Transforming Sport

In this episode of Transforming Sport, I interview Sport and Leisure Cultures research group member Dr Mark Doidge about his research on refugee’s integration into sports clubs and wider communities.  An expert in the political and social role of football fans, Dr Doidge began volunteering his time with charities who work with refugees in Calais and in Brighton during the refugee ‘crisis’ of 2015. Here he discusses the importance of sport clubs as welcoming sites of sociality and integration of communities, both host and refugee, and how coaches can take an active role as brokers of sociality between sport club members. Dr Doidge has a recently published academic article in the International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics. He can be found on twitter at @markdoidge, and his other research is accessible via his University of Brighton staff profile page: https://research.brighton.ac.uk/en/persons/mark-doidge

In this Episode of Transforming Sport, Sport and Leisure Cultures research group member Sean Heath interviews Dr. James Wallis of University of Brighton about his research on athlete centered approaches to coaching, and coaching youth cricketers. An expert in pedagogy of physical education and coaching, Dr. Wallis has had to adapt his coaching techniques in unique ways during the COVID-19 lockdown. Here he discusses the importance of constraints based coaching methods and how these, combined with the knowledge of the individual characteristics of the practitioners, can shape healthier, more enjoyable, and more holistic coaching practices. Dr. Wallis has a forthcoming book on these topics which will be published in September 2020.

The video of Jim’s back garden cricket pitch constraints coaching setup can be found here: http://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/sasm/2020/05/01/sport-coaching-during-the-lockdown/

You can find more information on Jim’s research via his University of Brighton staff profile page: https://research.brighton.ac.uk/en/persons/james-wallis

This week I sat down with my fellow PhD Candidate Arthur Gaillard from the School of Sport and Service Management at the University of Brighton. His research focuses on the production of knowledge in the Sport for Development sector, trying to understand how the metrics for monitoring and evaluating these disparate developmental programs are created in the field, and how those are then translated and transformed by the various actors involved with these organizations. Our discussion centered around the changing landscape of face-to-face research during the COVID-19 global health pandemic, what effects this has had on his research, and how those within the SDP sector are adapting and innovating in this new pandemic environment.

Contacts for Arthur Gaillard:

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @mc_argailla

Research Profile: https://research.brighton.ac.uk/en/persons/arthur-gaillard

In this episode of Transforming Sport, Sport and Leisure Cultures research group member Dr Alex Channon interviews Dr Jack Sugden of Edge Hill University about his research on mixed martial arts (MMA) and men’s mental health.  An expert in sport development and management, Dr Sugden started training in MMA as part of a research project exploring the sport’s appeal to its practitioners.  Here he discusses the importance it holds in the lives of those who practice it, focusing specifically on the stories told by men about its value in helping them cope with various troubles of modern life.  Dr Sugden has recently written about this project on the academic blog site, The Conversation, and also has an academic article on the topic forthcoming for publication in the Sociology of Sport Journal.  

Jack Sugden can be found on twitter at @j_sugden, and his other research is accessible via his Edge Hill University staff profile page: https://research.edgehill.ac.uk/en/persons/jack-sugden.

In this inaugural episode of Transforming Sport, Sean Heath speaks with Sport and Leisure Cultures research group members, Dr. Thomas Carter, Dr. Dan Burdsey, and Dr. Mark Doidge about the broad field of social science research into sport. Drawing from their collectively edited book Transforming Sport: Knowledges, Practices, Structures our discussion centred around why sport matters and what transforming sport means in today’s volatile world. If we are the type of games we play, then we need to be looking at sport as a social catalyst while peeling back the veneer of sport as “inherently good” and looking at the social injustices that sport hides.

Thomas Carter

On Running and Becoming Human: An Anthropological Perspective

[email protected]

Daniel Burdsey

Racism and English Football: For Club and Country

[email protected]

Mark Doidge

Ultras: European Football Fandom in the Twenty First Century

[email protected]

@markdoidge

Although the Transforming Sport podcast is run by and features discussions with academic researchers, our intention is to discuss these kinds of issues in ways which appeal to listeners outside of academia. For listeners who want to engage with deeper theoretical questions, think critically about research methods and so on, we will provide links in each podcast to academic literature to help keep the conversation going. Thank you for listening to this introduction; we hope that your interest has been piqued, and invite you to continue listening.