Young Coaches and Supportive Environments

• Sport is a very popular recreational activity for young people in Sweden and more than 80 percent is member of a sports club with many leaders. To support sporting activities for children and young people, the Swedish Parliament has invest EURO 200 000 over a four-year period. This initiative was given the name Idrottslyftet 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 focus on supportive environments, the questions are: i) How have the various projects been structured and what were the desired objectives? ii) What is meant by the term ‘a supportive environment’? The data consists of development plans and project descriptions with using qualitative text analysis. The study 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 leaders. The supportive environments are a priority. The master–pupil relationship appears to be 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.

Subject headings

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

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

Keyword

supportive environment

young coaches

Bourdieu

Samhällsvetenskap/Humaniora

Social Sciences/Humanities

Idrottsvetenskap

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)