The production of coaching: A critical examination of space, mobility and the accomplishment of coaching

Despite the growing body of coaching literature that has illuminated the ‘relational’ picture of coaching, the spatial and temporal dimensions of coaching have often been overlooked. Inspired by Henri Lefebvre’s (1991, 2004) writings of ‘The Production of Space’ and ‘Rhythmanalysis’, the aim of this doctoral thesis project was to critically examine the production of everyday ‘space(s)’ in coaching. Following an ethnographic design, the precise research methods included participant observation, informal conversation, semi-structured interview, and the use of visual methods (i.e., researcher-driven photography and ‘auto-photography’). The findings used ‘rhythmanalysis’ as an analytic tool to de-construct mundane coaching practices by illuminating the dialectic of the temporalised space(s) and the localised (or what can be labelled as ‘living’) time. Of particular interest, then, was paid to the member’s bodily practice of embodiment and vision, which acted as essential constituents of re-producing and materialising the space-time. In turn, the analytic lens also stretched to how the everyday rhythms were dictated by the dominant group (coaches), while also illustrating in what ways those under the control (athletes) subtly displayed agency ‘over’ the space-time. The research findings represent the production of dominant material realities of coaching (i.e., spatiality and temporality) are ‘inseparable’ from the human mental (epistemological) practices, revealing the irreducible relation between space, time, and human bodily practices. From this perspective, it is hoped the thesis contributes to the theoretical breadth and critical analysis of the everyday ‘practical’ realities of coaching.