Colum Cronin

Nurture, nature and some very dubious social skills: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of talent identification practices in elite English youth soccer

This paper reports qualitative findings regarding the concepts and practices utilised in talent identification (TI) among professional coaches working in English youth soccer. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, detailed interviews with seven such coaches are explored, with a view to elucidating the links between understanding, practice, experience and professional context. Findings reveal three superordinate themes, relating to (1) a primarily ‘nurtured’ and trainable understanding of the broad concept of talent itself, (2) an ostensibly contradictory model of semi-static player psychology, and (3) a highly selective mechanism for separating evidence for ‘mental strength’ and ‘social skills’. It is contended that these findings underscore a case for more thorough interrogation of the real worlds inhabited by coaches, such that ideas about ‘good practice’ in TI might be more effectively reconciled with grounded knowledge of the practical everyday necessities of being a coach.

Lived experience and community sport coaching: A phenomenological investigation

Coaching in the participation domain is the act of coaching participants that are less intensely engaged in sport than performance orientated athletes. This form of coaching is a popular activity occurring in community settings such as schools or sport clubs, and it is often undertaken with a broad range of social and health outcomes in mind. The experiences and practices of the large army of ‘community coaches’1 have been under-explored in comparison to those of elite performance coaches who focus on competitive success and dominate much academic research. This study focuses on the little known world of the community coach. Drawing on the philosophy of phenomenologists such as Husserl, and in particular the methodology of Van Manen, the study explored the lived experiences of a single case study community coach. Derived from semi-structured interviews and in keeping with Van Manens methodology, findings are presented in a narrative format. The narrative describes the ‘lifeworld’ of the coach and seeks to identify the ‘essential features’ of community coaching in this case. Specifically, the narrative illustrates a dichotomy in the lifeworld of the coach; between a frenetic practical delivery mode visible in the public arena and a ‘hidden’ largely unknown, private world used predominantly for planning and organising. For this case study coach, the essence of community coaching lay in two complementary activities; planning and then delivering fun based activities that achieved social, health and sporting outcomes. Additionally, interacting with others, such as parents, carers and teachers was identified as an essential feature of this coachs experience.

Rethinking the factuality of ‘contextual’ factors in an ethnomethodological mode: towards a reflexive understanding of action-context dynamism in the theorization of coaching

In this paper, an argument is made for the revisitation of Harold Garfinkels classic body of ethnomethodological research in order to further develop and refine models of the action-context relationship in coaching science. It is observed that, like some contemporary phenomenological and post-structural approaches to coaching, an ethnomethodological perspective stands in opposition to dominant understandings of contexts as semi-static causal ‘variables’ in coaching activity. It is further observed, however, that unlike such approaches – which are often focused upon the capture of authentic individual experience – ethnomethodology operates in the intersubjective domain, granting analytic primacy to the coordinative accomplishment of meaningful action in naturally-occurring situations. Focusing particularly on Garfinkels conceptualization of action and context as transformable and, above all, reflexively-configured, it is centrally argued that greater engagement with the ethnomethodological corpus of research has much to offer coaching scholarship both theoretically and methodologically.

Performance analytic processes in elite sport practice: an exploratory investigation of the perspectives of a sport scientist, coach and athlete

In recent years, there have been an increasing number of studies exploring the benefits of performance analysis both for sports and the sport sciences. Comparatively little empirical research exists, however, pertaining directly to the application and use of performance analysis. The aim of this paper is to explore the in-practice application of performance analysis. A sport scientist, an international coach and a former professional athlete, all having used performance analysis and unrelated to each other, were interviewed on their extensive experience in the use of performance analysis. The results indicated that, although the object and receiver of performance analysis process, the athlete is not included in the process itself, with the coach acting as the gatekeeper. An extrapolative argument is made with regards to the potential impacts of this practice, not least those on the motivation of the athlete.

Heuristic reasoning and the observer's view: the influence of example-availability on ad-hoc frequency judgments in sport.

Drawing upon evidence from broader social psychology, and an illustrative study of frequency-estimation during a simple, sport-specific observe-and-recall task, this paper makes the case for the more thorough investigation of the availability heuristic (Tversky & Kahneman, 1973) on practical state-of-play reasoning in largely observational sporting activities. It is argued that this evidence particularly substantiates a need for a more robust body of research in two primary domains: (a) the gatekeeping tasks pertinent (and usually preliminary) to an individuals sporting performance such as talent scouting, team selection, and substitution decisions, and (b) the business of officiating in high-tempo environments.

Carefully supporting autonomy – learning coaching lessons and advancing theory from women’s netball in England

Abstract Back to Netball (BTN) is an initiative that encourages women, whose engagement has lapsed, to return to regular Netball participation. This study explores what aspects of coaching practice within BTN are perceived to be effective. A thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 28 BTN participants and 6 coaches was undertaken. Analysis identified four pertinent themes; (1) participants personalising sporting experiences through choice, (2) coaches facilitating and / or directing participants to relevant opportunities, (3) critical considerations of autonomy; a need for balance, (4) caring as a coaching ethic. The subsequent discussion considers autonomy and care as two relevant theoretical explanations. Within the discussion, it is posited that autonomy supportive behaviours and caring relationships may be symbiotic features of successful coaching. A novel interdisciplinary theoretical contribution is therefore made by connecting Self Determination Theory with the burgeoning recognition of coaching as a caring practice.

