Cronin, CJ, Knowles, ZR and Enright, KJ (2019) The Challenge to Care in a Premier League Football Club. Sports Coaching Review. ISSN 2164-0629

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Abstract

Elite men’s football in the UK has previously been portrayed as a harsh and competitive micro-political environment. This environment has been described as ‘uncaring’. Paradoxically, care has been identified as an essential aspect of coaching pedagogy. Thus, this study drew upon the experience of a case-study strength and conditioning coach to explore care in a Premier League Football Club. Specifically, a naturally occurring reflective diary served as a primary data source. Findings revealed that the coach ‘cared for’ an athlete through a ‘rules based’ approach, which thus far has not been described within coaching research. The narrative presented also suggested that care was constrained by the competitive context in which the coach operates. This context requires coaches to ‘care about’ results, and the associated implications for their own careers and other individuals around the club e.g. staff and supporters. Thus, this caring relationship was situated and influenced by wider contextual influences. This study should prompt significant consideration by coaches who might examine how their care is influenced by social, economic and micro-political factors, whilst simultaneously providing novel insights for coaching researchers who may further consider ‘rule based’ approaches to care. Keywords: Care; Elite Football; Coaching; Noddings; Micro-Politics

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Sports Coaching Review on 14/02/2019, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/21640629.2019.1578593
Uncontrolled Keywords:	care; Elite Football; Coaching; Noddings; Micro-Politics
Subjects:	R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC1200 Sports Medicine G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV561 Sports > GV711 Coaching
Divisions:	Sport & Exercise Sciences
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
Date Deposited:	29 Jan 2019 11:10
Last Modified:	04 Sep 2021 09:46
DOI or ID number:	10.1080/21640629.2019.1578593
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/10056

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