An Exploration of the Experiences of Elite Youth Footballers: The Impact of Organizational Culture

The present study explored how the organizational cultural experiences of elite youth footballers shaped their identity development and behavior. The first author occupied the position of sport psychology practitioner-researcher within 1 professional football club over 3 years. Traditional ethnographic research methods were employed, including observations, field notes, reflections, and informal interviews. A cultural sport psychology perspective on identity as a social construction and research on the cultural characteristics of professional football were used as frameworks to make sense of the data. Despite the introduction of the Elite Player Performance Plan in 2012, the traditional masculine culture of professional football dominated the studied club. Creative nonfiction vignettes revealed that youth players were encouraged to develop their self-stories focused on a single-minded dedication to professional football. The limited identity-related resources offered at both club and cultural level are detrimental for players in terms of their well-being and long-term psychological development. From the results of this study, we suggest that future sports psychology practice within professional football may best be delivered at an organizational level. However, for sport psychologists to be effective in this role, they must develop an understanding of the subcultural features and characteristics of the organization. In line with this, there would be great value in introducing a focus on organizational culture within sport psychology professional training and education routes.

Lay Summary: This paper explores the impact of the professional football culture on the psychological development of elite youth footballers. From the findings we suggest that sport psychology should be delivered at an organisational level.     

Mobility and migration experiences of transnational coaches within the Israeli handball context

ObjectivesDespite a growing body of literature on athletes' migration, the mobility and migration experiences of coaches have received limited attention. In this study, we explored the mobility and migration experiences of transnational coaches operating within the Israeli handball context.DesignA qualitative study was conducted, underpinned by our relativist ontology and a constructionist epistemological position.MethodsEight male professionals (e.g., national team coaches, senior team coaches, youth coaches), working (currently, or most recently) in national teams and clubs, who migrated to Israeli handball within the past five years were interviewed. A thematic analysis, integrating inductive and deductive reasoning, was applied in data analysis. Meticulousness was enhanced by focusing on a worthy topic, maintaining credibility, critical friends, producing generalization, and making a significant contribution.ResultsThe analysis yielded raw-data codes, further organized into lower-order themes and three higher-order themes reflecting transnational coaches' migration and mobility experiences within the Israeli handball context, including (a) cultural transition, (b) cultural adaption, and (c) coaches' personal insights about mobility and migration. The findings are conceptually analyzed and discussed in relation to the previous research on coaches' career migration.Discussion and conclusionThe findings emphasize the complexity of the migration process, accompanied by varying motivations, demands and barriers, active decision-making; all within the framework of cultural adaptation. The participants endorsed a transnational coaching career, driven by their open-mind mentality and personal-professional growth.     

Exploration of the moderator effect of cultural diversity on team performance across 45 professional football leagues: An ecological dynamics perspective on cross-cultural research

ObjectiveTo investigate the moderating effect of cultural diversity on team performance in professional football worldwide through the lens of ecological dynamics and cross-cultural psychology.Designand Method: Based a sample of 23,186 matches played by 728 teams across 45 leagues during the 2020/21 season, two sets of moderated regression analyses were conducted to examine the effect on sporting results of the interaction between teams’ cultural diversity, their dominant playing style and market value. In addition to bivariate correlations, a total of 16 ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models were designed to test 5 hypotheses. A new theoretical model, the Integrative Categorization-Intentionality Model (ICIM), was proposed to explain four key findings.FindingsCDI’s role as a statistically significant cross-cultural moderator was confirmed in relation to all three styles of play: possession-based (ß = −0.08, p < 0.05), constructive attacking (ß = −0.30, p < 0.01), and defensive (ß = 0.28, p < 0.05), the respective models explaining 35.6%, 34% and 35% of the variance. Results showed that cultural heterogeneity contributes to goal scoring in teams reliant on the first two styles, whilst defensively-oriented teams were more likely to improve performance with increasing cultural homogeneity. Moreover, the positive effect of cultural heterogeneity on sporting outcomes was more likely in less affluent teams. Finally, empirical evidence revealed a link between enhanced performance and a higher proportion of domestic defensive players in defensively oriented teams (ß = −0.11, p < 0.05), and, similarly, between a higher proportion of foreign offensive players in offensively-oriented teams (ß = −0.27, p < 0.01).ConclusionsThe study has practical implications for scouting/recruitment of players when strategizing on team cultural and functional composition, as well as for coaches in terms of designing suitable training practices gauged to match and develop multicultural teams’ diverse skill set, or more generally, in relation to managing multicultural teams.     

