Young Coaches and Supportive Environments

Jane Meckbach, Lena Larsson
2011 Sport Science Review  
Young Coaches and Supportive Environments Sport is a very popular recreational activity for young people in Sweden. To support children's and young people's sporting activities, the Swedish Parliament has invested EUR 200,000 over a four-year period. This initiative was given the name Idrottslyftet [Lift for Sport] and one of its goals was to recruit and retain young coaches. The aim of the study is to examine the investment made in young coaches with the focus on supportive environments.
more » ... ons are asked: (i) How have the various projects been structured and what were the desired objectives? (ii) What is meant by the term 'supportive environment'? iii) Which young coaches is the project aimed at and who is the 'right' kind of coach? The data consists of plans and project descriptions. Moreover, this study uses a qualitative text analysis and has a cultural-sociological perspective based on Bourdieu's theories and concepts. The analysis shows that investments have consisted mainly of training programmes to recruit new coaches. The supportive environments are a priority and master-pupil relationship is a given model. The findings indicate that there is a belief that a re-examination of the traditionally prominent values is required if young people are to be recruited as coaches.
doi:10.2478/v10237-011-0069-9 fatcat:bwa4ihaot5hzrpthny3cj72abq