An examination of father types and the subsequent framing of coach–father relationships in English youth football through the eyes of an expert coach

Abstract

The 2014 FIFA World Cup produced a poor performance by England which reinforced the view of Gary Lineker, former England captain turned media pundit, that the youth development system was failing and that a ‘parental cultural revolution’ was a necessary element for future improvement. This paper researches fathers in English youth football from the perspective of an expert coach with two aims in mind. Firstly, the paper will identify more father types than the one Lineker based his revolution on. Secondly, the paper will discuss how different father types subsequently frame different coach–father relationships. The paper concludes by recommending that the UEFA Coach Accreditation system embeds knowledge of different father types and the subsequent different coach–father relationships in their courses to assist future coaches. Lastly, there is a call for further research to be carried out into father/parent types in youth sport, especially from the perspective of coach.

Notes

1. www.fifa.com.

2. Lineker, New Statesman.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Brackenridge, Engaging Parents; and Lineker, New Statesman.

6. Lineker, New Statesman.

7. Ibid.

8. Walsh, ‘An Effective Youth Sport Coach’, 292.

9. Denison, ‘Writing a “true” Sports Story’, 131–7; Jones, ‘Coaching as Caring’, 377–90; and Jones, ‘Dilemmas, Maintaining “Face” and Paranoia’, 1012–21.

10. Jones, ‘Coaching as Caring’, 379.

11. Ibid., 380.

12. Hellstedt, ‘The Coach/Parent/Athlete Relationship’, 151–60; Kirk and MacPhail, ‘Social Positioning at Youth Clubs’, 23–44; and Brackenridge, Engaging Parents.

13. Lineker, New Statesman.

14. Cassidy, Jones, and Potrac, Understanding Sports Coaching, 10; and Walsh, ‘An Effective Youth Sport Coach’, 292.

15. Murphy, The Cheers and the Tears.

16. Harrington, ‘Sport Mad, Good Dads’, 51–72; and Kay, ‘Fathers and Sons’, 106–23.

17. Coakley, ‘The Good Father’, 41.

18. Lyle, ‘Coaching Philosophy’, 47–64; Lyle, Sports Coaching Concepts; Cassidy, Jones, and Potrac, Understanding Sports Coaching; Weiss and Fretwell, ‘Parent–Coach/Child–Athlete Relationship’, 286–305; and Kay and Bass, ‘The Family Factor in Coaching’, 178.

19. Kay and Bass, ‘The Family Factor in Coaching’, 178.

20. Babkes and Weiss, ‘Parental Influence’, 44–62; Keegan et al, ‘Coach, Parent and Peer Influences’, 361–72; Keegan et al., ‘The Motivational Atmosphere in Youth Sport’, 87–105; Barber, Sukhi, and White, ‘The Influence of Parent Coaches’, 162–80; Weiss and Fretwell, ‘Parent–Coach/Child–Athlete Relationship’, 286–305; Harwood and Knight, ‘Understanding Parental Stressors’, 339–51; Harwood, Drew, and Knight, ‘Parental Stressors in Professional Youth Football et al’, 39–55; Defrancesco and Johnson, ‘Athlete and Parent Perception in Junior Tennis’, 29–36; Lee and McLean, ‘Sources of Parental Pressure’, 167–77; and Leff and Hoyle, ‘Young Athlete’s Perceptions’, 187–203)

21. Kay and Bass, ‘The Family Factor in Coaching’, 175.

22. Martens, Successful Coaching, 454.

23. Ibid., 454.

24. Hellestedt, ‘The Coach/Parent/Athlete Relationship’, 151–60.

25. Ibid., 153.

26. Ibid., 153.

27. Brackenridge, Engaging Parents.

28. Kirk and MacPhail, ‘Social Positioning at Youth Clubs’, 23–44.

29. Ibid., 39.

30. Brackenridge, Engaging Parents; and Hellstedt, ‘The Coach/Parent/Athlete Relationship’, 151–60.

31. Brackenridge, Engaging Parents.

32. Brackenridge, Engaging Parents; and Hellstedt, ‘The Coach/Parent/Athlete Relationship’, 151–60.

33. Walsh, ‘An Effective Youth Sport Coach’, 293.

34. Ibid.

35. Lyle, Sports Coaching Concepts, 53.

36. Schwandt, ‘Constructivist, Interpretivist Approaches to Human Enquiry’, 221–59.

37. Gratton and Jones, Research Methods for Sport Studies, 19.

38. Burgess, In the Field: An Introduction to Field Research.

39. Harwood, Drew, and Knight, ‘Parental Stressors in Professional Youth Football et al’, 39–55.

40. Martens, Successful Coaching, 454.

41. Hammersley and Atkinson, Ethnography.

42. Darlington and Scott, Qualitative Research In Practice: Stories from the Field.

43. Langley, Doing Social Research.

44. Gratton and Jones, Research Methods for Sport Studies.

45. Dandelion, ‘Insider Dealing. Researching Your Own Private World’, 181–202.

46. Kirk and MacPhail, ‘Social Positioning at Youth Clubs’, 33–6; and Brackenridge, Engaging Parents.

47. Hellstedt, ‘The Coach/Parent/Athlete Relationship’, 151–60.

48. Ibid.

49. Hellstedt, ‘The Coach/Parent/Athlete Relationship’, 151–60; Kirk and MacPhail, ‘Social Positioning at Youth Clubs’, 33–6; and Brackenridge, Engaging Parents.

50. Hellstedt, ‘The Coach/Parent/Athlete Relationship’, 151–60.

51. Kirk and MacPhail, ‘Social Positioning at Youth Clubs’, 33–6; and Hellstedt, ‘The Coach/Parent/Athlete Relationship’, 151–60.

52. Hellstedt, ‘The Coach/Parent/Athlete Relationship’, 151–60; and Brackenridge, Engaging Parents.

53. Brackenridge, Engaging Parents.

54. Ibid.; and Hellstedt, ‘The Coach/Parent/Athlete Relationship’, 151–60.

55. Brackenridge, Engaging Parents.

56. Hellstedt, ‘The Coach/Parent/Athlete Relationship’, 151–60; and Brackenridge, Engaging Parents.

57. Brackenridge, Engaging Parents.

58. Ibid.

59. Martens, Successful Coaching, 454.

60. Hellstedt, ‘The Coach/Parent/Athlete Relationship’, 151–60.

61. Kirk and MacPhail, ‘Social Positioning at Youth Clubs’, 33–6.

62. Kay and Bass, ‘The Family Factor in Coaching’, 175.

63. Jones, ‘Dilemmas, Maintaining “Face” and Paranoia’, 1012–21.

64. Ibid.

65. Brackenridge, Engaging Parents.

66. Jones, ‘Dilemmas, Maintaining “Face” and Paranoia’, 1012–21.

67. Lyle, ‘Coaching Philosophy’, 47–64; Lyle, Sports Coaching Concepts; Cassidy, Jones, and Potrac, Understanding Sports Coaching; Weiss and Fretwell, ‘Parent–Coach/Child–Athlete Relationship’, 286–305; and Kay and Bass, ‘The Family Factor in Coaching’, 178.

68. Walsh, ‘An Effective Youth Sport Coach’, 292; and Cassidy, Jones, and Potrac, Understanding Sports Coaching, 10.