Coaches as sport workers: professional agency within the employment context of elite European basketball

Abstract

Increased activity of multiple stakeholders (e.g., agents and owners) have created new challenges for some coaches working in professional sports clubs. The purpose of this project was to draw attention to the normative or accepted practices inherent in sport work, some of the day-to-day realities of some coaches working in this context, and to understand how coaches' perceptions of other stakeholders come to bear on their individual circumstances, career expectations/objectives and professional agency. Data were generated from semistructured interviews with seven professional basketball coaches who worked in top-level European clubs. The analysis reveals the coach's relationships between some owners and agents differed with respect to exercising professional agency, and, coach's decisions and actions were tied to their professional ideals as well as understandings of what they need to undertake their work effectively and negotiation and/or adjustment strategies. Occasionally coach's work practices could be viewed as antithetical to employment security, however, the presence of insecurity was at times embraced and used strategically to affect workers' career decisions. Amid contemporary regional geo-political shifts, this work aids examinations of global sport settings, structures and issues that may contour sporting professionals' lives.

Is the game lost in advance? Being a high-performance coach and preserving family life

“…Passion for coaching. In the same way as Purdy et al 9 observe, all the coaches interviewed, without exception, highlight the fact that they are passionate about their profession: ''I am a passionate person (. .…”

“…These findings raise the issue of the continuation and duration of coaching careers. 9 And this particularly because balance between professional and personal life is not always easy to maintain: 41 ''You invest even more, even more until you can no longer (. .…”

“…Sociological surveys show that, in an important context of international competition, Olympic performance is strongly linked to the socio-cultural environment in which those involved in the performancemost accomplished sport coaches and athletes, in particularevolve. [1][2][3] In the same way that the daily life of top athletes raises, [4][5][6] issues about the profession of a toplevel coach a are of interest: [7][8][9] How do these very few coaches in different countries. 8,13,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] Thus, a large majority of coaches, regardless of their culture, seem to face difficulties in combining work and family life.…”

“…This research is part of a broader reflection on the cult of performance. 28 The aim is to discuss the limits of professional identity in the world of sports, 9 as has already been the case in art professions. 29,30 This article suggests the study of elite French coaches and (i) the way they reconcile, on a daily basis, 31 their passion for high-performance coaching and their family life, (ii) the difficulties they face but also (iii) the forms of protection which, in response to this situation, make it possible to maintain a balanced life.…”

Risk-Taking and Professional Development: Physical Education Teachers’ Narratives of Experience

“…Jonathan had competed as a top-level athlete and having been well established within the coaching fraternity and successful in his previous job role, may well have been defined as coaching-oriented with a desire to coach and perpetuate such practices within schools (Andrew, Richards, Templin and Graber, 2014). His fears of a move to PE teaching and the risks he associated with the 'newness' of teacher training however, appeared to suggest he was forming a new identity as a teacher and also aspired to be an agent of change for PE teaching (MacPhail and Tannehill, 2012), characteristics which have frequently been associated with career and role changes (Chambers, 2002;Purdy, Kohe and Paulauskas, 2017;Vähäsantanen, Saarinen and Eteläpelto, 2009). Even though the Risk-Taking PDP did not impact Jonathan's choice to change to a career of teaching, when he trained and entered the teaching profession, he continued to take risks by choice both in his teaching practices and to further his career development.…”