slim bodies, eating disorders and the coach–athlete relationship

INTERNATIONAL REVIEW FOR THE SOCIOLOGY OF SPORT 40/3(2005) 377–391 377
© Copyright ISSA and SAGE Publications (London, Thousand Oaks, CA, New Delhi)
www.sagepublications.com
10.1177/1012690205060231
SLIM BODIES, EATING DISORDERS AND THE
COACH–ATHLETE RELATIONSHIP
A Tale of Identity Creation and Disruption
R.L. Jones
University of Wales Institute Cardiff, UK
N. Glintmeyer
Independent
A. McKenzie
Wellington Rugby Football Union, New Zealand
Abstract This study explores the experiences of a former elite swimmer, Anne (a pseudonym),
whose career was interrupted and finally terminated by disordered eating. The work is grounded in
the need to tell Anne’s story in relation to compliance within a culture of slenderness and norms, and
the role of the coach within that culture. Using interpretive biography, the data illustrate how the
creation of strong athletic identity led to a vulnerable sense of self, which, when disrupted, critically
contributed to the development of an eating disorder. They also indicate how the prevailing discourse
fed the disorder through ongoing surveillance and disciplining of the self. Finally, suggestions are
made about drawing lessons from Anne’s story with regard to re-interpreting the traditional
coach–athlete relationship.
Key words • coaching • eating disorder • narrative • power
Introduction
The complexity inherent in the coach–athlete relationship continues to be underresearched
and under-appreciated by scholars, coach educators and practitioners
(Saury and Durand, 1998; Cushion et al., 2003; Jones et al., 2003). In particular,
socio-philosophical aspects of the role of coaches’ discourse in athlete development
have received little attention, although that discourse continues to emphasize
the rationalistic concepts of productivity, efficiency and conformity as keys
for athletic success (Wright, 2000; Cassidy et al., 2004). Similarly, although the
traditional power-dominated coach–athlete relationship has been the subject of
some critical scrutiny (e.g. Birrell and Cole, 1994; Chapman, 1997), only in the
recent work of Johns and Johns (2000) has the ‘discourse of expertise’ been
considered (Cassidy et al., 2004). It is a discourse, housed within a ‘culture of

378 INTERNATIONAL REVIEW FOR THE SOCIOLOGY OF SPORT 40(3)
conformity’, which involves consideration of the body as a biological object to
be unproblematically trained, manipulated and measured (Prain and Hickey,
1995; Wright, 2000). The discourse also leads to an unquestioning, compliant and
dependent athlete identity (Johns and Johns, 2000), where the coach is viewed as
a knowledge giver and athletes as receivers who need that knowledge to better
their performances.
Although improved times and speed are often cited as ‘proof’ of its success,
the discourse takes little consideration of the personal circumstance and context
of athletes, thus making individual identities vulnerable if they fail to match up
to the given ideal. Such an approach is unable to take account of, and therefore
clashes with, the unique and ‘hybrid’ nature of athletes (Shogan, 1999) whose
distinctive identities are ‘constructed across different discourses, practices and
positions’ (Hall, 1996: 4).
Although not a sport that requires extreme thinness, many swimmers and
coaches believe that the slimmer or leaner a competitive swimmer is, the better
s/he will perform (Drummer et al., 1987). Consequently, allied to wider social
trends related to the desirability of a leaner body shape, and due to their involvement
in a sport which further intensifies such pressure, swimmers (young females
in particular) are considered at risk of adopting pathogenic weight control techniques
in an attempt to improve their athletic appearance and performance
(Benson, 1991; Williamson et al., 1995; Byrne and McLean, 2002). Such actions
are seen as congruent with their expected role and developing athletic identity
(Johns and Johns, 2000). For some, that path has led to eating disorders
(Stoutjesdyk and Jevne, 1993). The pressure to conform to an ideal slim, worked
‘swimming body’ is hegemonically enforced both through the cultural value of
such a body (Johns and Johns, 2000; Wright, 2000), and through coaches’
‘expert’ knowledge of how to attain it. Through the discursive practices of the
swimming subculture, athletes are taught how to view and experience their
bodies in particular ways. Such perceptions contribute to shaping swimmers’
identities and understanding of what it means to be an athlete (Johns and Johns,
2000; Sparkes and Smith, 2002). The problematic issue relates to perception of
the self within a process of identity creation — in this context, the self as a
successful, slim, paid-up member of the swimming subculture, often reliant on
the approval of significant others.
