Coaching for privilege: coaches, soccer, and education in professional sports clubs in high-SES cities in Israel

Abstract

Abstract This article examines two key questions: How do coaches working in professional soccer clubs with high socioeconomic class (SES) high-school student define their role? Do the coaches’ definitions of the role affect the reproduction of privilege, and how so? Drawing on qualitative interviews with 15 coaches operating in professional soccer clubs in high-SES cities in Israel, we identified four key components of the coaches’ role: coaches’ descriptions of the youth and their class’s living spaces; the coaches’ role perception; key values subscribed to by coaches; and students’ future orientation (How does the coach see the youths in adulthood). These findings were discussed in light of their significance and implications for forming and cultivating habitus and elite or privileged identity among high-SES youth-players (the linkage of position and disposition) in informal educational spaces.