Dad as a Coach: Fatherhood and Voluntary Work in Youth Sports
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Previous Research
Fatherhood and Informal Learning in Sports Coaching
3. Materials and Methods
3.1. Theoretical Considerations
3.2. Empirical Material
4. Results
4.1. The Dual Position: Being a Father and Being a Coach
Magnus: If you should highlight, like, particular challenges of being the coach of your own child. What would that be?
Andy: (1) ah (1) yes, it’s that you are also a parent (1) ah, and (1) to a child, this can be pretty hard to differentiate, when you act as a father and when you act as a coach, sort of. Sometimes, at least. That’s, that’s a pretty big challenge. Particularly in relation to your OWN child. Like, during training and matches and stuff. And stuff like that. Like, not favor [your own child], but rather think that he’s just one in the team, along with everyone else. That’s a challenge, I think. And then to (2) To not step in. When you’re a coach, like, not step into the same conflicts on the training pitch that you can have at home. About the same (.) to bring a lot of nagging and conflicts on to the training and stuff like that. To really try to (.) cut that off when you start the training or the match. Now it’s the team in focus and the things we discussed earlier as father-son, that’s something to deal with afterwards. That can be, it IS definitely a challenge I think.
Magnus: I’m thinking that (.) How does being a parental coach effect your relation? How does it effect, like, the child-parent relation?
Freddy: It is effected (1) I’m in a grey-zone [mm] In that I (.) can also see in our everyday life. Ah, like you have to eat, because you have to practice. Like, that’s a parental part but it is also a coach part. Like, I know you’re going to be tired during practice, you won’t be able cope with this. Because I have seen you there if you haven’t been eating. So, at home it is everything. So, I’m a coach at home also. That’s what I’ve always done. We are a sports family. I don’t know how I’ve been (.) if I haven’t been their coach. But I think I’m always somewhat their coach. Always. Even at home. I know that – now you have to eat, now you need this because your about to go to practice soon and I don’t want you to be as prepared as you can, because I know what happens if you are not. But, I think I’m always acting a little bit as a coach. That, that’s tough (.) or tough and tough, yes (1) I’m not sure we’re you can draw the line but. Between parent-, because I know too much about what they are doing and that results in me poking on what they are doing instead of just giving them praise. Like, that’s good, that was funny. Did you have fun? (1) Like, I already know what happened during practice (.) all the time.
4.2. Balancing between Care and Performance
Magnus: Are you any different towards him ((your son)) at home in contrast to football training?
Freddy: (8) Ah (2). That was tricky (2) yes, I am the coach at football practice so to speak and I am a father at home. But, as I said before, it’s a grey zone. I have them both in gymnastics and football practice. I’m coaching them three times a week in football and in gymnastics two. So we’re together all afternoons and evenings. Just in different environments. If we’re at home, well that’s one environment. But, but it’s hard to separate (ha-ha) I have all the boys at my house anyway so. Ah (3) I’m trying to be more close and more loving at home than during practice. There I’m maybe more technical and more objective. (3) less feelings in practice than at home, I think (2). Trying. It’s probably hard. It is.
Luc: […] but, but now he’s XX ((year the child is born)). So I see that next year, I hope that they don’t have any parents as coaches. But we will see.
Magnus: What, what (.) What is it that makes you hope for that?
Luc: Like, I think it is (.) partly it is. It is ALWAYS that. It doesn’t matter what people say! Like either you are too kind or you are too hard (HA-HA (Appendix A)) on your son, or something like that. It’s like that.
Magnus: Have you talked about it. Or is it something you-
Dick: -we have, like. I little bit, like what he thinks. About me holding the training sessions. And I can ask him a bit about, like, what he thinks. If I’m too harsh.
Magnus: and what does he answer?
Dick: Ah (2) Yeah, but he can say that I can be tough, sort of. Like, in training. But (.) he is so used to it. Maybe more than other kids are. A bit more maybe, things in order. Like, if there’s a training, it doesn’t work if everyone’s in a pile. Ah, because training time is ticking, sort of. That’s how (.) I live at home also, sort of. Somehow, that’s. No, but that is how we have discussed a bit. And I KNOW he thinks it’s good when I attend the training.
Freddy: Well, some kids who wants to play. While we have two groups, they are easy-players ((referring to the division level they are playing at)), but the parents wants them to play in hard, but they are not at that level. Then we’re trying to explain to them that we are not dividing the team so that the better get better, but for the easier to have an easier environment. But they don’t understand that. They think that we have selected the best and then there are these left. But I would say that it is the other way around […]
Magnus: The goal is care for the weak?
Freddy: I would say, I don’t want to say weak. They haven’t got as far. They have another interest and another goal […]. I don’t want to say that they are worse or better. They have these three different levels that are different than those how (.) so that’s interest, skills and goalsetting that are different. And then we have chosen these different parts.
4.3. Coaching as Quality-Time and the Autonomous Child
Magnus: Do you think that your relation has changed (.) by you being coach?
Dick: Ah (4) No, but I think it has strengthened (.) even more. Because I know that he appreciates when I‘m at the training (.) and holding the training than if I’m not.
Ah, and you know each other inside and out, sort of, like that. So I can see if they are excited ((in Swedish: taggade)) or not as excited. Like, in training. You can talk about it afterwards and sort of, like (.) No, I was tired or I had a sore throat or (.) Sort of like that. So it has only been strengthened and it´s been more now since we started playing more and more matches. So, so that’s fun to feel. When you feel like, like his competitive instinct. And just that, fuck we were good! We won, or we did a good game or (1) we lost but, like, fought. So, so it has definitely been strengthened. It is only positive.
John: […] and if he no longer want to play? I would step down from the coach’s role (.) immediately.
Leon: NOT A CHANCE! I would quit directly. Then there are a lot of other things to spend time on. Not a chance that I should continue!
5. Discussion
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
: | prolonged syllable |
[ ] | overlapping utterances |
(.) | micropause, shorter than (0.5) |
-1 | pauses in seconds |
(x) (xxx) | inaudible word(s) |
(no) | unsure transcription |
° ° | speech in low volume |
NO | higher amplitude |
(( )) | transcriber’s comments |
no no | underlining for emphatic stress |
- | cut-off sign; self-editing |
ha-ha | laughter |
HA-HA | loud laughter |
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Kilger, M. Dad as a Coach: Fatherhood and Voluntary Work in Youth Sports. Educ. Sci. 2020, 10, 132. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10050132
Kilger M. Dad as a Coach: Fatherhood and Voluntary Work in Youth Sports. Education Sciences. 2020; 10(5):132. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10050132
Chicago/Turabian StyleKilger, Magnus. 2020. "Dad as a Coach: Fatherhood and Voluntary Work in Youth Sports" Education Sciences 10, no. 5: 132. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10050132