“When you're coming from the reserve you're not supposed to make it”: Stories of Aboriginal athletes pursuing sport and academic careers in “mainstream” cultural contexts

ObjectivesThis project responds to the call for athletic career development and transitions research that centralizes the constitutive role of culture in athletes' experiences (Stambulova & Alfermann, 2009; Stambulova & Ryba, 2014). Within, we explore the cultural transitions of Aboriginal hockey players (14–22 years old) relocated into “mainstream” (Euro-Canadian) cultural contexts to pursue dual careers as students and athletes.DesignThe research was framed as a cultural sport psychology initiative. The project was rooted in a local Indigenous decolonizing methodology, which was brought forward via a participatory action research approach.MethodsMandala drawings and conversational interviews were employed as open-ended data collection processes that enabled the participants to share their stories and meanings through their own cultural perspectives. Vignettes were then used to present their accounts.ResultsThe participants' careers as athletes and students were precariously navigated within larger cultural tensions to: (a) deal with a loss of belonging in the Aboriginal community; (b) break down negative stereotypes and attitudes that Aboriginal people are not able to “make it”; and (c) give back to the Aboriginal communities they relocated away from.ConclusionsThrough a culturally resonant mode of knowledge production, the research uncovers contextual understandings of the cultural transitions experienced by Aboriginal athletes, revealing how this transition intersects with and shapes their dual careers. The project offers insight into the central role of culture in shaping athletes' dual careers, and provides impetus for more idiosyncratic approaches to be adopted in future research.     

From childhood to senior professional football: A multi-level approach to elite youth football players’ engagement in football-specific activities

ObjectivesThe main aim of this study was to identify the development of engagement in football-specific activities of elite youth association football (soccer) players who have made the transition to senior professional status or not.DesignComparative research design.MethodData were collected from all elite youth players (N = 745) within the age-range of 14–21 years from all Norwegian Premier League clubs, using a retrospective questionnaire. A within elite-group comparison of players who had obtained a senior professional contract or not was conducted by using multi-level modeling (n = 491).ResultsThe results showed that although the professional players reported to have accumulated more overall practice hours than non-professionals from ages 6 to 19 years, none of these differences were significant. The professional players reported to have accumulated significantly more hours in play and coach-led practice at the youngest age categories. No significant differences were identified at older age categories or for other types of football-specific practice at any age.ConclusionsDifferences in performance attainment may be due to variation in the amount and types of football practice at the earliest years of participation, but may also be related to other factors than the number of hours spent in certain football-specific activities. We argue that implementation of multi-level modeling represents an important progression within practice history research, and is necessary to account for the actual individual’s development over time in addition to identify how different variables may affect the developmental process.     

Feeling Half-Half? Exploring Relational Variation of Turkish-Heritage Young Adults’ Cultural Identity Compatibility and Conflict in Austria

Growing up in multicultural environments, Turkish-heritage individuals in Europe face specific challenges in combining their multiple cultural identities to form a coherent sense of self. Drawing from social identity complexity, this study explores four modes of combining cultural identities and their variation in relational contexts. Problem-centered interviews with Turkish-heritage young adults in Austria revealed the preference for complex, supranational labels, such as multicultural. Furthermore, most participants described varying modes of combining cultural identities over time and across relational contexts. Social exclusion experiences throughout adolescence related to perceived conflict of cultural identities, whereas multicultural peer groups supported perceived compatibility of cultural identities. Findings emphasize the need for complex, multidimensional approaches to study ethnic minorities’ combination of cultural identities.     

