Writing from life and metaphors of rigidity: Researching the sport coaching process

Alastair Loadman

King Alfred's College of Higher Education,Winchester, England

This paper seeks to problematise aspects of the sport coaching process and encourage discussion of the form and content of introductory coaching courses. It does this through exploring the current research dilemma in sport which centres around how to describe reality. The paper contributes to this ongoing debate through two apparently disconnected incidents or episodes. The format of the paper aims to stimulate the reader to consider metaphors of rigidity and linearity, applied to the sport coaching process and the research process. Implicit in the paper is the suggestion that both processes might enshrine an enduring conformity which is limiting and mutually concealing.

The man from the Football Association (FA) held up a football with one hand and a roll of toilet paper with the other. "Let's be clear about when a ball is in or out." He put the toilet roll on top of the blackboard and carefully unravelled a length of white tissue, creating a vertical 'line' in front of us. He stood to one side of the 'line', bearing the football aloft in the manner of a waiter balancing a tray of drinks. A parody of a waiter, that is. "Ball in." He moved the ball closer to the 'line'. "Ball in." He placed the ball on the white tissue, partially covering and obscuring the material from us, simulating the 'centre' of the ball being on the 'line': half in and half out. "Still in." Now the ball moved further, so that only a tiny segment of its shape intruded on the paper. Turning and nodding, eyebrows raised: "Still in!" One conclusive movement, then a triumphant: "Out! The whole of the ball is over the whole of the line!" General laughter.

It is dark and raining as I make my way to the Sports Hall to attend the sport coaching course. I am thirty seven years old and, since I am employed as a lecturer at the College where the course is being staged, am able to use my knowledge of the campus layout to navigate the dimly lit footways. Time and experience have developed this sense of place. It is 5.45pm on a Thursday in December. I am tired. The end of the semester has nearly arrived and I am less than enthusiastic about taking part. So, why am I doing it? Quite simply, I am curious to find out what goes on during such courses. Beyond this general curiosity, however, three sets of considerations are of decisive importance. First, I have been asked by several students whether it is "worth their while" (and money) to take part, and I suspect they have found my hesitant answers unhelpful. My hesitancy is based not on any prejudgements of the quality of the courses but rather on a lack of detailed knowledge about their purpose and content. I need to know more, and I am hoping to learn something about a sport which, so far, I have had few opportunities to experience. This lack of participation is partially due to my gender and partially because of my long term exposure to and immersion in the hegemonic English sporting culture of football, rugby and cricket. Second, I am currently employed on a one year 'rolling contract' basis which, increasingly these days, seems to be the norm in higher education and elsewhere. Like many colleagues, I am acutely aware of the forthcoming 'audit' of research 'output' in the form of the Research Assessment Exercise (widely known by the abbreviation RAE). Given this situation, namely, the fetishised commodity which (I argue) all research has become, and associated perceptions of professional 'competence', there is an obvious linkage between attendance and my own professional agenda. As one colleague observed recently: "Having a list of publications after your name... (pause)... does a lot of work for you." Finally, there is another pragmatic imperative : maybe I will be able to use some of the skills- and-drills type material for the practical Physical Education (PE) courses which I teach.

I arrive in the Sports Hall lobby, cold and wet. I am alone. I push open two double fire doors to gain access to the balcony overlooking the hall itself. From this vantage point, I can look down and see who is there (voices are carrying throughout the building). It seems as though the mixed hockey club are preparing to practise. I call to one of the players : "seen anyone for the coaching course?" "No." I check out the nearby lecture room. Nothing. I am puzzled, and return to the lobby, where I unfold the booking form from my pocket. As I am doing this, a woman appears in PE 'kit'.

It transpires she is also a candidate for the course. We confer and decide to stay put. She complains about the lack of signposting, which does not surprise me. Despite the recent collegiate thrust towards 'customer care', the external lighting of the campus is poor. We exchange pleasantries. Papers flutter nearby – notices flicked up by a chilly draught. Rain splashes on metal and glass doors. At ten past six, it occurs to me that the group may be waiting in the other lecture room, on the far side of the building. We step outside again and walk around.

