“They have to toe the line”: a Foucauldian analysis of the socialisation of former elite athletes into academy coaching roles

Blackett, Alex; Evans, Adam; Piggott, David

doi:10.1080/21640629.2018.1436502

Cited by 31 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…This knowledge, including regimes of truth about gender, can therefore become generative through athletes who later become coaches. Coaches draw on their experience as coach and as a former athlete as an important source of knowledge (Blackett et al, 2019; Cushion et al, 2003). Thus, coaches may be reproducing the discourses about gender and other social power relations into which they were disciplined during their athletic careers and may regard them as regimes of truth and therefore generative.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gendered discourses in coaching high-performance sport

Haan

Knoppers

2019

International Review for the Sociology of Sport

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One of the most important sources of knowledge coaches draw on to inform their practice is their experience of being coached themselves. These experiences are gendered. To date, however, relatively little research is available that indicates how coaches do gender in their discursive coaching practices. We used a Foucauldian lens to explore discourses drawn on by 12 international elite rowing coaches to legitimate their ‘regimes of truth’ in their thinking about elite women rowers. Although they professed to treat everyone the same regardless of gender, they drew on discourses that constituted their women athletes as inferior to various implicit male norms. We suggest that coaches are reproducing the discourses about gender into which they were disciplined during their athletic careers and regard these as ‘regimes of truth’ in their own coaching practice. We discuss the implications of these findings with regard to the perpetuation of the gendering of coaching and conclude that the normalization of men and the gendered hierarchy in sport remains largely unchallenged.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gendered discourses in coaching high-performance sport

Haan

Knoppers

2019

International Review for the Sociology of Sport

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“…Some of the literature has focused on the process of fast tracking, as well as elements of it as these pertain to the person-in-transit (e.g., Blackett et al, 2017Blackett et al, , 2018Blackett et al, , 2019Blackett et al, , 2020Rynne, 2014). The emphasis of some of the fast-tracked pathway studies has been on unique elements, without focusing on the transition lived experience itself such as how the athletic past and the process may impact the new coach's philosophy, behaviors, effectiveness or development (e.g., Blackett et al, 2017Blackett et al, , 2018Blackett et al, , 2019Blackett et al, , 2020McMahon et al, 2020, Rynne, 2014. Espousing the coaching role has also been highlighted as an expectation or obligation associated with high performance sport participation.…”

Section: Contemporary Considerations On Career Termination and The Atmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…athlete-to-coach challenges and resources to facilitate the transition, considering the supporter and phase of the transition. Blackett et al (2019) noted, the unconscious repetition of potentially outmoded and toxic coaching practices. Attention should also be given to examining the resources one can transfer to life after sport, the sport employer's role, and engagement in the transition, as well as the distinct facets that characterize the transition process.…”

Section: Recommendations For Sport Psychology Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unfortunately, an outdated mindset of 'you played, therefore you coach' still exists, and many retiring athletes are recruited into coaching without a well-developed foundation for coaching (Blackett et al, 2018;Rynne, 2014). Rather often, elite athletes are fast-tracked into coaching (accelerated accreditation route), yet the effectiveness of this pathway is still under scrutiny (see Blackett et al, 2017Blackett et al, , 2018Blackett et al, , 2019Blackett et al, , 2020Rynne, 2014). Rynne (2014) identified weaknesses, as well as potential bias, associated with privilege.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Facilitating and Supporting the Elite Athlete-to-Coach Transition: Lessons Learned from Norwegian Coaches and Federations

Chroni

Dieffenbach

2021

Journal of Sport Psychology in Action

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Elite athletic career termination is inevitable in high performance sport. Whether due to interest, injury, age or combination of factors, athletes will undergo a shift in their professional and personal identity. While retirement out of sport has been scrutinized to both understand and support athletes, we have not thought through what the athlete-to-coach, within-sport retirement, signifies for the person undergoing it and for our applied practice and lack the approach(es) for supporting it. Based on recent research advances, we build on a range of resources to be developed in supporting athletes during the transition and in the coaching profession. Knowing how fast athletes transit to coaching, justifies how demanding and confusing this transition is. We [athletes] are like kids leaving home and sport seems to be failing us as a good parent. (Sigurd Pettersen, ski jumping, winner Four Hills Tournament 03-04, assistant coach US Women's ski jumping 04-05) Knowledge and interventions on athlete retirement and post-career transition outside sport have grown considerably (Park et al., 2013). Only recently has post-career transitioning inside sport, where an athlete transits from training and competing to coaching, attracted researchers' attention (e.g.,

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“…Therefore, women athletes in HPS are more likely to have a male coach. Research shows that coaches draw on their experience as coach and as a former athlete, as an important source of knowledge (see Blackett, Evans, & Piggott, 2018). Therefore, a male coach is likely to draw on his experience as a male athlete who was most likely coached by a male coach.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An analysis of the multi-level factors affecting the coaching of elite women athletes

Haan

Sotiriadou

2019

Managing Sport and Leisure

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Rationale/Purpose: High-performance sport systems offer athletes access to a range of experts including excellent coaches. This study examines the macro-, meso-and micro-level factors associated with coaching elite women athletes within a high-performance sport system. Design/methodology/approach: This research was underpinned by constructionism and critical feminism. The data were collected via semistructured in-depth interviews with 10 international male elite rowing coaches with experience in coaching men and women athletes and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: The data shows that at the micro-level, coaches differentiate their practices based on the gender of the athlete. These practices are influenced by meso-level factors (perceived value of sport participated by women) and shaped by macro-level factors (socio-cultural background of the coaches). Practical implications: Coaches' socio-cultural experiences influence their construct of gender and affect their approach to coaching women athletes. Hence identifying macro-level factors can help managers understand coaches' perspectives, philosophy and practice at a micro-level. Research contribution: The use of a multi-level approach to examine the factors associated with coaching elite women athletes offers a unique holistic approach to understanding how multi-level factors affect the coaching of women athletes. ARTICLE HISTORY

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“They have to toe the line”: a Foucauldian analysis of the socialisation of former elite athletes into academy coaching roles

Cited by 31 publications

References 62 publications

Gendered discourses in coaching high-performance sport

Gendered discourses in coaching high-performance sport

Facilitating and Supporting the Elite Athlete-to-Coach Transition: Lessons Learned from Norwegian Coaches and Federations

An analysis of the multi-level factors affecting the coaching of elite women athletes

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