The invisible ingredient in coaching knowledge : A case for recognising and researching the social component.

Paul A.Potrac, Trinity and All-Saints College, Leeds, England

Robyn L.Jones, Brunel University, England

While it has been increasingly recognised that coaching is vulnerable to differing social pressures and constraints, the sociological analysis of the process has remained a largely under-developed and under-researched area. The purpose of this paper is to firstly plot some of the issue driven research on coaching, which has tended to typify investigations to date. Secondly, possible future area's of research are suggested, work that has the coach, as opposed to the issue, at heart. It is envisaged that such study, in exploring the practical realities of the coach, could result in improved practice by coaches, and employers alike, to the greater benefit of all.

Despite claims that coaching is a unique occupation that lies somewhere between the conceptual dichotomies of art and science (Locke, 1979; Dick, 1989), coach education programmes have, over the last twenty years, chiefly developed along bio-scientific lines (Woodman, 1993). Coaching thus, has been largely presented as a technical and unproblematic process. While such a mechanical approach has undoubtedly made a considerable contribution to the improvement of athletic performance, it has often ignored the problems and realities of human interaction which are inherent within the coaching process. However, coaching does not exist in sanitised classroom environments but in the complexities of modern day sport (Jones, 1999) and, as such, involves interaction between peoples of different race, gender, class, philosophies, values and experiences. Consequently, there has been an increasing call among scholars of 'coaching science', to recognise that "our social worlds offer no immunity to sport fields or gymnasia" (Schempp, 1998), and that any investigation into the dynamic coaching process is necessarily incomplete unless contextual social factors are considered.

Moreover, while it has been increasingly recognised (Cross, 1995; Tinning, 1982) that coaching is vulnerable to differing social pressures and constraints, the sociological analysis of the sports coaching process has remained very much an under-developed and under-researched area (Schempp, 1998). Jarvie (1990), asserts the need for such sociological inquiry as, in terms of personal development, it can provide present and potential coaching practitioners with "the tools for critically evaluating and understanding sporting practice and life" (p.11). Additionally, his plea for sociology to play a major role in the development of a personal coaching praxis, through critical reflection, is well taken, with the aim to individualise the coaching process within situational constraints. Such a call is echoed by the recent work of Jones (1999), who argues against the compartmentalisation of coaching knowledge and for a more holistic approach, which takes account of an athlete's social being in addition to the mechanistic analysis of his/her body. Indeed, emphasising the link to sociological discourse and thought, such a line of argument in relation to coach education could be taken to be rooted in Karl Marx's 'Golden Rule' of 'From each according to his (sic.) abilities, to each according to his needs'; a dictum which appears more applicable to coaching than to almost any other field.

The consequent aims of this paper are two fold. Within the general goal of becoming increasingly discursive about the essential social nature of the coaching process, the first is given to a preliminary overview of certain 'issue' driven sociological research into coaching, which has tended to typify investigations to date. The second aim is to provide 'sign posts' for possible fruitful future research into coaching; investigations that have the coach, as opposed to the 'issue', at heart. Although it is not intended to downplay much of the issue based work carried out this far on coaching, which has been of considerable value in highlighting problems inherent in the field, by alternatively placing the coach as focus, the aim is to better take account of the interplay of various social forces and how they impact on, and are reflected through, the practioner. It is envisaged that such study, utilising predominantly ethnographic methods of research in exploring the practical realities of the coach, could conceivably result in improved practice by coaches, employers and administrators alike, to the greater benefit of all.

Research addressing the relationship between gender and coaching has tended to focus on the opportunities for men and women to obtain coaching positions within sporting organisations. The extant literature reveals that women are not only clearly under- represented in coaching positions at all levels of competition, but that their working conditions are generally less favourable than that of their male colleagues (see Hall, 1996; Hargreaves, 1994; Lenskyj, 1994). The reasons for such inequality have been widely debated (see Acosta & Carpenter, 1992; Coakley, 1998; Dubois, 1995; Pastore, 1994; Pastore, Inglis & Danylchuk, 1996; Wilkerson, 1996) and has been ascribed to several factors. For example, Coakley (1998) points out that, compared to men, most women do not have the professional connections and networks that are necessary when searching for coaching positions within sporting organisations. In addition, he adds that there are few support systems and development opportunities for women who want to coach or who are already in coaching positions. Wilkerson (1996) meanwhile, points to the subjective assessment of prospective coaches by sports organisations, noting that the recruitment of coaches does not take place in a vacuum but is influenced by prevailing culturally constructed ideas of the role and position of men and women in society. Indeed, it has been suggested that, as coaching and other forms of sports leadership are associated with traditional notions of masculinity, prospective female coaches have to present objective evidence that they can replicate the methods and achievements of successful male coaches (Coakley, 1998; Wilkerson, 1996). Finally, Pastore et al. (1996) note that the culture of most sporting organisations provides little support for women who see the world differently from the white men who have traditionally shaped the organisational culture. They believe that the high turnover of women in coaching positions can be attributed to the negative impact that this organisational culture has on female coaches.

