Abstract
Sports coaching research can portray an overly simplistic picture of the activity leading to young coaches being underprepared for intra-personal conflicts during coaching careers (Cushion, 2006; Jones, 2009; Potrac et al., 2016). This paper builds on work that shows coaching is emotionally challenging (Thelwell, 2017; Gowling, 2019). Autoethnography illustrates the first authors inner struggles with their perceived effectiveness while trying to prove their worth in the elite junior coaching context. There are four main findings (1) the performance narrative influences young coaches’ behaviour; (2) inability to assess one’s own effectiveness, without using player results as the sole criteria can have a negative emotional effect on coaches; (3) relational narratives are present in elite junior coaching; (4) provides governing bodies with opportunities to improve the preparation of young coaches for intra-personal challenges related to coaching.
Highlights
Researchers argue that coach education does not effectively use the wealth of experience that coaches have to inform the education of new coaches, leaving them underprepared for the complex nature of their role (Cushion, Armour, & Jones, 2003)
The purpose of this paper is to provide a first-person account of a coaching relationship with an elite junior tennis player (Junior ITF level) and illustrate how an over reliance on results influenced my coaching behaviours
My story shows that I used the performance narrative to inform my tennis coaching role, and this was influential in my preoccupation tournament results
Summary
Researchers argue that coach education does not effectively use the wealth of experience that coaches have to inform the education of new coaches, leaving them underprepared for the complex nature of their role (Cushion, Armour, & Jones, 2003). Vulnerable writing followed by theoretical analysis is an effective way for existing coaches to communicate their experiences and inform practice. The purpose of this paper is to provide a first-person account of a coaching relationship with an elite junior tennis player (Junior ITF level) and illustrate how an over reliance on results (performance narrative) influenced my coaching behaviours. Within the plot of the performance narrative, winning, results, and achievements are preeminent and link closely to the storyteller’s mental well-being, identity, and self-worth. The story charts my early experiences as a tennis coach trying to prove that I belonged as a coach to elite junior tennis players. With player results suffering and no alternative way of assessing my effectiveness as a coach, I experienced struggles with self-worth, and this affected the coach-athlete relationship through an inability to cope
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