Given that athletic identity concerns the extent to which one identifies with
the athlete role (Sparkes, 2000), considerable investment in such an identity can
be viewed as a double-edged sword. The positive effects of increased self-esteem
and a salient self-identity gleaned from sporting participation can easily give
way, under certain conditions, to ‘premature identity foreclosure’ and resultant
identity crises when athletic involvement becomes problematic or terminates
(Brewer et al., 1993; Good et al., 1993). Here, perceptions of self-worth become
too dependent on athletic performance or significant others’ reading of, and
feedback on, that performance. The sporting identity thus has the potential to be
fragile and brittle, as well as empowering. Brewer et al. (1993) highlight the
paradox of the athletic identity by questioning if it more nearly resembles
‘Hercules’ muscles or Achilles’ heel’?
The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of a former elite

JONES ET AL.: EATING DISORDERS AND THE COACH–ATHLETE RELATIONSHIP 379
swimmer, Anne (a pseudonym), whose career was interrupted and finally terminated
by disordered eating. The study explores: first, how a strong swimming
identity led to vulnerability in terms of an athlete’s reaction to perceived body
image within a conforming culture of ‘slenderness’ (Tinning, 1991); and second,
the role of the coach in this process of athlete identity creation and disruption. As
others have noted (Kondo, 1990; Tsang, 2000), identity in this context does not
‘signal that stable core of the self which remains identical to itself across time’
(Hall, 1996: 3); rather, it is ‘partially created and constructed through experience
and intersubjectivity’ (Tsang, 2000: 45). Hence, identity is dynamic in nature and
may change with context and interaction. Identity is also created by discursive
practices and honed in the relationship between the individual and the discourse
(Hall, 1996).
This work is grounded in the need to tell Anne’s story of compliance within
a culture of discipline and norms; of this elite swimmer’s developed vulnerable
sense of self, a vulnerability that led to an eating disorder. The story is also told
in relation to how people experience and perceive their bodies, perceptions which
interact to form identities and selves. In particular, the role and accompanying
discourse of the coach is examined in terms of attempts to develop disciplined,
homogenized athletes without due consideration to their individualized identityforming
biologies, sociologies and histories. The point is not to express moral
outrage at a seemingly uncaring coach, but rather to place actions ‘within the constraints
and possibilities of their social context’ (Stones, 1998: 2). Anne’s ‘personal
troubles’ are not identified solely in terms of her relationship with her
coach. Given that her illness was a culmination of many factors, this article
considers the wider context as created by her coach as something that may have
contributed to, or at least allowed, her disordered eating to happen. By telling
about a discourse and culture through characters (Richardson, 2000), we draw
attention to the often power-dominated and problematic relationships between
athletes and coaches and the part coaches play in the production of an athlete’s
sense of self (Sparkes, 1998). Similarly, our point is not to reject and condemn
out of hand an asymmetrical coaching structure, but to pose questions about the
assumptions that underlie such arrangement and of consequences of the ‘truths’
we practice in the name of coaching ‘expertise’. As a further note of qualification,
the story is told from Anne’s perspective, thus giving only one version of
events.
The Participant
Anne is a 28-year-old interior designer; she belongs to the local squash club and
swims or runs every night if possible to ‘help keep in shape’. She describes
herself as a perfectionist, constantly striving for improvement in all that she does;
the feeling of achievement is important for the maintenance of her self-esteem.
Sport has long been an important part of her life and has helped shape her identity
both as a person and an athlete. Throughout her primary and intermediate
schooling she was involved in many sports, including softball, netball, athletics
and swimming. Her ‘pretty stable family background’ was ‘unremarkable’,

380 INTERNATIONAL REVIEW FOR THE SOCIOLOGY OF SPORT 40(3)
although she admits to ‘wanting to please her parents’ for the time and money
they invested in her burgeoning sporting career. Anne is also a former top-level
competitive swimmer who has had the eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, since she
was 14 years old. She believes that this condition was triggered by a former
coach’s comment about her weight. Although Anne subsequently became a
successful competitive swimmer, and a member of the national water polo team
at every age group between 15 and the senior squad, she became increasingly
obsessed with her body image and related weight loss. In the late 1990s Anne
drifted away from the sport, but with the 2000 Sydney Olympics approaching,
she again trained hard, ultimately in vain as the national water polo team failed
to qualify. Although Anne has now retired from competitive sport, she continues
to be bulimic.
