'It's All About Getting Respect': The Coaching Behaviors of an Expert English Soccer Coach

Abstract

In light of the paucity of research addressing the critical concerns of social interaction at the micro level of the coaching process, this study aimed to generate an in-depth understanding of the coaching behaviours utilized by a top-level English football coach. A mixed-method approach was used to not only identify the pedagogical behaviours used by the subject in the practice environment, but to also generate an in-depth insight into the rationales that underpinned their use. Using the concepts of 'social role', 'power' and 'the presentation of the self' [E. Goffman (1959) The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (Garden City, Doubleday)] to analyse the data, it is suggested that the subject's coaching practice was influenced by his perceived need to establish a strong social bond between himself and his players; a bond founded on the players' respect for his professional knowledge and personal manner.