The Way that Things Are Done Around Here: An Investigation into the Organisational and Social Structures that Contribute to Structural Power Within the Australian Swim Coach Education Pathway

Sport coaches as policy actors: an investigation of the interpretation and enactment of disability and inclusion policy in swimming in Victoria Australia

“…Overall, however, the control of athletes and strict standards towards ability meant that who could be included in the swimming programmes offered by the coaches was very narrow. Ultimately the coaches bought into and reaffirmed dominant discourses of high-performance sport that have been prominent in other research (Shogan, 1999;Zehntner, 2016), and illuminated broader dominant discourses underpinning the professional cultural context of Australian Swimming coaching that clearly mediated enactment (i.e. high standards, commitment and control would lead to medals).…”

“…Other Australian research that is also relevant to the current study has highlighted the extent to which discourses of competition and high performance dominate mainstream swimming coaching cultures (Zehntner, 2016;Zehntner & McMahon, 2013). As Zehntner's (2016) research illustrated, these discourses permeate through coaching and coach development structures, limiting the exploration of alternative pedagogies and reaffirming hierarchical models of professional learning and mentoring. This research, whilst providing valuable socio-cultural critiques of coach education and bodily practices (e.g.…”

“…This conceptualisation of policy actors aligns with sport coaching studies that have pointed to differential positioning and power-relations in coaching, continuing professional development, and coach education (e.g. Chesterfield, Potrac, & Jones, 2010;Zehntner, 2016). In this study, we adapted the original description of roles/positions articulated by Ball et al (2011aBall et al ( , 2011b to reflect a focus on coaching (see Table 2).…”

“…This research, whilst providing valuable socio-cultural critiques of coach education and bodily practices (e.g. McMahon, Penney, & Dinan-Thompson, 2012;Zehntner, 2016) has not specifically explored how coaches work with people with disabilities. This was a distinct gap within the Australian swimming coaching literature that our research sought to address.…”

“I Feel We are Inclusive Enough”: Examining Swimming Coaches’ Understandings of Inclusion and Disability

“…Indeed, Australian swimming has a long history of charging individuals for access (Phillips, 2008), with the practice of professional swimming coaches and trainers charging fees for service pre-dating Australian Federation in 1901 and reflecting a strong colonial tradition of gambling on swimming races (Phillips, 2000(Phillips, , 2008. In contemporary times, the 'swimming coaching industry' in Australia has established performance measures as a means of justifying coaching salaries and fees (Zehntner, 2016). Pertinent to this research is the intensification of the economization of swimming that has occurred under the conditions of neoliberal-ableism.…”