Methodology
An increasing number of sociological studies of the coaching process have failed
to take account of the lived experience of those being studied (Jones et al., 2003).
The research tends to ignore the messy reality of personal feelings (‘an inside-out
approach’), and adopts more structural analyses of the social environment (‘an
outside-in approach’) (Sparkes and Smith, 2002). This has resulted in a limited
understanding of individual subjective sensibilities. Recently however, scholars
have begun to investigate the many ways that coaches experience and perceive
their actions, and how those experiences interact to create identities and selves
(Jones et al., 2003, 2004).
As in Sparkes’s (2000) work with Rachel, an elite athlete who suffered
premature career termination through illness, the research method used is interpretive
biography (Denzin, 1989). Biography is defined as an examination of an
individual’s life experiences and, in particular, the perceived ‘turning point
moments’ or epiphanies within it (Denzin, 1989: 7). As a research practice
‘through which we can investigate how we construct the world, ourselves and
others’ (Richardson, 2000: 5), the method allows for the presentation of a ‘sensemaking
story’ (Tsang, 2000) which attempts to interpret the meaning of Anne’s
experiences of identity creation and disruption, and her life as a bulimic athlete.
The method also highlights how lives do not just belong to individuals but
also to social expectations, influences and collectivities (Denzin, 1989). As
Denzin (1989: 73) reminds us:
No self or personal-experience story is ever an individual production. It derives from larger
group, cultural, ideological and historical contexts. To understand a life, the epiphanies and
self-stories that shape that life, one must penetrate and understand these larger structures.
Interpretive biography permits the examination of relevant factors in terms of
their influence on problematic lived experience (Denzin, 1989). It can serve as a
window to a culture (Cortazzi, 1993) when the epiphanies of life are connected
back to social relationships and shared conventions (Denzin, 1989). Anne’s story
is presented in this way in order to invite readers to emotionally ‘relive’ and

JONES ET AL.: EATING DISORDERS AND THE COACH–ATHLETE RELATIONSHIP 381
reflect upon the events that contributed to it (Denison and Reinhart, 2000). Such
reflection increases empathetic understanding of certain issues and experiences,
thus enhancing our sociological sensibilities in relation to sport (Sparkes, 1998).
Anne had been a personal friend of one of the authors (Niki) for many years,
and shared her experiences as an elite athlete with an eating disorder with Niki on
several occasions. All three authors had developed an interest in athlete identity
and the role of the coach in its construction, and Anne was invited to take part in
a series of interviews to explore her experiences as an elite athlete who developed,
and continues to live with bulimia nervosa. The ethical implications of
involvement were discussed with Anne at a preliminary meeting, where the
interviews were also described. Anne agreed to the interviews being audio-taped
and transcribed, and was assured her identity would remain known only to the
authors, that any written material received from her in relation to the project
would be treated with similar confidentiality, that she could withdraw from
the project at any time, and that she could view drafts of any article written for
publication to ensure fairness of interpretation.
Interviews
Three interviews were conducted by Niki in Anne’s home over a period of four
weeks. Each lasted an average of two hours. During the interviews, Niki adopted
the role of ‘active listener’ (Wolcott, 1995) to help Anne tell her story in her own
way. The interviews were ‘reflexive’ in nature (Hammersley and Atkinson, 1983)
in that provisional themes as opposed to specific questions had been prepared
beforehand. These related to Anne’s initial involvement in sport, her development
as an elite athlete, the relationships she had with her coaches and one coach
in particular, what she thought had triggered her bulimia, and its consequences
for her as an athlete and following retirement. Reflexivity was central to the
undertaking, as the authors attempted to discover how Anne understood her
world and how it was created. The interview transcripts were read by the authors
to identify and cross check narrative segments and thematic categories. Analytical
memos were simultaneously written to provide initial and tentative connections
to various theoretical concepts (Sparkes and Smith, 2002). These assisted
in shaping questions for subsequent interviews, and contributed to identifying
analytical points of interest for interpretation.