As we approach the brightly lit room, the view through the window suggests that we will soon be in the right place -there is an array of likely punters on show- tracksuits, short hair and mesomorphic bodies. Like me. We both sit in the nearest vacant chairs, which happen to be at 'the back'. My sense of embarrassment is heightened by the fact that I recognise several Movement Studies and Sports Studies undergraduates. I feel a bit nervous. Moments afterwards, another late arrival sidles in.

I become more aware of sound: people are taking turns at speaking to the group. It seems that everyone has been asked to 'find-some-thing-out-about-the-person-sitting- next-to-them-and-then-report-back-in-five-minutes.' I'm glad I've missed out. There is one other male candidate and I learn his name during these exchanges. A woman arrives, dramatically, in a flurry of waterproofs: "Is this the coaching course? Thank God for that, I've been searching for it for the last 15 minutes!" Coach makes eye contact, smiles and asks whether I could "say something about myself?" From hearing previous responses, I interpret this as meaning: what is your job? and why are you here? For example, one of the students is here, apparently, because "she thinks a coaching certificate will be good for her CV." Another candidate reveals that her conversation partner is a PE teacher at a local independent school. I reply that I am on the staff at the College, and interested in finding out about the coaching process. I do not mention that I might write about my experiences of the course. We sit in rows, 'facing the front'. The room contains the usual lecturing paraphernalia, the coach is drawing our attention to the first of three large headings written in bullet tipped marker pen on flip-chart paper. The chart is supported by three grey telescopic legs, rather like a floodlight tower. It regards us sternly. The shopping list reads:

1. Rules
2. Good Player Attitude
3. Ethics and Fair Play

Our second task is to "Think about how important the rules are to you as a coach." More specifically, we are encouraged to form "natural discussion groups" and come up with some ideas between us. Three of us at 'the back' suggest: Purpose, definition of activity, safety, common standard and structure. We call out more elaborate versions to the coach who writes them, in abbreviated form, on the flip chart paper. Our answers are compared to an already existing list which is revealed with a turn of the paper. There is consensus. We are asked to consider how a game is started and stopped, where players can and cannot run and how many players there are in a squad and a team. A diagram of the playing area is being drawn to clarify the different playing positions and responsibilities. The pen squeaks once. We are told how a goal is scored. The woman in the waterproofs murmurs, to no one in particular, that she has rushed out after giving her three children their tea "to listen to this." The contrast between this remark and her earlier, animated movements and demeanour is stark. We are told how to restart the game "correctly" when the ball leaves the playing area. The focus shifts to rule books which some of the participants already have.

Coach : "Is your rule book maroon?"

"No, it's a bigger one. Like a card." (Lone voice from the group).

Coach: "If you have one like that, you have to send it straight back to ...(the governing body)...and they'll send you a new one."

The 'official' explanation given for the existence of the rules is that they are there in order to create the conditions for a fair contest.

Coach: "We have all played the boys at some stage, or the male teachers and because they don't know the rules, it ends up in a free for all."

In the next small group discussion we deliberate how we might encourage positive interaction between players, coaches and officials. One group suggests that the body language of the coach can give powerful messages to players and officials. Someone else asserts the importance of teaching manners, including how to relate to the officials before and after the match.

Coach adds : "Part of this session will be about being the sort of coach that discourages mumbling and answering back. I know for a fact that there used to be a club who fined their players for doing that sort of thing."

I haven't touched a ball yet. My initial thoughts, that it might be a 50 – 50 split between 'theory' and practice ( I presume the sports hall will be vacated on the hour) seem optimistic.

Coach : "I want to look at fair play. Someone once said 'winning is all that matters'". "That's what my headmaster thinks" (An individual voice – the independent school PE teacher- calling from the group). "Anyway, I hope we're not thinking along those lines. So what does matter?" "That they enjoy it." (Anonymous voice, calling) "Encourage the other team, boost their morale." (Anonymous voice, calling)

"So we need to encourage them to respect the opposition even though they' ve just walloped the other team... we need to encourage all the niceties of life, if you like, and if we establish them early on, then it becomes a habit."

Coach is referring to the flip chart again. Our attention is drawn to two sentences which state:

"Doping is an offence. Encourage players to be aware of banned drugs contained in cold cures, etc."

