SPKN’s SIDELINE

Dr. JAY COAKLEY Award-winning Sport Sociologist, U. Colorado, Colorado Springs

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In this episode of Sideline, Meg and Dr. G welcome award-winning sport sociologist Dr. Jay Coakley,  Professor Emeritus (i.e., retired with achievement) at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Dr. Coakley is the author of the textbook Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies, which is thought to be the most widely used sport sociology book in the world. Jay provides insight on the top social issues in sports and how this changes the industry for all types of sport workers, and American culture as a whole.

Dr. Coakley

  • -explains some of the systemic and community-based programs that are affected by socioeconomic status and implicit biases.
  • - focuses on lifelong fitness and physical literacy, parents as “creators” of athletes, and fun vs. winning in sports.
  • - provides wisdom on sports sociology, access to sport, and where parents fit into the sport industry. We often hear that sport builds character, but does it also build developmentally challenged athletes?
  • - shares a lot of great insight and tips on how to develop youth in sport and the role coaches, parents, and leagues or clubs can play in youth development.
  • - tells an anecdote that Olympic champion Simone Biles had never done a load of wash by age 20 and how sport impeded some aspects of her development. No big deal perhaps for an Olympic champion, but what about the 99.9% of other youth that need to learn numerous life skills?

    • Jay concludes with a story, about being coached by Joe B. Hall, who would go on to become a NCAA Division I national champion coach at the University of Kentucky. 

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    TIPS & TOPICS

    • Lifetime fitness and physical literacy
  • Play vs. competition
  • Personal troubles vs. social issues
  • Sociological forces as influences to make positive changes
  • Lack of access to sport opportunities in certain communities
  • Increasing obesity rates as related to sport access
  • Community sport inventory: What are the community’s resources for sport access?
  • Youth sport entrepreneurs
  • Power dynamics
  • Reverse welfare
  • Sports as connected to larger media influences and big media contracts
  • Parental moral worth
  • “Prolympic” sports
  • Child safety and perceived risks
  • Micromanaging and parenting
  • Youth sport specialization
  • Life skill and psychosocial development in sport
  • How about a multiple-sport youth club instead of a single-sport youth specialization club?
  • Optimizing well-rounded sport and cultural experiences
  • How sports produces an emotional roller coaster for youth
  • Pain and injury in sport
  • Control & command model of coaching
  • Communicating and sharing a vision
  • Meeting with youth sport parents
  • Sport practices for fun and not “drill’em and fill’em”

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    SPKN’s SIDELINEBy SPKN Media