A1 Journal article (refereed)
Hobby, career or vocation? Meanings in sports coaching and their implications for recruitment and retention of coaches (2022)

Ronkainen, N. J., Ryba, T. V., McDougall, M., Tod, D., & Tikkanen, O. (2022). Hobby, career or vocation? Meanings in sports coaching and their implications for recruitment and retention of coaches. Managing Sport and Leisure, 27(4), 381-396. https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2020.1803108

JYU authors or editors

Ronkainen, Noora
Ryba, Tatiana

Publication details

All authors or editors: Ronkainen, Noora J.; Ryba, Tatiana V.; McDougall, Michael; Tod, David; Tikkanen, Olli

Journal or series: Managing Sport and Leisure

ISSN: 2375-0472

eISSN: 2375-0480

Publication year: 2022

Publication date: 06/08/2020

Volume: 27

Issue number: 4

Pages range: 381-396

Publisher: Routledge

Publication country: United Kingdom

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2020.1803108

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Partially open access channel

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/71404

Publication is parallel published: http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/13403/

Abstract

Rationale/Purpose: Traditional European sports clubs are facing increasing pressures to professionalise their services, while also encountering difficulties in the recruitment and retention of the coaching workforce. We used the concept of meaningful work to explore why coaching is worthwhile to coaches and how they have responded to the changes in the structural and narrative context of their work.

Methodology: Drawing on narrative inquiry, we explored the various meanings and justifications that athletics (track and field) coaches assign to coaching in Finland and England. Twenty-three coaches (8 women, 15 men) aged 22–86 participated in narrative interviews that were analysed using thematic narrative analysis.

Findings: The younger coaches mainly constructed coaching as a hobby and more often placed value on personal benefits, whereas many older coaches described coaching as a vocation/calling and emphasised causes that transcend the self (e.g. tradition, duty and leaving a legacy).

Practical implications: Understanding the diverse ways in which coaching is meaningful is vital for supporting the recruitment and retention of the coaching workforce in sport clubs.

Research contribution: The study extends understandings of meaningful work in coaching and how coaching is shaped by the broader structural and ideological contexts of the work.

Keywords: coaching; coaches (occupations); voluntariness; vocation (calling); career; career development; professional development; meaningfulness; identity (mental objects); narrative analysis

Free keywords: volunteerism; meaningful work; coach identity; career development; narrative

Fields of science:

Contributing organizations

JYU units:

Department of Psychology

Related research datasets

Dataset of Winning in the Long Run: Towards a Psychosocial Sustainability of Adolescent Dual Careers; Ryba, Tatiana V.; et al.

Ministry reporting: Yes

Reporting Year: 2022