Professionals, amateurs and performance : sports coaching in England, 1789-1914

309 Pages·2012·13.68 MB·English

by  Day

S P O R T , H I S T O R Y A N D C U L T U R E
While the relationship between amateurism and sport is well docu-
mented, the impact of this ethos on the professional coaches and
trainers who directed and supported elite sporting performance has
been entirely overlooked. This book explores the foundations of coach-
ing and training practices and chronicles how traditional approaches D
a
to performance preparation evolved during the nineteenth century. v
e
Drawing on primary material to uncover the life courses of coaches and D
a
their families, the author argues that approaches to coaching replicated y

the traditional craft approach to skilled work. The advent of centralized, •

amateur-controlled governing bodies of sport created a significant shift P
r
o
in the coaching environment for professional coaches, meaning that f
e
individuals had to adapt to the master–servant relationship preferred by ss
i
o
the middle classes. Cultural differences in the value accorded to coaching n
a
also contributed to a decline in the competitiveness of British athletes l
s
,
in the international arena. The author concludes by arguing that despite A
m
scientific advances, Edwardian coaching practices remained reliant on a
t
long-established training principles and that coaching practices in any e
u
r
period are inevitably an amalgamation of both tradition and innovation. s
a Professionals, Amateurs
n
d
P
e and Performance
r
f
o
r
m
a
Dave Day is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Exercise and Sports n
c
Science at Manchester Metropolitan University where his work focuses e Sports Coaching in England, 1789–1914
on the historical development of coaching and training practices as well
as the lives of those individuals who acted as coaches and trainers.
Dave Day
ISBN 978-3-0343-0824-3
www.peterlang.com
Peter Lang
S P O R T , H I S T O R Y A N D C U L T U R E
While the relationship between amateurism and sport is well docu-
mented, the impact of this ethos on the professional coaches and
trainers who directed and supported elite sporting performance has
been entirely overlooked. This book explores the foundations of coach-
ing and training practices and chronicles how traditional approaches D
a
to performance preparation evolved during the nineteenth century. v
e
Drawing on primary material to uncover the life courses of coaches and D
a
their families, the author argues that approaches to coaching replicated y

the traditional craft approach to skilled work. The advent of centralized, •

amateur-controlled governing bodies of sport created a significant shift P
r
o
in the coaching environment for professional coaches, meaning that f
e
individuals had to adapt to the master–servant relationship preferred by ss
i
o
the middle classes. Cultural differences in the value accorded to coaching n
a
also contributed to a decline in the competitiveness of British athletes l
s
,
in the international arena. The author concludes by arguing that despite A
m
scientific advances, Edwardian coaching practices remained reliant on a
t
long-established training principles and that coaching practices in any e
u
r
period are inevitably an amalgamation of both tradition and innovation. s
a Professionals, Amateurs
n
d
P
e and Performance
r
f
o
r
m
a
Dave Day is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Exercise and Sports n
c
Science at Manchester Metropolitan University where his work focuses e Sports Coaching in England, 1789–1914
on the historical development of coaching and training practices as well
as the lives of those individuals who acted as coaches and trainers.
Dave Day
ISBN 978-3-0343-0824-3
www.peterlang.com
Peter Lang
Professionals, Amateurs
and Performance
Sport, History and Culture
Edited by
Professor Richard Holt
Professor Matthew Taylor
International Centre for Sports History and Culture
De Montfort University, Leicester
Vol. 3
PETER LANG
Oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Wien
Professionals, Amateurs
and Performance
Sports Coaching in England,
1789 –1914
Dave Day
PETER LANG
Oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Wien
Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche
National bibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at
http://dnb.d-nb.de.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Day, David, 1949-
Professionals, amateurs and performance : sports coaching in England,
1789-1914 / Dave Day.
p. cm. -- (Sports, history and culture 3)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-3-0343-0824-3 (alk. paper)
1. Coaching (Athletics)--England--History. 2. Coaches
(Athletics(--England--History. I. Title.
GV711.D38 2012
796.07’70941--dc23
2012031009
Cover picture: 1908 and 1912 British Olympic team swimming trainer
Walter Brickett with swimmer Belle White (reproduced courtesy of the
Brickett family papers)
ISSN 1664-1906
ISBN 978-3-0343-0824-3 (print)
ISBN 978-3-0353-0371-1 (eBook)
© Peter Lang AG, International Academic Publishers, Bern 2012
Hochfeldstrasse 32, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
[email protected], www.peterlang.com, www.peterlang.net
All rights reserved.
All parts of this publication are protected by copyright.
Any utilisation outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without
the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution.
This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming,
and storage and processing in electronic retrieval systems.
Printed in Germany
Frontispiece: 1908 and 1912 British Olympic team swimming trainer Walter Brickett
with swimmer Belle White (reproduced courtesy of the Brickett family papers)

Contents
Introduction 1
Chapter 1
Coaching and Training in the Eighteenth Century 17
Chapter 2
A Changing Environment: Amateurism and Coaching Practice 55
Chapter 3
Coaching Communities and ‘Know-How’ 85
Chapter 4
‘Science’, ‘Pluck’ and ‘Wind’: Training the Athlete 113
Chapter 5
Steaks, Stout and Stimulants: Fuelling the Athlete 143
Chapter 6
The International Dimension 173
Chapter 7
‘A Won derfully Fast Stroke…But Too Exhausting’:
Coaching and Competitive Swimming 209
Chapter 8
Coaching Lives: Continuity and Change 249
viii
Sources and Bibliography 267
Index 291