Data Analysis and Interpretation
The data were initially structured and analysed in terms of the interrelated
concepts of identity creation and diffusion, corresponding to different stages of
Anne’s life. Tsang’s (2000) exploration of her own athletic self provided a model
to follow, highlighting the complex interplay between multiple selves which
leads to the dominating presence of certain perceptions and consequent actions.
This in turn is borrowed from Shogan (1999), who views elite sport as a form of
discipline which draws its power from attempts to ‘homogenize and produce the
high-performance athlete as a singular normalized identity’ (Tsang, 2000: 46). As
with Tsang (2000: 49), Anne’s story is one of pressure to conform to the con-

382 INTERNATIONAL REVIEW FOR THE SOCIOLOGY OF SPORT 40(3)
ventional, ‘a story of abiding laws; of not “standing out”’; pressure created in no
small part by the surrounding discourse.
Anne’s story is analysed in terms of her response to a wider (sporting)
culture’s compulsion to normalize individuals (Jones, 2000; Jones et al., 2002;
Wright, 2000). It is also interpreted in relation to the powerful influence of
coaches over athletes, particularly in terms of discursive interactions (Cassidy et
al., 2004). Foucault (1977) termed such power as that ‘which “makes” the
necessary individuals’ in relation to established norms and the subsequent
creation of perceived ‘truths’ (Barth, 1998: 255).
Following a turning point that occurred during a meeting with her coach
(which Anne believes triggered her eating disorder) her ongoing story as a
bulimic athlete, and following her retirement, is examined in terms of Foucault’s
concept of surveillance. Foucault’s work on modern forms of elusive and subtle
power that operate ‘via the micro-practices of everyday life’ (Dowling-Naess,
2001: 126) appears to be particularly relevant as a framework for analysis.
Analysis
Developing an Athletic Identity and the Role of the Coach
Anne started swimming at the age of nine and started to compete about a year
later. She excelled at it, as it seemed to come naturally to her, and swimming
became a priority in her life. She won a national title at age 14, breaking the age
group record in the process. Her burgeoning athletic identity was beginning to
take centre stage:
Sport has always been a big part of my life. Ever since I can remember I’ve been actively
participating in sport. I suppose that achieving in everything I did was important to me ’coz I
was a perfectionist with the things that I enjoyed. Doing well at sport was extremely
important and breaking the junior age group record was a very proud moment. It gave me
good confidence, and I loved that. It really made me feel I was someone special, it defined
who I was.
The self-esteem generated by sporting success fed and nourished Anne’s
athletic identity. She openly admitted that this success was very important to her
in many ways, helping to create the person she was. All she wanted to do was
swim, and swim well. She felt comfortable and happy in the swimming environment,
an enjoyment fuelled by the success her talent brought.
However, although early success in sport may heighten status and the sense
of self, there are also risks (Lewis, 2001) relating to the creation of an unbalanced
and one-dimensional self-concept based around the athletic identity, and the
resulting trauma when that identity is relinquished or lost. Linville (1987) on ‘self
complexity’, and Coakley (1992) on burnout both point out that individuals who
develop a relatively exclusive athletic identity are more prone to depression and
emotional disturbance following disruption to that identity. This is particularly
the case when that disruption is unexpected, sudden and enforced. Although
Anne was unaware of developing a one-dimensional identity based on her athletic
achievements, it could be argued that this process was happening. Indeed, there

JONES ET AL.: EATING DISORDERS AND THE COACH–ATHLETE RELATIONSHIP 383
is no doubt that she invested heavily in her ‘swimming role’ to the extent that she
viewed swimming as what she ‘did’. Ultimately, this left her vulnerable, as the
resultant sense of self turned out to be fragile.
When a new coach arrived at Anne’s swimming club, her burgeoning athletic
identity received a substantial boost. She took an instant liking to the new coach’s
innovations, energy and enthusiasm. Soon she wanted to do well for him as well
as for herself.
My new coach promised exciting things and had a lot of new ideas and philosophies. He
showed a lot of enthusiasm about my potential, so I took a lot of effort to please him. It was
expected that we would eat, live and breathe swimming. It was tough, and we all had to keep
log-books for each session to record our training miles, sprint times, weight and other stuff.
Although I felt a bit under stress ’coz he kept putting pressure on us by lowering our [target]
times and telling us what we should be eating and stuff, I still really wanted to do well, and
was constantly encouraged by him as he seemed to have big plans for me. I wanted to do so
well for him . . . I respected him so much as a coach.