A subculture of mental toughness in an Australian Football League club

ObjectiveThe current study aimed to provide a subcultural analysis of mental toughness in a high-performance context in sport.DesignUsing Schein's (1990) framework of organisational culture, an exploratory qualitative analysis, employing focus group and individual interviews, was used to investigate mental toughness in an Australian Football League club.MethodNine senior coaches and players participated in focus group and individual interviews. Photo elicitation was used as a method to capture mental toughness through the identification of prominent club artefacts. Participants were considered to have significant subcultural knowledge of their football club and were willing to describe personal experiences and perceptions of mental toughness through this cultural lens. Deductive and inductive analyses were conducted to capture the core themes of mental toughness across the disparate levels of Schein's organisational framework.ResultsMental toughness was found to be a socially derived term marked by unrelenting standards and sacrificial displays. These acts were underpinned by subcultural values emphasising a desire for constant improvement, a team first ethos, relentless effort, and the maintenance of an infallible image. At its core, mental toughness was assumed to be an internal concept, epitomised an idealised form of masculinity, elitist values, and was rhetorically depicted through metaphors of war.ConclusionsIt may be difficult to understand mental toughness without giving attention to the contextual norms related to the term. Appreciating how people promote, instil, and internalise prized ideals coveted as mental toughness could be intriguing for future research in sport psychology.     

The decision to adopt a formal athlete leadership group: Qualitative insights from professional football coaches

ObjectivesAthlete Leadership Groups (ALGs) are increasingly being employed in professional football teams and whilst there is a growing body of quantitative research focussed on athlete leadership in other contexts, qualitative studies at the professional level are scant. The purpose of this study is to explore coaches' adoption of formal ALGs in professional football teams and what influences their decisions about the degree to which players are given leadership responsibilities and roles.DesignQualitative- Inductive.Method16 head coaches from 16 professional football teams, across four leagues (Super Rugby n = 4, National Rugby League n = 5, A League n = 3 and Australian Football League n = 4), participated in semi-structured interviews investigating why coaches are increasingly using ALGs in this environment and what influences the extent to which these ALGs are empowered.ResultsAn inductive thematic analysis indicated coaches' initial decisions to adopt an ALG model were influenced by a range of perceived benefits (team management, team functioning and performance) underpinned by personal factors (past experience, coaching philosophy, interpersonal style and understanding of social influence) and their appraisal of situational considerations (readiness, expectations and commitment), which influenced their ALG implementation decisions (how and to what extent players were empowered and leadership responsibilities delegated).ConclusionsOverall, the coaches' decision to use ALGs in the professional football environment was influenced by a belief that player ownership and autonomy, coupled with the influence of peer leadership underpins performance benefits on and off-field and plays a key role in team culture. However, findings suggest that coaches contemplating adopting an ALG model should take an individually tailored approach. For this approach to be effective, coaches consider and address a range of situational factors, and ensure the leadership model adopted reflects their personal beliefs and the capacity and context of the team.     

Adding experiential layers to the transnational-athlete concept: A narrative review of real-world heterogeneous mobility experiences

ObjectiveWith rising mobility and greater recognition of the diversity of origins, cultures, and outlooks, there has been increasing interest in transnational perspectives in sport psychology scholarship and practice. Based on personal and professional experiences, however, we are concerned that there are diverse transnational-athlete perspectives that have not yet been explored in the literature which are also often restricted by traditional nation-based sporting policies, organisations, and events. As cultural awareness and understanding may enhance consultancy effectiveness and enable the construction of heretofore unrealised identities for athletes, in this paper we seek to expand upon the heterogeneity of athlete experiences relating to mobility by exploring real-world cases of transnational athletes and how their experiences fit into current sporting structures.DesignNarrative review and commentary.ResultsThree identity orientations that showcase transnational diversity are identified: postnational, intranational, and non-national. Key characteristics and challenges relating to these for athletes, coaches, and practitioners are exemplified and discussed.ConclusionTo enhance rapport and inclusivity, researchers and practitioners should not only consider experiences, perceptions, and constructed identities of postnational, intranational, and non-national athletes, but also seek to understand how these interact with or are influenced by environmental and structural factors.     

