To be – or not to be invited

• Introduktion Many of the coaches are young people (RF 2007) and a considerable number of initiatives have been taken to increase their means of influence. The emphasis on influence can be linked to the fact that the club activities of the Swedish state are seen as an important arena for the civic education of young people (RF 2005, 2011).Syfte & teoretisk ramThe aim is to examine how an initiative to recruit young coaches can help increase young people’s means of influence within the Swedish sports movement. The specific questions are as follows: which young coaches are believed to be capable of having an influence? and what means of influence do the young coaches recruited have?Previous research shows that it is difficult to increase the influence of young people. When it comes to being on the committee, it is important to have the right contacts since most people are recruited via a network that is characterized by like-minded people rewarding each other (Fundberg 2009). Therefore, not just anyone is allowed to enter the field, and to attain a position that generates influence, it is necessary for one to have the right symbolic capital (Redelius 2005).In order to understand actions and strategies based on the individual–group relationship and the social context they find themselves in, we are supported by the theories of Bourdieu.  Bourdieu (1990) describes how the social world consists, on the one hand, of objective structures that also exist outside symbolic systems, such as languages, which depend on the agents’ consciousness, and, on the other hand, symbolic structures, the origin of which forms a function of perceptions, ideas, and actions that the individuals construct. The socially constructed symbol systems act as classification schemes for the social world, which means that the structures are perceived as natural. Based on Bourdieu’s theories, certain social contexts can be regarded as social fields, among them, sport, which is characterized by having its own logic and defining its own rules everyone within the field must abide by and that often are taken for granted (Bourdieu 1988, 1997; Munk 1999; Munk & Lind 2004). Using Bourdieu’s theories makes it possible to penetrate the value structures and patterns of behavior in a social practice that the agents are partly unaware of. The starting point isthat the sports movement is a social arena in which the experiences the agents have incorporated, together with the objective structures, determine who is allowed to enter and influence the field. MetodThe data consists of focus group interviews with young coaches. Ten focus group interviews were conducted with thirty-seven participants, of which twenty were women and seventeen were men. When selecting respondents, a geographical spread, a variety of sports, and both male and female participants were sought.Resultat och diskussionThe results show that if young coaches are to have influence, it is required that both their habitus and capital ‘match’ the social context into which they are entering. One way of maintaining power, which appears successful for those who have a position within a field, is not to change the accepted way of working and, with that, exclude the young coaches from challenging in the battle for positions. The means of influence increases if one goes on a course, has the support of a club member, or has a position of responsibility within the club. Without the support of important people or going on a course, the room for action is limited. The environment is conducive to the young coaches being molded, the club’s culture being inscribed in the body, and certain actions becoming self-evident.  

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Idrottsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Sport and Fitness Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

young coaches

influence

habitus

capital

Bourdieu

Samhällsvetenskap/Humaniora

Social Sciences/Humanities

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)