Abstract
This paper examines the micro-political experiences of Adam (a pseudonym), a newly appointed fitness coach at a Football Association Premier League club, in his search for acceptance by senior colleagues. Data were collected through a series of in-depth, semi-structured interviews, before being subject to a process of inductive analysis. Goffman's writings on impression management and stigma, Kelchtermans's micro-political perspective and Garfinkel's notion of status degradation are primarily utilised to make the sense of Adam's perceptions and actions. The findings point to the value of developing coaches’ micro-political understandings, and of including their formal facilitation within given professional preparation programmes. Doing so, it is argued, would better equip coaches for the problematic realities of their practice.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 976-994 |
Number of pages | 19 |
Journal | Sport, Education and Society |
Volume | 20 |
Issue number | 8 |
Early online date | 3 Dec 2013 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Oct 2015 |
Keywords
- Impression management
- Micro-politics
- Sports coaching
- Stigma