Coach : "We just don't expect there to be drugs in .. (this sport)." Two students from College start whispering.

"Okay. Let's look at "Why are you coaching? What do you want to achieve? What values do you want to instil in your players?" We are encouraged either to share this question in a group forum, or think about it privately. I write that coaching is about giving people opportunities to play who might not otherwise do so.

Someone in the group mentions dyspraxia ( a technical term which describes a particular kind of movement difficulty). This sparks a lively dialogue about what counts as dyspraxia and staccato exchanges punctuate the classroom. The comments veer towards the concept of spatial awareness. Coach: "Boys actually have better spatial awareness than girls. I'm an ex-Maths teacher and I know that boys cope with three dimensional problems really well. They're just naturally good at this... they're better spatially aware than girls." "Okay. What about safety? What are the rules governing that? Obviously, we look after the casualty, that's our main concern. But what do the rules have to say about this?" The final theme for discussion centres around aspects of child protection and the coach says : "You need to have a police check if you are going into schools." We are reminded to arrive promptly at 10 o'clock on Sunday morning.

Sunday 10 00am, Sports Hall.

We are sitting on wooden benches in the sports hall. Overhead, one of the 'strip' lights is buzzing. The sound it makes is loud and unremitting. The sports hall is cavernous, clinical and clean. Coach is reading out fire precautions from a printed sheet of A4 sized card; the location of the female toilets is indicated. "Presumably you know where the toilets are, Alastair?" I nod. "We're going to look at planning a session shortly, then look at warm up, skills, and playing a game. We've got quite a bit to get through, so I'm planning to work up to one o'clock."

The coach is orchestrating a whole group discussion around "the role of the coach." In essence, we are identifying characteristics which are deemed desirable for a coach. The answers given are, in chronological order:

1. Awareness of safety
2. A teacher
3. A good role model
4. An umpire
5. An organiser
6. A motivator
7. Caring person
8. Good communicator

From this list, the importance of organisation is highlighted: "You've got to be well organised to be a coach....you have to organise your sessions." This leads to a short discussion of coaching styles. Coach offers a typology of coaching: Minder..........Guider..........Bossy . In our coaching packs, these styles appear as: The Carer.....The Guide...The Sergeant Major. There is some discussion of these terms. Coach : "Give them some space to experiment for themselves. Don't be too much of a minder." I start nodding. Someone from the group: "You need to have control so that they are all listening."

It is evident that we are adhering closely to the coaching pack we received on Thursday. We have now moved to the section on communication, detailing such matters as positioning of the coach in relation to participants, and the use of 'voice' when addressing a group in a 'practical' setting. The emphasis is on tone and speed of 'delivery' rather than vocabulary. Coach demonstrates: an exaggerated falsetto trills round the hall. Coach: "You must look at what you've done and see if you can improve on it once more." The significance of the plan reiterated. "You need a plan and go from there." Our attention is drawn to the booklet we were given "it's on page three of your folders..." which contains an example of a session plan. On this plan, the main heading is: "Task and Group Management."

We return to safety issues. I'm becoming aware of the hardness of the bench. The discussion centres around jewellery, the condition of the playing surface and the importance of tying shoe laces. Coach (looking over our heads to the playing area beyond) : "Right, we're nearly off! The group divides into three self-selecting subgroups. Some people have responsibility for preparing "an aerobic type warm up", others are devising "a 'fun' warm up" and one group is asked to introduce "some stretching." We are asked to 'teach' other groups the respective activities which we have 'invented'. As we move through this material, I learn a new activity called 'Runner Beans'. There is some overlap between the aerobic and the 'fun' warm up routines. The students who know me are smiling as I take a warm up – they have seen this 'delivery' before. We are asked to comment on each other's activities, which means that each of these phases lasts for several minutes.

After a further adjustment, the morning progresses with people working in groups of 4 or 5. We look at a range of movement and ball skills, during which I discover that the skin of the ball is pimpled and textured. I also learn different ways of transferring weight and changing direction. The learning environment is configured as indicated above; that is, we rehearse in our groups then teach the material to everyone else. This continues until 1 o' clock, with the drills gradually becoming more game-like (increased complexity achieved through compression of time and space, with extra players, and greater difficulty of movement tasks).

