Training-research paths to support a developing professional identity: youth soccer sector coaches

Nowadays social background is characterized by some phenomena such as fragmentation, shakiness, flexibility and globalization (Sennet, 1999, Bauman, 2002). In this context even sport organizations under go deep changes, as any kind of organizations. They are characterized by an increasing complexity. The research works that we are carring out in the Italian context, but also some international literatures (Cassidy, Jones, Potrac, 2004), point out the central role of coaches in sport organizations, especially in youth sport context. Coaches are deeply involved in a complex net of relationships (children, parents, club manager), in which everyone has different motivations; they work in a situation of ongoing tension between performance requirements and educational demands. For these reasons the coach professional figure seems be passing through a crucial period of crisis and changing his mind about his role, his efforts and the resources of his own professional profile. This paper analyses a temporary training - research organization which uses the ideas of learning with people, focusing and sharing problems (Gozzoli, Gorli, D’Angelo, FEPSAC 2007) in order to support a developing professional identity. Approximately 60 soccer youth sector coaches attended three training-research devices characterized by the same aims: a) knowing closely youth sector coaches’ practices, professional efforts and capabilities ; b) developing a challenging process and a professional development, throught a more complex representations of problems and throught interchange between participants. Ten work sessions and group discussions, participants’ products and interviews have been conducted. Analysis of the results has been made with the help of Atlas.it software in order to grasp the challenging process of coaches’ representations and feelings relating to their professional role and identity.