Moving beyond unproblematic policy implementation: some micro-level reflections on social interaction, emotion, and the enactment of safeguarding policy in sport.

As a response to recent high-profile cases of poor athlete welfare policy and protection and growing moral panic on the conduct of coaching and support staff involved in youth elite sport contexts, a series of athlete welfare and well-being policies have been enhanced or have emerged. This chapter charts both the intended and unintended consequences of policy enactment across a series of youth elite contexts in the United Kingdom. Drawing on real, case-study scenarios from coaches and support staff, the chapter makes sense of the micro-level experiences of policy enactment. Specifically, it charts the emotional turmoil of those responsible for performing policy in practice stemming from the contradictions of the ‘simplistic, solution-based’ regulatory frameworks and the ‘complex, problem-led’ realities of working in high-performance contexts.