Understanding the actions and behaviours of others during organizational change in professional youth football

This paper examines the experiences of an academy coach in a professional football club during a period of organisational and managerial change. Data were collected through a number of in-depth, semi-structured interviews before being subject to a process of inductive analysis. Keltchermans’ (1993) micro-political work around the notion of ‘the professional self’ was used as a theoretical framework to make sense of Ian’s actions and experiences during this process of change. The findings highlight the importance for coaches to develop a level of ‘micro-political literacy’ during such periods of ambiguity and change in an environment characterized by complexity and hidden agendas. Furthermore, it is proposed that the ability to develop an understanding of micro-politics should be included in formal coach education programmes to better prepare coaches for the realities of the coaching practice.