Athlete Learning in Elite Sport

<p>Elite athletes lead a particular way of life, which creates significant learning and shapes their selves. This is the first sociological-pedagogical text to conceptualise athlete learning in elite sport and across athletic careers. It outlines theories of learning and argues for a cultural perspective capturing contextual influence, temporal changes, individual dispositions, and subjectivity. </p><p></p><p>Presented in three parts—landscaping elite sport and theorising athlete learning; showcasing athletes’ learning in elite sport; and informing research and practice—the book features nine international, multi-contextual, and multi-experience case studies of athlete careers, experiences, and learning across individual and team sports such as boxing, rugby, basketball, hockey, and gymnastics. </p><p></p><p>This is fascinating reading for students, researchers, and practitioners in sport organisations, sports coaching, coach education, and sport sociology and pedagogy.</p> <p>Introduction, <b>Part I: Landscaping Elite Sport and Theorising Athlete Learning, 1. </b>Contemporary Elite Sport Landscape, 2. Existing Theories of Learning, 3. Cultural Perspective of Learning, <strong>Part II: Showcasing Athletes’ Learning in Elite Sport, </strong> 4.<strong> </strong>Maintaining a dual career horizon in women’s artistic gymnastics: A case of a female gymnast, 5. Learning through boxing: A case of a male boxer, 6. Learning through a semi-professional career and deselection: A case of a male ice hockey player, 7. Career learning in youth elite biathlon: A case of a male biathlete, 8. Learning through rugby, migration and a professional career: A case of a male rugby player, 9. Aging in professional sport: A case of a professional male basketball player, 10. The implications of sport attire and culture on Muslim women’s participation in elite boxing: A case of a female boxer, 11. The experience of an international female rugby player, 12. An auto-ethnographic account of one athlete’s journey to reconciling gender diversity through elite boxing: A case of a gender non-binary boxer, <strong>Part III: Informing Research and Practice, </strong>13. Insights and Implications for Research and Practice, 14. Final Reflections</p>