Speakers
Description
Strength and conditioning coaches typically reflect on program design, training methods, and other biophysical aspects of performance, not psychosocial aspects (Gearity et al., 2021). In response to a wider call to advance psychosocial scholarship and theorizing in strength and conditioning coaching (see Potrac et al., 2017; Szedlak et al., 2021), this poster addresses the lead author’s emotional experiences and reflective practice in strength and conditioning coaching. Our intention is to provide a relevant and relatable story that illustrates the interconnectedness of the emotional experiences of a young, female strength and conditioning coach (SCC) and her reflective practice, and the evolution of her emotions and reflective practice throughout the coaching season. We critically consider how the lead author’s emotional experiences influenced, and were influenced by, her engagement in reflective practice when working to understand and resolve an interpersonal problem she experienced with one athlete during training sessions. Extending the work of Goffman (1959) to the strength and conditioning coaching context, this autoethnographic account illuminates how a young, female strength and conditioning coach’s coaching performance and desired coaching image were intricately affected by her emotional labor (Hochschild, 1983) and reflective practice (Schön, 1983). Further, we integrate emotions and emotional labor throughout Schön’s reflective practice cycle as the strength and conditioning coach worked to resolve an interpersonal problem with a male athlete during the American football season. With this new sociology of sport coaching knowledge, coaches and coach developers may mitigate the negative effects from emotional labor associated with interpersonal coaching problems.
