‘Through the lens of ethnography’: Perceptions, challenges, and experiences of an early career practitioner-researcher in professional football

Abstract

26The present study critically explores the use of practitioner-researcher ethnography in 27 professional football, and illustrates some of the challenges that the first author 28 experienced as a result of the dual-role occupation. The first author occupied the position 29 of insider sport psychology practitioner-researcher within one professional football club 30 over a 3-year duration. Traditional ethnographic research methods were employed, 31 including; observations, field notes, and reflections. Following thematic analysis, 32 research on the potential for conflict and tension in ethnography, and ethical guidelines 33 from caring professions (e.g. sport psychology, health, and nursing) were used to make 34 sense of the data. A series of reflective extracts highlight moral, ethical, and personal 35 challenges of occupying a dual role, including threats to identity, acceptance of academics 36 in elite sport, and confidentiality. For those individuals whose livelihood is dependent on 37 their successes as a practitioner-researcher an understanding of how to overcome 38 methodological challenges will be beneficial in improving their organisational status. 39From the results of this study, we suggest that a range of support mechanisms (e.g. 40 ethnographers club, regional support hubs, supervisor/researcher training and education), 41 and the development of a clear sense of self are essential for the ethnographic practitioner-42 researcher. 43

“Caught in the Headlights”: A Reflective Account of the Challenges Faced by a Neophyte Practitioner Working With a National Squad

“…I experienced similar feelings to those reported by Wadsworth et al (2021), where I experienced a sense of wearing clothes that do not fit, that my work just does did not feel right, with these thoughts being accompanied with symptoms of anxiety and frustration. At this time, I recalled literature reporting trainee experiences of working in elite sport, and the many practitioner accounts relating to knowing when and how to appropriately challenge others in sport (McDougal et al, 2015;Champ et al, 2020). I share the reflections of Cruickshank et al (2013), where elite sport organizations can be asserted as ruthless, totalitarian, with unique distributions of power, so practitioners must carefully consider when to challenge and when to refrain.…”

Understanding and Supporting Parents of Academy Footballers

“…Nevertheless, despite some changes within the culture of the youth football academy industry, the traditional masculine outcome focused culture often remains as a dominant element (Champ et al, 2020a(Champ et al, , 2020bMills et al, 2014aMills et al, , 2014b. As a result, anything other than that which has a direct impact on player development is often not considered as important (Champ et al, 2020b).…”

“…Nevertheless, despite some changes within the culture of the youth football academy industry, the traditional masculine outcome focused culture often remains as a dominant element (Champ et al, 2020a(Champ et al, , 2020bMills et al, 2014aMills et al, , 2014b. As a result, anything other than that which has a direct impact on player development is often not considered as important (Champ et al, 2020b). There have, however, been some calls to change this culture, to facilitate an environment that is optimal for athlete development through coaches promoting an autonomy-supportive environment, supporting holistic player development, and including parents within the development of players (Mills et al, 2014a(Mills et al, , 2014b.…”

“…In addition, it may have been due to me being a female member of staff within the male-dominated football industry and seen as less competent than the male staff (Kilty, 2006). This reluctance could also be due to my academic and university background, which meant I was perceived to lack football knowledge (Champ et al, 2020b;Pain & Harwood, 2004).…”

“…A further explanation for the reluctance to change may be due to the results driven culture within football. Within football there is often a focus on the areas that are perceived to have an immediate direct impact on performance or the development of players, as this creates results or financial income, whereas those that are not seen as having a positive impact are perceived as not important (Champ et al, 2020b;Gilmore et al, 2017). Consequently, parent support may not have been seen as important as it would require investing time and resources in an area that potentially would not have immediately impacted on the performance of the players and produce positive results.…”