Adolescents and
Soccer: Where
Masculinity is at Play
Rodrigo Aguirre , Francisco Aguayo,
Juan José Perez
September 2003
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(In) This Presentation:
• Theoretical Basis
• Global PAHO Project
• CIDE Project
• Intervention Model
• Coach´s Guide
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Health and Developmental
challenges in adolescents
• Understanding masculinity as a social
construct.
• It is necesary to go beyond risky behavior
and intervene in the process of identity
building
• It is necesary to go where adolescents
are and become men (i.e: the soccer
field)
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Masculinity: a social construct
• Men ¨built¨ themselves in relation with and
as opposite to women and present
themselves as ¨men¨ in front of other men
• They confront mandates, transitions and
behavior patterns that ¨build¨them as men
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Basis for Intervention though
Soccer:
•
In LA there is still a ¨traditional¨ and
hegemonic model of masculinity and it has
some fissures that allow psycho-social
intervention
•
Most of these mandates, transitions and
behaviors associated with masculinity
building are present in the soccer field
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Basis for Intervention through
Soccer:
• Belonging to the ¨Soccer world¨ is seen as a
transition from the mother to the father
• The ¨fissures¨ in the traditional masculinity concept
are easily expressed and allow direct intervention
• Sports are particularly relevant for the young,
specially Soccer (in LA). It allows for the
development of the body and the building of the
character with it’s manly characteristics
(agressiveness and defensiveness, speed,
resistance, shrewdness and others)
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Basis for Intervention through
Soccer:
• The Soccer field and Club: the community has
legitimated soccer in it’s capacity for educating and
evaluating masculinity
• The soccer club promotes the transmission of manly
identities through generations (¨my father and
uncle¨s also belonged to the club¨)
• The key person is the COACH. He is the one who
defines and regulates the activation and mandates of
masculinity in the soccer field.
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Global PAHO Project
The project “Adolescents and Soccer: where
masculinity is at play¨ is part of the WHO
initiative to promote health and
development in male adolescents and to
promote gender equity.
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Global PAHO Project: 3 Phases
I.
Development of a manual and validation
II.
Adaptation in five selected countries of the
Region
III.
Scale-up
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PAHO – CIDE Project
General Objectives
To develop an educational and psycho-social
intervention program about masculinity with preadolescents, using the context of popular soccer
clubs, to promote alternative models to the
hegemonic mandates of masculinity that enable
young men to prevent disease and have
improved health and human development.
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Specific Objectives
• To identify the educational and psycho-social needs of preadolescents members of popular soccer clubs
• To identify the group management abilities and deficits of the
coaches
• To define a strategy and develop an educational and psycho-social
intervention model on masculinity issues in pre-adolescent members
of popular soccer clubs
• To develop an educational program that includes the writing of a
manual and a training program for soccer coaches and workshops
for pre-adolescent members of popular soccer clubs
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Study Elements
• Recommendations for the development of an
educational program appropriate to the age of the
participants.
• The coach-coachee relationship (Mutual respect,
responsibility,...)
• Thoughts and beliefs of the coaches about the children
• Thoughts and beliefs of the coaches about themselves
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Soccer Suited to the Pre-Adolescent
Style
• Focused on the fun side of the game
• Coach must be sensitive to the players rights. More of a
guide than a teacher
• Promoting a gender-equitable masculinity
• Situational Leadership
• Knowledge and abilities related to psycho-social issues
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Intervention Model
Educational Program
Soccer school “Playing for health”
Educational Program
for Pre-Adolescents
SOCCER SCHOOL
Educational
Program for
Coaches
TRAINING
Educational
Material :
MANUAL FOR THE
COACH/MONITOR
Certificate
Monitoring
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9 sessions
1. Concentration and
psychosocial issues
2. Playing in the field
Vertical text goes here
The Sessions of the Manual
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Session 1: My rights as a player
Session 2: My record as a player
Session 3: The field of Life
Session 4: Team play
Session 5: Soccer: Passions and feelings
Session 6: Healthier Soccer without
drugs
Session 7: Soccer ¿Fair or unfair play?
Session 8: My affections and desires
Session 9: The celebration of soccer
Validation
• A validation study was done with a group of
coaches
• The educational material was tested with a group
of pre-adolescents
• Revisions were made to the educational material
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Findings
• It is important to keep the psycho-social intervention within the limits
allowed by the soccer game
• Tension between biological and cultural explanation of behaviors
• Participants found the issues motivating and provocative but sometimes
very distant from the soccer game
• The coaches in the pilot study showed a type of masculinity of the
classic hegemonic model - we think it possible to change that
• Coach R made changes as a monitor after his participation in the study
• The facilitators were redeined as part of the technical body
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Facilitating Factors
• The coach is seen as a leader and guide and is admired
by the young. He transfers them experiences and is not
seen as a teacher
• When the coaches are motivated and inquisitive
• When the issues are closely related to soccer
• When facilitators and therapists work in the field
coordinated by the coach
• Having the chance of formal training certified by an
educational institution
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Obstacles
• Soccer and the soccer field can be a closed
space and resistant to new issues and players
• The masculinity model of the coaches
(hegemonic)
• Tha date (wheather, vacations, timing?)
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Recommendations
• Adequate selection of the participants by: motivation, interest in
psycho-social issues, flexibility, commitment and teaching skills
• Clearly define the objective group and adapt the program to their
skill level
• Training has an experiential and biographic dimension
• The contents must be simple and not too much
• NEVER forget that this is a soccer school that we
joined voluntarily and invited ourselves into the
team. We should not be dismissed!
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