The Individual and the Group in an Athletic Club a Study of Aspiration and Social Interaction in a Voluntary Institution in Southampton
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THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE GROUP IN AN ATHLETIC CLUB A STUDY OF ASPIRATION AND SOCIAL INTERACTION IN A VOLUNTARY INSTITUTION IN SOUTHAMPTON. Michael P eter Jackson. Master of Philosophy School of O riental and African Studies. ProQuest Number: 10731669 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10731669 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study has undoubtedly been very difficult. Sport Sociology in this country is a relatively untapped source of research. As a result I had few experts to turn to for advice and few published works to consult. The stimulating ideas and theories of my supervisor, Dr. Paul Spencer have provided tremendous support during the past two years. His systematic approach helped me to assess much of my data in varying forms and his assistance with the Network Theory and Statistics was invaluable. Through his advice I managed to operate a continuous process of ’writing up’ during my period of fieldwork, whilst at the same time managed to categorise major changes and developments. I would like to thank all those athletes and coaches inside and outside S.E.A.C. who provided me not only with information but constructive criticism and useful ideas also. Some of the sociological perspectives contained in this thesis were provided not by me but by the informants themselves. I appreciate also the S.E.A.C. Committee who allowed me to observe their meetings during the course of 1978-79, and especially the Chairman, Mike Smith, who gave me the initial permission to carry out my fieldwork. Last, but by no means le a s t, I would lik e to thank Mrs. I r i s Docherty for her efforts and patience in typing out the final draft. i. Michael Peter Jackson The Individual and the Group in an Athletic Club: A Study of Aspiration and Social Interaction In a Voluntary Institution in Southampton. The thesis studies the internal structure of an athletic club - Southampton and Eastleigh A.C. in both its training and competitive environment. The most important sociological field occurs in the training situation. From an individual point of view consideration is given to aspiration and dedication and also athletical career profiles. The role of the physical being is also considered in its sociological as well as sporting context. After analysis of the individual athlete, interaction patterns with others are studied; with the coach and training partners especially. This introduces the notion of the training ’squad'. The squad is probably the most important sub-grouping studied at the Club. Its structure does not necessarily cater for the different event types within Track and Field Athletics. It is a non-corporate entity and can cross club boundaries. In most cases it has a 'leader' who is the coach. By using network theory, interaction levels within squads can be determined and from this can be ascertained the structure of the sub-group. I used Bott's terms of 'loose' and 'close' knit to classify the particular training systems. Like her I found that norms helped determine the strength of knit. Norm organisation and observation within small groups was a central study of Homans and I utilised some of his theories when categorising the squads at S.E.A.C. The role of the coach as 'leader' became another central issue and I argued that his influence was very relevant to close-knit typologies. As well as the internal workings of squads consideration was also given to political relationships which often governed the interaction between these entities. The theme of 'quasi-factionalism' was introduced here. Aspects more directly associated with the corporate group itself were also analysed: The 'Team' - as a regularly changing sub-group (unlike the squad), the 'Meeting', competitive cycles of the Club, the 'Track* and other train in g environments. IX CONTENTS INTRODUCTION • 1 The Andreski Model 1 The Fieldwork Situation 16 The Role of Network Theory 20 Section A. The Athlete 24 The A th le te's Mind 25 S uperstition and Competition 32 The A th le te's Body 39 Pain 39 In j ury 41 The Body as a Form of Expression 49 The Seasonal Cycle of the Individual 52 The Athlete's Year 52 Career Crisis and the Individual , 55 Age and A bility 61 Section B. The Coach and His Squad 65 1. Identity 66 2. Authority 74 The Coach Considered as Squad Leader, v ia Weber 74 via Homans 81 3. Organisation 84 Close-Knit Squad Norms 1) In tern a l 90 2) External 91 a) Close-Knit Squads at S.E.A.C. - The Tabor Squad 91 Eddie's Half-Milers 94 The Tabor Squad as an Out-Group 97 The Smith Squad 99 In tern a l Norms 101 Fringe Members of the Squad 103 The Primary Unit 104 The Secondary Unit 108 The Tertiary Unit 109 Ill Non Sprinters Within Mike's Squad 110 Hurdles 111 Jumpers . 