Integrating moral and achievement variables to predict doping likelihood in football: A cross-cultural investigation

ObjectivesIn our study, we had two objectives. Our first objective was to test a social-cognitive model of doping in sport. In this model, we examined moral variables (i.e., moral disengagement, moral identity, anticipated guilt) and performance motivational climate as predictors of doping likelihood and whether performance motivational climate moderates the relationship between moral disengagement and doping likelihood. The second objective was to determine whether this model is invariant across sex and country.DesignWe used a cross-sectional design.MethodParticipants were 1495 (729 females) elite football players (mean age 20.4 ± 4.4) recruited from 97 teams in the UK, Denmark and Greece. They completed questionnaires measuring the aforementioned variables.ResultsMoral disengagement positively predicted doping likelihood both directly and indirectly via anticipated guilt. The direct relationship was significant only when performance climate was perceived as average or high. Moral identity negatively predicted doping likelihood via both moral disengagement and anticipated guilt; and performance climate positively predicted doping likelihood. The model was largely invariant across sex and country.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that young elite football players in the UK, Denmark and Greece are less likely to use banned substances to enhance their performance, if they consider being moral an important part of who they are, and if they perceive a low performance climate in their team. Moral identity is likely to trigger feelings of guilt associated with the use of banned substances and to mobilize moral disengagement mechanisms. Our findings highlight the importance of moral variables in deterring the use of banned substances in sport.     

The transnational experience of sport psychology practitioners from training to practice

ObjectiveDespite a growing body of literature examining the migratory experiences of athletes, limited attention has been paid to the migratory experience of sport psychology practitioners (SPPs). This study explores SPPs’ experiences of transnational migration; specifically, for those who expatriated to receive their training and repatriated to begin their professional careers.DesignAdhering to consensual qualitative research methodology, we conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews.MethodsFollowing criterion-based sampling, we interviewed six female and four male SPPs who worked in academic (n = 3), applied (n = 3), and governmental (n = 4) environments. We used an analytical procedure encompassing concurrent deductive and inductive processes.ResultsParticipants described their motivations for expatriation and repatriation. They shared the challenges and benefits they faced throughout their transnational experience, recognizing the value that this experience brought to their lives. In most cases, SPPs shared how their training abroad became a professional advantage, once repatriated. They also described how the process of repatriation was more challenging than expected due to personal and professional difficulties.ConclusionsParticipants highlighted the positive influence that their transnational experience had in their personal and professional lives. Their transnational experience helped them grow personally and professionally, and provided them with professional advantages. However, our participants’ stories also highlighted systematic barriers that professional organizations could address to facilitate the transnational experience of practitioners, which would subsequently enhance the cultural growth of the field. Recommendations for professionals engaging in similar transnational experiences are discussed.     

Negotiating motherhood and athletic identity: A qualitative analysis of Olympic athlete mother representations in media narratives

ObjectivesAlthough a growing presence within sport, elite athlete mothers have minimal presence within sport psychology research, particularly within the context of sociocultural expectations concerning motherhood and sport. The purpose of this study was to extend this understanding by examining how news media constructed elite athlete identities of prominent athlete mothers during the 2012 Olympic year.DesignA qualitative approach grounded in critical cultural sport psychology (Schinke & McGannon, 2014) was used to explore motherhood and athletic identity as socio-cultural creations shaped by media and the potential psychological implications.MethodAn ethnographic content analysis (Altheide, 1996) of 80 stories from North American news media collected from January 27, 2011 to December 31, 2012surrounding 10 prominent US athlete mothers was conducted. Visual data analysis of 99 images and 4 videos accompanying were also analyzed to contextualized the textual meaning(s) (Altheide & Schneider, 2013).ResultsA central narrative within which identities were constructed was identified: motherhood and athletics as a transformative journey. The meaning(s) and implication(s) of this narrative emerged differently depending on how two athlete mother identities were constructed: 1. athlete and mother in conflict and 2. athlete mother as superwoman.ConclusionsThis study extends critical cultural sport psychology and qualitative literature exploring elite mother athletes and the implications for athletic career (dis)engagement.     

Addressing Cultural Factors in Development of System Interventions

SUMMARY

The purpose of this article is to address various issues concerning multicultural interventions at a system level. Diversity is presented through a different conceptual approach and specific implications for school psychological practice are addressed. In this theoretical context an alternative model of school psychological services that was developed in the Greek educational system is presented and a primary intervention program is described as a paradigm of multicultural system/community intervention. Finally, the components of a transnational approach to multicultural system/community interventions that provides the basic procedural guidelines to developing effective, culturally sensitive interventions in the school environment is proposed.     

