The Sociology of Sports Coaching

"... accessible to a scholarly audience, but also to practising coaches and students interested in this area ... We greatly enjoyed reading this text and encourage others to do so. The editors have delivered a well-balanced application of both prominent and lesser known social theorists. The value placed on the voices of practicing coaches provides an immediate application of theory and contributes to the accessibility of the text", Jenny McMahon and Christ Zehntner, Sport, Education and Society

Dr. Robyn L. Jones is a Professor of Sport and Social Theory at the University of Wales Institute Cardiff, and a Professor II at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. Dr. Paul Potrac is the Director of Undergraduate Studies (Coaching) within the Department of Sport, Health and Exercise Science at the University of Hull, UK. Dr. Chris Cushion is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences at Loughborough University, UK, where he leads the MSc in Coaching. Dr. Lars Tore Ronglan is an Associate Professor and former Head of the Department of Coaching and Psychology at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway.

Section 1: Background and Context 1. Introduction Section 2: Sociological Thinkers 2. Erving Goffman: Interaction and Impression Management: Playing the Coaching Role 3. Michel Foucault: Power and Discourse: The 'Loaded' Language of Coaching 4. Pierre Bourdieu: A Theory of (Coaching) Practice 5. Arlie Russell Hochschild: The Managed Heart, Feeling Rules, and Emotional Labour: Coaching as an Emotional Endeavour 6. Anthony Giddens: Acknowledging Structure and Individuality within Coaching 7. Niklas Luhmann: Coaching as Communication 8. Etienne Wenger: Coaching and communities of Practice 9. Peter Blau: Exchange, Reciprocity and Dependency: How Coaches and Athletes Rely on each Other 10. Jurgen Habermas: Communicative Action, the System, and the Lifeworld: Critiquing Social Interaction in Coaching Section 3: Coaching and the Social 11. Power in Coaching 12. Social Interaction in Coaching 13. Coach and Athlete Learning: A Social Approach 14. Conclusion. References