Coaches Can Read, Too

Establishing the territory:             In the piece, “Coaches Can Read, Too: An Ethnographic Study of a Football Coaching Discourse Community,” Sean Branick discusses football coaches as a discourse community.  He speaks extensively of the qualities that make a good coach, and the behind the scenes efforts that make coaching effective.  The author feels that coaching is an important, noble profession and structures the analysis and commentary on the subject to reflect this.  Among his main points is the idea that coaches, in various ways, are very literate, despite the jock stereotype.  In addition, the act of coaching is in itself a very specialized literacy all it’s own.  It takes a great deal of strategy and skill to get a team motivated and ready to play at their full potential. 

Establishing the Niche:                  The author discusses the amount of strategy and preparation that a coach must put in from the first day of practice, all the way to game day.  A coach must be a teacher and a motivator, as well as a friend.  This is a very specialized practice, from little league all the way to the pros.

Occupying the Niche:                     The coach must not only possess all of the attributes necessary, but he must be able to effectively communicate his goals to the team.  He not only must have knowledge of the game and of the characteristics of the team, he must be able to perform along with the team on gameday.