Forced Retirement From Elite Football In Australia

Abstract

Retirement from sport poses a major socioemotional threat to elite athletes. The present study builds on a growing body of literature examining the vacuum created in an athlete's life after retirement. Grounded theory was used to construct how elite football players dealt with forced retirement owing to injury and deselection. Recursive in-depth interviews were conducted with 30 recently retired players who had competed at the highest level in Australian Rules football. The data were characterized by a rich array of personal reflections of loss and grief that reflected four themes: loss of identity, perceived control, financial issues, and social support. Interviewees typically told stories that were tinged with shock, regret, bitterness, distress, and perceived loss of status.     

What a difference a “Mentally Toughening” year makes: The acculturation of a rookie

ObjectivesThis study investigated how one subculture's norms, traditions, ideals, and imperatives influenced the attitudes, beliefs, emotions, and behaviours of a young athlete (Joe) as he moved from resistance to acculturation.DesignLongitudinal case study of one athlete in one specific sport subculture.MethodJoe took part in five open-ended in-depth interviews over a 14-month period to investigate his experiences as an elite athlete within an Australian football team. Joe's story was analysed through an acculturation-process lens and models on mental toughness, overtraining, and stress-recovery to evaluate the indoctrination of one athlete.FindingsDuring the initial interviews Joe resisted the subculture demands of the football club and tried to find success by maintaining his own beliefs. By the end of the 14-month study Joe had realised that to be successful in the club he needed to embrace the norms, traditions, ideals, and imperatives of the football culture. Joe gained acceptance at the club when he eventually internalised the hypermasculine subculture and ignored injury, played in pain, subjugated his interests for football, and viewed physical abuse as a positive and necessary part of the toughening process.ConclusionJoe's case study demonstrates that the subcultural ideals of mental toughness mean ignoring injury, playing in pain, denying emotion and vulnerability, and sacrificing individuality, which inevitably lead to stress/recovery imbalance and overtraining. In this subculture, demonstrating mental toughness is similar to a hypermasculine environment typified by slogans such as no-pain-no-gain and rest-is-for-the-dead where success is more important than individual wellbeing.     

Player quotas in elite club football

FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s recent attempt to resurrect the 6 + 5 quota for club football which limits the number of home-grown players to six is a protectionist measure at odds with global trends in free trade and freedom of movement. We remain unconvinced that his goals—to arrest the decline in the competitive quality and balance of international football, ensure greater investment in developing native talent and safeguarding national identity—are a problem or served well by such a regulation. We show that the impact of foreign players on national teams is mixed and restrictions are as likely to undermine the quality of national teams as much as they will improve them. Our moral case will show he is wrong to assert that elite club football’s prime agenda ought to be a nationalist one. We conclude that the primary threat to the integrity, competitive balance and cultural significance of football is not labour migration but misplaced financial imperatives that have an overriding impact on shaping football’s mode of production. The root cause for perverse labour practices, which may have a knock-on effect on the quality of some international teams, is due to the scale and uneven distribution of money. It is here, particularly with respect to the power of European ‘super-clubs’ that reform is needed most.     

Coping with the loan transition in professional association football

The present study generated a qualitative examination of male professional football players’ experiences of stress during the loan transition using the Demand Resources and Individual Effects (DRIVE) Model. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit participants (M age = 23; SD = 2.5) from various Premier League (n = 2), Championship (n = 8), and League (n = 1) clubs across the UK who have experienced a loan to another club. Guided by a critical realist philosophical orientation, semi-structured interviews were deductively developed based upon the DRIVE model to stimulate contextual discussion about the pre-transition resources (e.g. organizational support), perceived transition demands (e.g. performance pressure) and appraisals. Finally, players were asked to discuss their strategies for coping (e.g. situational coping) with loan demands and if they deemed this coping to be effective. Braun and Clarke’s (2013) thematic content analysis was utilised. Deductive thematic analysis was used to identify and evidence themes that were articulated in relation to the demands experienced, appraisals associated with such demands, and the coping strategies used to manage these demands. An inductive approach was used to code sub-themes from the data, on the basis of players’ specific experiences that had not yet been exemplified in the existing literature. This study presented loan transition demands (performance and organizational), contextual individual differences (situational coping, dispositional coping, and protective factors) and loan resources (transition preconditions and during loan) that may assist individuals’ performance and well-being. Practitioners would be advised to work with players on facilitating pre-transition resources and identify perceived demands they consider important to their transition process. Future research should seek to explore the loan transition within elite female football.