Neoliberalism and Community Sport Coaching in the United States

Abstract

Community sport and community sport coaching are not widely used terms in the United States. Programmes that fit the definition of community sport do exist, but the goals and organisation of those programmes reflect the social and cultural contexts in which they are funded, evaluated, and sustained. This, in turn, influences the ways that community sport coaches do their jobs and set priorities as they work with programme participants. After briefly explaining the funding sources, goals, and organisation of community sport in the United States, the chapter focuses on the historical contexts in which community sport was developed and have changed in American society. Changes over the past half century go hand-in-hand with a growing acceptance of neoliberalism, an integrated set of ideas and beliefs that people use to evaluate and make sense of the world in which they live. These ideas and beliefs influence the economy, political decisions, expectations for how people should live their lives, and the organisation of social relationships. The chapter also explains how neoliberalism impacts community sport, the expectations of programme participants, and the challenges faced by community sport organisers and coaches. It concludes with a discussion of strategies that community sport organisers and coaches can use to create and sustain programmes under neoliberal working conditions, and the importance of recognising coaches as workers and doing research to increase their effectiveness in working with programme participants.