113 Middle Distance 114 Mike Smith's Network 119 The Sutton Squad 120 The Shot Squad 122 b) Loose-Knit Organisation 128 The Young A thlete Squad 129 The Gordon Foucon Squad 132 The Fern Squad 135 Tony Fern as'Coach1 135 The Cross Country Fraternity 137 Problems in Creating Close-Knit Identity 139 Tony as the Centre of the Middle-Distance Network 140 The Loose-Knit Nature of the Fern Squad 142 The Individuality of Middle-Distance 145 c) Norms 148 In te rn a l Norm V iolation - The Smith Squad 149 The Sutton Squad 152 External Norm Violation 152 Norms Without a Coach in Close-Knit Organisation 155 d) Classification of 'Types of Squad' Using the Andreski Model 156 4. The Role of the Squad as a Non Group 161 Factionalism 164 A Case Study of Squads Taking on Factional Identity at S.E.A.C. 166 The Women's Team Captain Controversy 166 Section C. The Club 172 1. The Track: Environment, Identity and the T e rrito ria l Aspects of Training Venues 173 Environment and the Club as a Whole 173 Environment and Club Sub-Groups 175 The Notion of Territory 175 Pitches 177 The Trip to Calvados 180 iv 2) The Team 185 3) The Meeting - Types of Meeting 196 4) The Seasonal Cycle of the Club 204 The Track Season 206 The Women 206 The Men 210 League and Divisional Stability 214 The Self Fulfilling Prophecy 214 CONCLUSION 223 APPENDICES 228 Appendix 1. Career Crisis and the Individual 229 Appendix 2. Organisation and Administration of an A thletic Club 251 Appendix 3. A Case Study of Committee Intrigue at S.E.A.C. 263 Appendix 4. Event Specific Squads Outside S.E.A.C. 276 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Close and Loose-Knit Squads at S.E.A.C. 85 Table 2. Analysis of Cluster Formation (training unit density) within a Partial Network - The Tabor Squad 89 Table 3. Training Unit Personnel - The Tabor Squad 89(a) Table 4. A Comparison Between the Session Densities of Winter and Summer Training - The Smith Squad, Primary Unit 106 Table 5. Training Unit Organisation at Monday Weight Sessions, Winter 1978-79 - The Brees Squad 115 Table 6. Changes in League Position of Athletic Clubs (British Athletic League 1973-1978) 215 1. INTRODUCTION The Andreski Model In his 'Military Organisation and Society' (1954), Andreski uses a three dimensional model to categorise different military systems. 'By modelling a system of classification the result is that nearly all concepts describing structural varieties must be what Max Weber calls 'ideal types': that is to say, extreme pure types, the logical extremes of possible continuous variations which are almost never found in reality without some admixture of traits logically belonging to another ideal type'. The classifications Andreski arrives at, combine three criteria which he stresses are chosen solely because of their sociological significance, 'obviously many other classifications on different bases say, according to ta c tic s or weapons employed are p o ssib le 1. The three classifications he uses are: 1) M.P.R. - Military Proportion Ratio, i.e. the proportions of people in a society engaged in military activity. ii) The degree of subordination in the system, iii) The degree of cohesion. In his model these criteria vary from high to low, e.g. there may be armies highly subordinate to their leader or there might be 'warriors republics'. There might be a closely-knit, tightly organised unit or else a very loose one. An army might still be cohesive despite widespread geographical locations such as the British Array in Germany or Hong Kong. On the other hand, physical closeness does not necessarily produce organisational cohesion - the Tallensi live in close proximity but are very uncohesive. Subordination implies cohesion but not vice versa, as a group might be highly organised on egalitarian, non-hierarchic lines - for example the Spartan homoioi. Using his three classifications Andreski designates high M.P.R. by *M' and low M.P.R. by 'raf , high subordination by v S a n d low by ' s ' , 2.