A link was soon established between Anne and her coach, as she ‘bought in’
to his ideas, knowledge and methods without question. Although Anne felt
pressured by the much tougher training regime he laid out for her, she did not
mind because the new challenge was mostly enjoyable, and she was anxious to
impress. Her ‘success’ was increasingly measured through the timed completion
of progressively harder training sessions and disciplined adherence to recommended
diets, both of which were viewed as contributing to an ‘ideal’ shape and
weight.
Stevenson’s (1990) study of the creation and confirmation of athletic identities
points to the crucial role of significant others in the socialization process. An
athlete is concerned with developing a ‘role identity that he or she perceives to be
desirable and valued’ (Stevenson, 1990: 239), and the confirmation of this
identity by significant others in the surrounding subculture is also important
(Donnelly and Young, 1988). Anne’s identity as a swimmer and self-esteem
within the athletic role became bound to her coach’s perception of her performance.
What he thought and said really mattered. Anne’s identity developed in
terms of her changing self-narrative that was, in turn, being constructed within
the new coach’s discursive boundaries. This discourse was dominated by notions
of scientific functionalism, where the body is viewed as a ‘machine’ to be
developed and improved through appropriate training regimes (Prain and Hickey,
1995). It was also a discourse of appearance and, in line with the dominant
view of ‘coaching science’, confirmed the expert status of coaches in providing
‘factual’ direction and sequence to athletes (Prain and Hickey, 1995; Johns and
Johns, 2000; Jones, 2000).
The process of identity creation is heavily immersed in discourses. As Hall
(1996: 6) noted, identities are created through ‘the successful “chaining” of the
subject to the discourse’. If discourses dictate how we come to think of ourselves,
Anne was certainly influenced by her coach and, lacking alternatives, became
unquestioningly bound to his methods and views. Such compliant adherence calls
into the question the power relationships that exists between coaches and athletes.
Coaches are perceived as ‘having the key that will unlock the secret to successful
athletic performance’ (Lopiano and Zotos, 1992: 278), and athletes seek

384 INTERNATIONAL REVIEW FOR THE SOCIOLOGY OF SPORT 40(3)
success through a process of ‘entanglement’ with coaches in order to access the
secret (Stevenson, 1990). Such entanglements are often reflected in very personal
coach–athlete relationships, and have the potential to lead to even heavier
involvement by athletes in the sport. These bonds are often critical to the athlete’s
commitment (Prus and Irini, 1980). Stevenson (2002) uses the analogy of a fly
caught in a spider’s web ‘who may initially be [trapped] by only a single strand,
but who progressively becomes tangled in more and more strands and thereby
becomes deeper and deeper immersed in the web’ (p. 137). This is evident in
Anne’s story — her coach’s enthusiasm and persona infected her to such a degree
that she viewed him with a great deal of admiration and respect, and he became
her reference point. He was her role model, an expert, someone she wanted to
listen to and learn from, someone she believed in and wanted to please.
A Coach’s Comment: Identity Lost
Then came what Anne calls ‘the meeting’, which was intended to bring swimmer,
coach and parents together to discuss progress, future goals and ways of achieving
them.
I remember it vividly because I respected him so much and I just wanted to be the best. He
was having meetings with swimmers and their parents. He [the coach] told me that I was
doing well, that I was showing progress with my swimming and that I was being much more
mature in my attitude with my training. But then he said ‘it would probably be more
beneficial if you were lighter and slimmer and could lose a bit of weight and maybe you
should look at dieting a bit more’. It just shot me down completely because I never ever
thought about it and to have someone say that to you, it just shot everything good that he
had to say out of the air. That put doubts in my head about myself and the confidence I had
in myself as a swimmer. And I remember feeling so embarrassed, in front of my parents and
all. I came away feeling really down; it really affected me. I wanted to do so well for him [the
coach] and I thought that I was. And that was the only thing that he could say and my whole
career focussed around that. I definitely think that that was the moment or a point when it
actually became physical to me. It wasn’t just putting in all the hours of training and stuff, as
my performance actually became something to do with my body, that was the reason that I
wasn’t doing good enough. My body was the problem. The focus was on [my body]. I was
judged by my body shape not just how good I could do in the pool. It made me aware that
other people looked at my body shape, and looked at me. It became the focus and I became
very conscious of it.
