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 yet meaningful work. He then transitioned from a teacher to a researcher to explore those athletes’ developmental pathways who come from these communities.
Part 1 here:
Athletes’ careers have been studied for several decades, but the participants in these studies have typically been athletes with privileged backgrounds. Fairly little is known about those athletes who come from underserved communities and whose formative years have been accompanied by violence, poverty and instability.
Rob and his supervisory team have recently published two articles that we drew on in our conversation.
Oatmeal is better than no meal: the career pathways of African American male professional athletes from underserved communities in the United States (co-authored with Kristoffer Henriksen and Natalia Stambulova) explored career pathways to athletic excellence in athletes with low socioeconomic background. The participants were 10 African-American, professional male athletes.
Sink or swim: career narratives of two African American athletes from underserved communities in the United States (also co-authored with Kristoffer Henriksen and Natalia Stambulova) conducted an in-depth narrative analysis on the stories of two athletes from underserved communities, showcasing “a sink or swim” narrative that gave meaning to these athletes experiences.
And Part 2 here:
You can find out about Rob’s other work at his University of Southern Denmark staff page. And remember to follow him on Twitter @book_rob.