1.35pm

We are back on the benches. The light is still buzzing. Coach sets the scene, then we resume group work. Playing situations are contrived so as to generate increased levels of competition between "attackers" and "defenders." We are told about the different responsibilities and duties of the officials in monitoring and controlling the play, and attempt to take on some of these roles. We try some 'mini games' and eventually a full sided game which, because of scarcity of experience and previous knowledge, I find difficult to play effectively. Coach (addressing me): "Men have difficulty with ....(this sport) ...because it's very technical. If you're playing football, you can be a full back and run up the field and score a goal. But...you can't ... this is much more technical." I'm not used to getting things wrong in PE.

"Sociology," argues Weber (1947, p.88) "is a science which attempts the interpretive understanding of social action". A number of questions flow from this proposition: how, precisely do we arrive at or achieve an interpretive understanding of social action? Is only one understanding possible or 'right'? Through which media, in what languages, are our understandings framed? What are the techniques and politics of writing autobiography? How do we 'reflect?' How do we mine the autobiographical fragments sedimented in our past? As a spectrum of writers have noted (bell hooks 1982, Birrell 1990, Messner 1992, Sparkes 1996, 1998), 'race', age, gender, 'body', social class and sexual orientation variously intertwine and coalesce as we 'produce', negotiate and revise our own particular kinds of autobiographical framing. In exploring the connectedness between 'memory' and writing, I have found the work of the writer Allon White (1993) helpful. For White, 'creative' writing (fiction) draws not on a pure form of memory, but often relies on: "things forgotten and found again. Remembrance." (p.23) Developing his argument further, White reveals that certain aspects of a novel drew from a part of himself which he did not immediately recognise, and forms of knowledge which he did not realise he possessed. For example, one of his characters dies of malaria in the Sardinian swamps, having been employed as a hydraulics engineer by the Ford Foundation. Yet until this hero appeared in his book, the author claims that he did not know about the existence of this real life engineering project. Similarly, the forgotten man from the FA wrote himself into this paper as it evolved, and a lost link, a metaphor for rigidity and linearity, was rediscovered. In relation to this, Rose (1993, p.179) suggests that memory can be "restorative, and the attempt to restore lines of communication and information is what drives the narrative on."

Metaphor, of course, is just one of a number of possible writing techniques which may be used to convey the power of the moment. However, metaphor is particularly apposite to research in sport precisely because sport, as an activity, conjures vivid, dramatic sequences for players, spectators and coaches. This is true whether it be a David Ginola dribble, a Venus Williams cross court winner, a Kelly Holmes 'kick' in the last 200 metres or a Gordon Strachan touchline remonstration. Although the metaphor of linearity and rigidity stamped itself with greatest vivacity upon my mind (Hume 1978), it is not a recent phenomenon in sport coaching. For example, writing in relation to the development of football coaching in England, Russell (1997 p.126) posits that "the years after 1945 saw the acceleration and deepening of many of the more technocratic themes." The evolution of coach as organiser and instructor, imparting knowledge "by judicious use of a blackboard if necessary... undoubtedly helped breed a specialist, technocratic culture within football." (Russell , 1997, p.127). If this historical view still pertains then it could be argued that technocratic cultures of coaching extend beyond the confines of football and into other sport constituencies.

Take this edict, drawn from page 11 of the All England Netball Association coaching manual, for instance: "netball demands specialisation...Each player has specific responsibilities and both the player and coach should be aware of them, so that the player can carry out her role efficiently and effectively, and b) the coach can make appropriate selection..." Indeed, notions of technocratic competence, authority, regulation and efficiency are redolent throughout the portrayal of the two day coaching course, lending weight to Weber's (1930, p.16) thesis that the trained official is key to supporting the dominant position which scientific knowledge occupies in our culture.

Deliberations such as these are of relevance to those scholars seeking to experiment with a range of writing styles and research possibilities in sport. Indeed, as Van Maanen (1988) and Lyons (1992) note, certain forms of ethnography might usefully be regarded in terms of the telling of research stories, in which the focus is as much upon the researcher as the researched. In respect of educational research, Lyons (1992) proposes a methodology where the researcher is intent to engage deeply in a research process with teachers, as opposed to producing mechanistically a text 'on', or 'about' teachers.

