Dr Francesca Champ: Working with Talented Youth Athletes in a Football Academy

Working as an applied sport psychology practitioner in professional football is a challenging task. Dr Francesca Champ shared her stories from working as a practitioner-researcher and how she has found ways to support youth players in developing a broader identity not exclusively tied to sporting success. In the UK and elsewhere, becoming a professional footballerContinue reading “Dr Francesca Champ: Working with Talented Youth Athletes in a Football Academy”

The ‘healthy minded’ and ‘sick souls’ in Sport?

I’ve recently gone back to reading William James, the American philosopher and psychologist whose classic work The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902) I first encountered when exploring the spiritual dimension of running in my Master’s thesis 10 years ago. That time my interest was on considering how the sacred or transcendent dimension might manifest inContinue reading “The ‘healthy minded’ and ‘sick souls’ in Sport?”

Dr Sandra Meeuwsen: Understanding the Crisis of Modern Sport by Using Philosophical Archaeology

Dr Sandra Meeuwsen’s PhD dissertation in philosophy of sport excavated into the roots of the paradoxical face of modern sport. She shared the key philosophical ideas and findings in her work in the Meaningful Sport podcast. Modern sport has an increasingly contradictory face. On the one hand, its contribution to health, well-being, character development, solidarity,Continue reading “Dr Sandra Meeuwsen: Understanding the Crisis of Modern Sport by Using Philosophical Archaeology”

Some reflections on QRSE early-career researcher keynote

I was really honoured to give a keynote talk on the Meaningful Sport project at the Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise (QRSE) early career researcher & student conference last week. It was certainly not easy to narrow down what I wanted to say in 30 minutes. Doing the podcasting in the past year, IContinue reading “Some reflections on QRSE early-career researcher keynote”

Prof. Øyvind Standal: Phenomenology, ‘Deep and ‘Shallow’, and Meaning in Physical Education

Professor Øyvind Standal has written extensively about phenomenology, skills, habits, embodiment and meaning in physical education. He shared his insights in the Meaningful Sport podcast. Part 1 here: Meaning has been a core concept for physical educators for a very long time, and often explored through a phenomenological perspective. In the first part of our conversation,Continue reading “Prof. Øyvind Standal: Phenomenology, ‘Deep and ‘Shallow’, and Meaning in Physical Education”

Prof. Kitrina Douglas: What can Narrative Theory tell us about Meaning in Sport?

I had the honor to interview Prof. Kitrina Douglas – whose work has inspired me throughout my academic life – on her work on narrative identity in sport. Part 1 here: Kitrina played professional golf for a long time before becoming a researcher, and her autoethnographic work demonstrates how she felt completely disconnected from theContinue reading “Prof. Kitrina Douglas: What can Narrative Theory tell us about Meaning in Sport?”

Dr Simon Cook: Meanings of Run-Commuting as a Mobile Practice

I had the pleasure to interview Dr Simon Cook on his PhD work which explored – as a first study of its kind – “Run-Commuting” as a mobile practice. It is a term coined by Simon and means using running as a transport to move from home to work. Did you ever try run-commuting? I’veContinue reading “Dr Simon Cook: Meanings of Run-Commuting as a Mobile Practice”

Prof John Kaag: Is running a way to flee the absurdity of human existence?

How can existential philosophy, especially the works of Albert Camus, help us understand how we slip from running as a life-affirming activity to running as an obsession? Professor John Kaag visited the podcast and shared some thought provoking ideas on how existentialism can inform how we live our sport-lives. In the American Scholar, professor JohnContinue reading “Prof John Kaag: Is running a way to flee the absurdity of human existence?”

Rob Book: What do we know about career pathways of athletes from underserved communities?

I was honoured to interview and learn from Rob Book, a PhD candidate at the University of Southern Denmark, about the stories of athletes who come from underserved communities. Rob worked as a physical education teacher and coach in one of the most challenging school districts in the United States, engaging in highly stressful yetContinue reading “Rob Book: What do we know about career pathways of athletes from underserved communities?”

Why I am glad I had to ski as a child

We’ve had an exceptional winter in Finland with a lot of snow even in the Southern part of the country. I have been doing more cross-country skiing than in years and it has been the highlight of the past two months, especially with the restricted life under COVID. Also, I’ve heard about the many waysContinue reading “Why I am glad I had to ski as a child”