Transforming, storing and consuming athletic experiences: a coach’s narrative of using a video application

ABSTRACT The analysis of sport performance in competitive contexts has become synonymous with the use of a range of software applications and hardware e.g. heart rate monitors and gps systems. With the prevalence of technology in mind, a small but growing corpus of literature has begun to consider this phenomenon and its influence upon the coaching process. This study adds to this literature by detailing the autoethnographic experiences of a case study coach; Derek. A contextualised and richly described narrative account of Derek’s experience of using coaching applications is provided. Analysis of Derek’s narrative suggests that technology can be a useful means by which individuals make sense of their experience. Specifically, (1) technology can be a ‘ready-to-hand’ instrument that enhances the coaching process. Unfortunately, (2) technology may become the only and ‘calculative’ means by which individuals come to understand their performance. In such instances, it is important to note that (3) the videos we use to understand our performance are transformed and incomplete representations of lived athletic experiences. Thus, Derek’s story illustrates how technology can be both an enabler and barrier to athletes who wish to holistically understand their own lived experiences and engage in coach-athlete relationships. The accompanying analysis draws upon concepts from Heideggerian philosophy to add insight into the use of technology within the coaching process. In so doing, the study prompts coaches to critically view their coach-athlete relationships as situated in a wider world which contains, and can be mediated by, technology. In addition, Derek’s story (re)directs researchers and coaching practitioners interested in technology to a useful literature (philosophy of technology) which may further inform their understanding of coach-athlete relationships.

Doing your literature review: traditional and systematic techniques

picture of reality’ (p. 3) associated with positivist-empiricist models, they offer three alternatives as critical approaches to research, namely interpretivism, critical theory and action research, appraising each one in turn. The middle section concisely evaluates experimental and quasi-experimental approaches, case study and correlational designs. Observation and interview data collection methods are then discussed in terms of the effect of different degrees of participation in observation, and the ontological frameworks and power relations involved in research interviews. The dynamic integration of philosophy and theory with method is emphasised, together with the importance of researchers’ continuing openness and reflexivity in their reports. The many real and apparent binary oppositions within educational research such as realism/idealism, qualitative/quantitative, objective/subjective and structure/ agency to name a few, are acknowledged and illustrated with quotes from Foucault, Hammersley, Guba, Lincoln and others, sometimes giving the impression of a miniature literature review. Although space permits only a selection of writers, these references form an introductory point for further study. Some key figures in education (John Dewey and Paulo Freire spring to mind) are conspicuous by their absence, and a clarification by the authors of the reasons for their choices would be helpful in a book that advocates openness in researchers’ accounts of their work. The final section, ‘Themes and Issues’, acknowledges the current culture of performativity and how this may be accommodated in educational research through postmodern and feminist approaches, labelled by the authors as ‘transgressive’. The stated intention is to critique existing paradigms rather than replace them. A mention of the ethics involved in these approaches would have been useful. This book outlines the importance of (and dearth of, in many research reports) the examination and explication of the theoretical underpinnings, philosophical viewpoints and power relationships within educational research, and is useful for both postgraduate and doctoral students. There is a challenge to researchers to evaluate their own practice at every step of the research process, and to be aware of their assumptions in terms of the consequences and implications of the choices they make. Philosophical issues are sometimes difficult to grasp because of the language they are couched in, and reflecting this, certain passages in this book are less accessible. However, Researching Education provides a very useful addition to the many methods texts currently available.

‘Net Mums’: a narrative account of participants’ experiences within a netball intervention

Abstract Back to Netball (B2N) is a coach-led programme established by England Netball, to encourage inactive individuals to re-engage. B2N engages a typically hard to reach group, with 52% of participants being mums. This study aims to understand how a physical activity intervention (i.e. B2N) influences mums’ identity. There is a distinct lack of qualitative studies that include mums’ own voices and how they negotiate being physically active alongside the role expectations associated with being a mum. A qualitative approach was utilised to consider and represent participant’s experiences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 women who were engaged with the Back to Netball scheme. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the experience of mothers who take part in B2N. Two key themes were identified (1) mum identity as enabler for relatedness and (2) exercise identity as an additional identity. Following the identification of the two key themes, two non-fiction constructs were created which illustrate each theme in the context of a B2N participant’s life. The narratives explore social categorisation and the development of social identity and exercise identity and how it can influence attitudes, beliefs and levels of engagement in other forms of physical activity. Practically, this paper demonstrates how future physical activity interventions can cater for a traditionally hard to reach group, such as mums. To be able to engage mums and facilitate the development of an exercise identity, relatedness should be a focus of a physical activity programme.

‘Sinking and swimming in disability coaching’: an autoethnographic account of coaching in a new context

Abstract In terms of achieving wider health and social outcomes, sport coaching promises much for young people with disabilities. Despite this promise, the experiences and practices of those coaches who enter the disability sport arena are underexplored. This is particularly so for coaches who operate in community participation rather than competitive elite environments. Accordingly, this paper uses an autoethnographic approach to explore the experiences of a basketball coach (Colum), who enters a youth club for disabled participants for the first time. Utilising observational data, reflective field notes and interviews, five relativist vignettes are collaboratively constructed to represent Colum’s experiences across 12 basketball sessions. The vignettes reveal that the disability and community context disrupted Colum’s normative coaching behaviours. An emotional laborious journey is recounted that includes significant lessons, which may impact coaching practitioners, researchers and sport development officers. In addition, the post-sport context is introduced to differentiate the youth club context from Colum’s normative sport context. Furthermore, the concepts of liminality and ludic, which are novel to extant coaching literature, are introduced to explain how and why Colum struggled to find structure within the context of a youth club for disabled participants.