Recent versions of this genre (Sparkes 1996) contain biographical details which reveal, if not exactly the face of the author, then at least something about the writer's identity or circumstances which help the reader locate this person within the text. On the one hand, this strategy is used to make explicit the intentions, allegiances and biases of the researcher which inevitably manifest themselves in the production of a text. On the other hand, this technique might be regarded as a literary device both to generate ambience and to avoid the problems associated with authorial absence and disembodied voices which, according to Sparkes (1995, p.164), has beleaguered more than one attempt to represent the social world using realist and confessional tales.

Paradoxically, continues Sparkes (1995), there is likely to be the danger that some qualitative studies end up duplicating and tacitly supporting positivistic methodology which they are conceived to challenge. Consequently, the methodological and ontological 'gap' between interpretive and positivist approaches narrows (Carr & Kemmis 1986, p.99), the use of the passive voice dominates, the lack of emotional content is complete and an absolute conviction that "the truth has been told" permeates the prose. Again, as Sparkes (1995) and Van Maanen (1988) observe, the absence of the author as a person is particularly puzzling given that the researcher generally acts as chief data-collector in qualitative research (Thomas & Nelson 1996, p.370).

However, the purpose of this paper is not to rehearse, yet again, the relative merits and demerits of different ways of working. As Jarvie & Maguire (1994, p.257) remind us, a great deal of "intellectual curiosity and energy has been spent ensuring that one favoured tradition counts for more than others." Rather, it is to offer, for critical reception, two thematic depictions in a style which will encourage and stimulate the reader to make the connections for her/himself. In turn, this may lead to further critical analyses of the writing process in the context of sport and PE. Concurrently, an informed discussion of the nature and effectiveness of introductory coaching courses may unfold.

In an attempt to sidestep the ethical dilemmas of writing about a group who are unaware of the research project (Wheaton 1995), and allow the reader freedom to "interpret and evaluate the text from their own unique vantage point" (Sparkes 1996, p.486), certain details about the most recent coaching course have been omitted. For example, the sport in question and the identity of the other characters are not made explicit. Therefore, this is not a realist tale, but an impressionistic one. I have held back on interpretation, other than to suggest that techne (specialist) forms of knowledge are recurrent themes in both cameos. I have attempted to engage you, the reader, at an early stage. You are likely to be familiar with aspects of the scenarios depicted, because you are reading an 'academic' journal devoted to research in sport. So your own life history, perhaps, is concordant with the overall composition. This represents a tentative essay seeking to extend our boundaries in terms of styles, structures and themes; and stems from the premise that dramatisation (part of the process by which memories and experience are converted into writing), lies at the heart of writing from life. To this end, I have used metaphor and sentence structure in sometimes non-conventional ways, and have revealed as much about myself as I feel comfortable with. As I happen to be a white, heterosexual, middle class male, the text reflects my position as a person of relative power and privilege, working within a further, deeply privileged community (higher education). In drawing this paper to a conclusion, I argue that we need to look in on ourselves in order to develop a vocabulary for research in PE and sport which allows for a more sensitive examination of the linkages between research 'data' and the generation of knowledge (Garratt 1998). In this way, we may become a little more flexible and self conscious, and less rigid, about how and why we research.

World Cup Quarter Final (Men's Football) France 1998. There is one minute until half time and England hold what could prove to be a crucial one goal advantage. But first they – England – must defend a free kick just twenty metres away from their goal. A dangerous attacking position for Argentina. The England 'wall' lines up in the usual way, fullsquare and shoulder to shoulder, protecting the nearest side of the goal from a possible inswerving, left footed shot. An Argentinian player 'joins' (stands at ) the 'end' of the 'wall'. Everyone assumes he will step to one side to let the ball fly past him on its route to goal. But then the ball is touched slightly sideways and slid in, deftly and diagonally, to the feet of this player who has run behind the line of the 'wall'. Behind the backs of the English defenders! They realise, too late, what is happening. Suddenly, flash, the ball is in the England Net! 2-2!

Barry Fry, Janice Grimes and Nigel Tubbs for their comments and encouragement.

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