanity and justice. Autobiographies are similar in this regard; and they are verified as an important qualitative 'analytical and pedagogical resource' (Sparkes and Stewart, 2015) for sport scholars. Narratives offer slightly different creations of representation.…”

“There's No Place to Hide”: Exploring the Stressors Encountered by Elite Cricket Captains

“…Interviews or focus groups with captains would have been appropriate approaches to allow the researcher to enter into a conversation with participants about the stressors they encounter in their captaincy role (Sparkes & Smith, 2014). However, access to such a narrow group of participants (elite, international captains) is difficult for pragmatic reasons, and Sparkes and Stewart (2016) argue the case for using sporting autobiographies as an alternative analytic resource to interviews due to the ease of access to elite performers, the low cost, and the depth of insights autobiographiesthey provide. Stewart et al (2011) support this claim regarding insight, arguing that published autobiographies have the potential to provide a rich source of data within the sport context.…”

“…Using published autobiographies allowed us to appropriately sample a range of elite sporting captains and understand their experiences of stressors in their role. Sparkes and Stewart (2016) suggest autobiographies are a relatively easy source of data to access information about elite athletes when compared to accessing them for interview in person, and that they allow us to sample larger numbers than would normally be possible for an interview based study. In addition, previous studies on stress and coping using interviews with athletes and coaches which provided more of a snapshot of experiences of stress and coping (Galli & Reel, 2012), and a further advantage of using autobiographies is that the participants reflect on their overall careers, which allows us a broader understanding of their experiences of stressors they faced throughout their careers.…”