The Great Sport Myth: Children's Nonelite Sport in New Zealand

Abstract

Drawing on a larger study of coaches, parents, and children involved in nonelite sport in New Zealand, this chapter examines Jay Coakley's (2021) concept of the “Great Sport Myth” (GSM), whereby a strong belief in the innate purity and goodness of sport produces a reluctance to criticize it. This chapter emphasizes the developmental outcomes that parents and children believe are gained through sport and demonstrates the ways that parents relinquish control to coaches and reinforce the dominance of the coach as the decision-maker through their belief in the strength of the GSM. These findings are significant, given the large number of abuse cases that have come to light in sport in recent decades where the absence of parental intervention is marked. Not only are children socialized by their time in sport, but so too are parents, who are taught that they are “good” parents if they trust the work of the coach. The findings are also at odds with a prevailing neoliberal emphasis on individualization, especially in education policy and practice, where parents are more likely to intervene to assert the individualized needs of their children. This study is unique in addressing the relatively neglected experiences of those who play at the competitive, but not serious or elite, end of sport.

Citation

Stojanovska, A., Kerr, R. and Ryan, G. (2023), "The Great Sport Myth: Children's Nonelite Sport in New Zealand", Ortiz, S.M. (Ed.) Family and Sport (Research in the Sociology of Sport, Vol. 19), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 11-24. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1476-285420230000019002