The impact of a coaching/sporting culture on one coach's identity: how narrative became a useful tool in reconstructing coaching ideologies

Abstract

In this research, the use of narrative accounts is investigated as the catalyst for the evolution of one coach's identity. Unable to sustain a coaching identity that was deemed to be appropriate by my coaching mentors, I (Author 1) disengaged from the swimming culture. This was due in part to the expression of power within the mentormentee relationship embedded in the coach development pathway, as well as within the wider sporting culture. By utilizing a narrative approach; writing and deconstructing my own narratives in relation to coach identity development within the mentor -mentee relationship, I developed an alternative approach. I established a sustainable coaching identity that demonstrated evidence-based judgement and reflective consideration of actions rather than the obtuse reproduction of mentor coach practice. This research suggests that the use of narrative as an integral element in coach education can be powerful in terms of deconstructing cultural ideologies and in the construction of a sustainable coaching identity. The combination of these two components is powerful in terms of enabling a coaching identity to evolve. It is therefore suggested that the development of a sustainable mentor-mentee relationship is inextricably linked with the expression of narrative and the critical reflection on the same.

I am fast but I do not fit: an autoethnography of a swimmer’s experiences of ‘competitive performance’ stigma in two sporting contexts

“…In both swimming contexts, at the time 'enacted' stigma occurred, she was an athlete, with stigma being enacted by a coach, team manager or club committee member, highlighting the disproportionate power relationships occurring in both of these contexts. This finding is no surprise given that previous research into Australian swimming culture has highlighted the disproportionate power relationships occurring between athlete and coaches as well as mentor and mentee coaches (Zehntner & McMahon, 2014).…”

“O Último Minuto”: reflecting on coach identity and role prominence in contemporary football

“…On the one hand, Pope and colleagues (Pope & Hall, 2015), Pope et al, 2014) established a link between the centrality of the coaching role and associated emotions, commitment and positive affect. On the other hand, research on the potential effects of role prominence in coaches is still scarce (Zehntner & McMahon, 2014), although there is an increasing awareness of worrying signs and symptoms such as coach burnout (e.g. Bentzen, Lemyre, & Kentta, 2017;Moen, Myhre, & Moldovan, 2018).…”

Economic Social Cultural Analysis of Sports Coaching Program in East Nusa Tenggara Province

“…On the other side, research report by Zehntner & Mcmahon (2015) showed that the use of narration as an integral element in trainer education can be strong in terms of deconstructing cultural ideologies and in building sustainable training identities. The combination of these two components is very powerful in terms of enabling training identities to develop.…”