Blog

The blogs have connected with a great number of subjects and morphed through different styles, on top of which have been differing degrees of academic evidence.The post that I wanted to write but could not regarded the use of the term philosophy when related to football coaching and management. What is it that coaches are talking about when they talk about philosophy? Do the majority of coaches posses a deep enough comprehension of philosophy to be able to build their own? Indeed, did I possess enough knowledge of philosophy to sufficiently write the article? I had written a coaching philosophy but I knew that what I had written did not really sit within the philosophical realms. Though it was built on logic, knowledge (epistemology), metaphysics (ontology) and value (axiology) these were limited to merely my own self and football. The bigger questions were not being answered. True meaning not being derived.

Here Jurgen Klopp talks about his philosophy.

Here Luis van Gaal speaks about his football philosophy.

While here a less famed coach (Dan Weber) talks about his philosophy (this video is quite long so you may only want to take in a brief flavour).

There may be traces of epistemology, ontology and axiology in their discourse but what they are really talking about when they talk about philosophy is a set of beliefs, anecdotes and preferences, these may have emerged from many years of experience but there is no evidence of the true depth required for genuine philosophy. It would seem that the terminology was latched on to because it had an air of sophistication otherwise absent from discussions about something as trivial as football. They are not alone. Most instance of coaching philosophy appears as:

A system of ideas, beliefs, values, commitments, patterns of thought and social practice, ideology operates between individuals and structures dialectically to reproduce and maintain social characteristics. (Devis-Devis, 2006)

As previously mentioned I have written a coaching philosophy for my grassroots club (I have also played a role in the development of one in a professional capacity). This was my set of beliefs my manifesto. It may say “coaching philosophy” at the top of the page but at heart I know that is not what it truly is, because it is mine alone, my collection and amalgamation of perceived truths.

The individual coach alone is an inadequate unit of analysis to understand coaching, and the ideology of coaching philosophy results in the true meaning of ‘philosophy’ and the connections with social structure being overlooked. (Cushion and Partington 2014)

I would like to believe that my beliefs and ideologies are rooted in knowledge, reality and relevant criteria this needs to be critically examined. With what context do I operate?

Two distinct types of coaching context have been identified in the youth sport coaching literature: performance coaching and participative coaching (Côté, Young, North, & Duffy, 2007; Lyle, 1999)

The Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) differentiates between community and competitive coaching contexts. (Sullivan et 2012)

(Greater depth and detail of these contextual ideas is available in the literature)

By including and understanding this a coaching philosophy with the truest respect to the term philosophy might be possible.

Yet… and yet…

Philosophy is still so much more. Society goes beyond a micro context. A small club in one particular part of a country. In his book Brilliant Orange David Winner delves deep inside Dutch culture. He explores their history and character, identifying the ways in which this has effected their football in a manner in which the England DNA has not. Philosophy must be about who we are, our history, not just who want to be.

I hope that this article has provided many discussion points for all of us. There are many more areas to explore (and which I cut for the sake of relative brevity) and I hope to engage in a dialogue with you!