The under-representation of Blacks and other minority groups in coaching positions has been an issue that has been subjected to widespread investigation (e.g., Brown, 1998; Gonzalez, 1996; Kjeldsen, 1980; Loy & Jackson, 1990; Rimer, 1996). The paucity of coaches from these sections of society has been partly attributed to overt discrimination by employers, who ignore competent candidates because of their prejudices or because they fear the negative public reaction to employing non-whites in leadership positions (Eitzen & Sage, 1997; Lavoie & Leonard, 1994). Although some work has suggested that non-white athletes do not proceed to management positions within sport due to their being 'stacked' into non-central positions, which in turn are perceived to be low-interaction roles requiring a minimum of cognitive input, recent research by Gonzalez (1996) questions the accuracy of such a hypothesis. Alternatively, he noted that Latino baseball players were still less likely to become coaches than white players even though they were more likely to occupy the positions from which coaches are often recruited. Consequently, the suggestion is made that basic racial prejudice against minority athletes remains the greatest obstacle to their promotion to coaching positions.

Teacher-coach role conflict has been a well researched area of investigation, particularly within the USA. (see Bain & Wendt, 1983; Chelladurai & Kuga, 1996; Chu, 1984; Jones, Potrac & Ramalli, 1997; Rupert & Buschner, 1989; Sage, 1987), with the main focus of the existing research being to document the problems encountered by teacher-coaches, and how they deal with conflicting demands. The findings indicate that while some teacher-coaches attach more priority to their coaching roles as a consequence of role conflict and role strain, and thus decrease their commitment to teaching, this is not the case for all teacher-coaches. Indeed, given the rise in expectations of teachers by students and parents, many teachers-coaches cut back their time spent in the coaching role or give up coaching altogether (Coakley, 1998). This has resulted in the appointment of many unqualified coaches in certain sporting environments, a concern to pedagogists, coaches and parents alike.

Undoubtedly, if future coach education programmes are to improve in terms of individualising the process and fulfilling potentialities, those social forces that influence and impinge on the lives of both coaches and athletes must be taken into account. Sociological components should consequently be built into such programmes, to make coaches aware of social issues related to power, domination, resistance and group sub- cultures, which form an integral part of the coaching process and the coach's working environment.

Although the present guidelines, developed pre-dominantly by socio-psychological 'theories', have proved useful in establishing a framework of 'good practice', it is argued that to better understand the dynamics that construct and affect relationships within the coaching process, future research needs to be carried out at the deeper micro-level of human interaction. For example, a systematic observation of coaches should be followed up by further interview and/or participant observation work to determine an in-depth 'why' and 'how' of coach behaviour, as opposed to the simply 'what' (Potrac, Brewer, Jones & Armour, 1998). Such an approach, advocating greater ethnographic work in this context, is echoed by Schempp (1998) who states that the analysis of social discourse and in particular the symbolic systems in sport pedagogy (i.e. symbolic behaviours, objects and tools) "holds the promise for understanding....our role within sport" (p.4).

In giving more specific examples of some relevant areas of investigation utilising such qualitative methodology, Fine (1986) has contended that an understanding of sub-culture, inclusive of local power dynamics, is vital if an individual is to be truly understood in both a sporting and a wider social setting. Additionally, his call for greater research into momentum as socially constructed by the coach's rhetoric could also prove a significantly fruitful field of future enquiry. Furthermore, life-history work on coaches could throw much light on the various pressures and demands faced by current practitioners, in addition to giving an insight into how coaches construct their professional knowledge to deal with the plethora of problems they face on a daily basis. Indeed, echoing the words of Benyon (1985) in relation to education, it can be postulated that an understanding of the influence and dynamics of coaches' social and occupational worlds is necessary before a full cognition of the coaching process can be claimed. Finally, biographical narratives of coaches could be undertaken in which stories are told about individuals' lived experiences (Sparkes, 1998), a research genre capable of providing "greater space and opportunities for crafting who we want to be and who we can be" (Sparkes, 1996, p.488).

Such a call is not to deny the importance of the conventional 'model' approach to coach education, but rather to highlight its basic limitations in a complex power-dominated social field, founded on diverse and dynamic human interaction. Indeed, "it is a recognition and critical awareness of this totality that sociology brings to coaching programmes" (Jarvie, 1990, p.10). It is thus argued that in order to discover, examine and understand the nuances, actions and behaviours of coaching practitioners, research should focus on the social world of the individual coach, and how they operate within the given guidelines. The aim of such investigations however, should not focus on the developments of 'how to' models, but rather on those of process in order "to sensitise coaches to understand the unique dynamics of the local situation, and act accordingly" (Jones, 1999, p.6).

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