Fathering Through Sport and Leisure

306 Pages·2009·1.87 MB·English

by  Tess Kay

Fathering through Sport
and Leisure
Today’s fathers are responding to new expectations about fathering: the
remote father of the past has faded and men are now expected to be
‘involved’ fathers who actively engage with their children. Most turn to leis-
ure and sport to do this, yet in the areas of family studies and men’s studies,
the leisure component of family life is under-played. This book provides a
long overdue and thorough investigation of the relationship between father-
hood, sport, and leisure.
Fathering through Sport and Leisure investigates what fathers actually do
in the time they spend with their children. Leading researchers from the
fields of sport, leisure and family studies examine the tensions men
encounter as they endeavour to meet the new expectations of fatherhood,
and the central role that sport and leisure play in overcoming this. Analysed
in relation to social trends and current policy debates, this unique collection
examines fathering in a wide range of contexts including:
(cid:127) Parental expectation and youth sports
(cid:127) Fathers and daughters
(cid:127) Leisure time and couple time in dual earner families
(cid:127) Divorce, fatherhood and leisure.

This book shows how contemporary fathers use sport and leisure to engage
with their sons and daughters, achieve emotional closeness and fulfil their
own expectations of what it means to be a ‘good father’. Drawing on research
carried out in the UK, Australia, Canada and the United States, this is a
crucial text for anybody with an interest in sport and leisure studies, family
studies or fatherhood.
Tess Kay is Senior Research Fellow and Deputy Director of the Institute of
Youth Sport at Loughborough University, one of the largest research centres
dedicated to the study of young people, sport and leisure.

Fathering through Sport
and Leisure
Edited by Tess Kay
First published 2009
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2009.
To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.
© 2009 selection and editorial material, Tess Kay; individual chapters,
the contributors
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fathering through sport and leisure / edited by Tess Kay.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Fatherhood. 2. Father and child. 3. Leisure. 4. Sports.
I. Kay, Tess.
HQ756.F38247 2009
306.874′201—dc22 2009000196
ISBN 0-203-89070-1 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN13: 978–0–415–43868–1 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–43870–4 (pbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–203–89070–7 (ebk)
ISBN10: 0–415–43868–3 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0–415–43870–5 (pbk)
ISBN10: 0–203–89070–1 (ebk)
This book is dedicated to the affectionate memory of
Sue Glyptis
1953–1997

Contents
List of figures ix
List of tables x
List of boxes xi
Acknowledgements xii
Notes on contributors xiv
Introduction: fathering through sport and leisure 1
1 The landscape of fathering 7
TESS KAY
2 ‘Until the ball glows in the twilight’: fatherhood, baseball,
and the game of playing catch 23
RALPH LAROSSA
3 The good father: parental expectations and
youth sports 40
JAY COAKLEY

4 Sport mad, good dads: Australian fathering through leisure
and sport practices 51
MAUREEN HARRINGTON
5 Fatherhood, the morality of personal time and
leisure-based parenting 73
LIZ SUCH
6 With one eye on the clock: non-resident dads’ time use,
work and leisure with their children 88
JOHN JENKINS
viii Contents
7 Fathers and sons: being ‘Father Angel’ 106
TESS KAY
8 Fathers and daughters: negotiating gendered relationships
in sport 124
NICOLE WILLMS
9 Divorce and recreation: non-resident fathers’ leisure
during parenting time with their children 145
ALISHA T. SWINTON, PATTI A. FREEMAN AND RAMON B. ZABRISKIE
10 Traditional marriages, non-traditional leisure: leisure and
fathering in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 164
PATTI A. FREEMAN, BIRGITTA BAKER AND RAMON B. ZABRISKIE
11 Rising to the challenge: fathers’ roles in the negotiation of
couple time 183
VERA DYCK AND KERRY DALY
12 Where are the kids? Researching fathering, sport and
leisure through children’s voices 200
RUTH JEANES
13 Reaching out: widening research into fathering, sport
and leisure 215
TESS KAY
Endnote 252
References 255
Index 283
Figures
5.1 Traditional family, employment and leisure life trajectories
and transitions 79
9.1 Core and Balance Model of Family Leisure Functioning 148