The ‘meeting’ was a major turning point for Anne, an epiphany that left its
mark on her life (Denzin, 1989). Not only had her body been suddenly forced into
her consciousness but, more importantly, it was perceived as imperfect. Because
Anne’s self-worth and core identity had become contingent on her sense of
physical self, as manifested in her physical shape and build, having it questioned
created a deep emotional disturbance (Rodin and Larson, 1992). This ‘loss’ of
certainty was difficult to cope with, and Anne entered a mental ‘dys-state’, which
led to devalued notions of the self (Leder, 1990).
As Brewer et al. (1993) pointed out, a strong athletic identity puts the athlete
at risk of emotional difficulties when that identity is disrupted, precisely because
it is so closely associated with an essential sense of self. Hence, Anne’s body,
which she had always considered strong and able, had become a source of

JONES ET AL.: EATING DISORDERS AND THE COACH–ATHLETE RELATIONSHIP 385
humiliation and degradation for her. Nevertheless, chained to her coach’s discourse
and feeling that her core identity was under threat, she began to regulate
her caloric intake and weight, which soon led to drastic dieting and induced
vomiting (purging) to achieve her physical ‘ideal’.
That comment [by the coach] about being fat really affected me. But I still wanted to be [a]
good [swimmer]. So, I think that I probably subconsciously decided, ‘Right, I’ll show you’.
Although I didn’t really know what I was doing, I started by starving myself, so I could lose a
bit of weight. You know, to me a diet now was not eating. But I had to eat though, so a way
for me to control it was purging, just to get rid of it. That’s how I started binging and
purging, and within a month of starting to ‘diet’, it [the cycle of binging and purging] had
become a regular thing.
As stated previously, it would be an oversimplification to attribute Anne’s
condition to a single comment by her coach. Undoubtedly, the complex social
context of high performance swimming, the perceptions surrounding women’s
sport, her personal biography, family relationships, and the dynamic interaction
between these factors and others, all contributed to producing the potential to
trigger such a response. In particular, the desire for parental approval, her
‘perfectionist’ personality, (natural) adolescent social and physical self-doubt,
anxiety over bodily appearance, together with guilt and shame about not meeting
a significant other’s expectations regarding that appearance (a failure that was
publicly exposed) undoubtedly played important parts in her reaction which led
to the onset of bulimia. Anne’s complicity in the process should also be considered,
in terms of her evidently calculated personal response when things did
not go as planned (Coakley, 1992). Indeed, it is possible to conclude that Anne
became ill due her own problematic characteristics which resulted in an illconsidered
response to a sensitive, although not uncommon, comment.
However, such a conclusion ignores the ‘developmental tunnels’ entered by
young ‘committing’ athletes and the resulting narrowness of their social and self
perceptions. As Coakley (1992) points out, it would be a mistake to locate such
social problems at the level of personal failures. However, by accepting that
conditions such as bulimia are not mono-causal we should not diminish the
importance of the coach’s comment, which was reflective of the contextual
culture. Undoubtedly, Anne was vulnerable to such criticism, a vulnerability
created in large part by heavy reliance upon her sporting identity, and her coach
as a highly significant other in the maintenance and further development of that
identity. Anne’s agency then, in terms of her reaction, was arguably heavily influenced
by a domineering, controlling environment that gives ‘responsibility’ but
not autonomy to athletes (Coakley, 1992). In such an environment it is easy to see
how Anne would believe that if she was overweight, she was responsible. Thus,
the effects of such a comment cannot be underestimated for the individual in
context; for Anne, it served as an epiphany to which she traces the beginning of
her illness. Previous research on disordered eating in female athletes has also
shown that pressure from coaches was influential in the onset of such behaviour,
the risk being exacerbated in sports that emphasise a lean body shape (Sungot-
Borden, 1994; Griffin and Harris, 1996; Patel et al., 2003).

386 INTERNATIONAL REVIEW FOR THE SOCIOLOGY OF SPORT 40(3)
The Legacy: Surveillance and Discipline of the Self
Following the coach’s comment, Anne learned how to control her weight through
binging and purging. However, her relationship with the coach deteriorated over
the following months and years until she moved to another area and another club.
They no longer communicate. Despite receiving intermittent medical treatment,
Anne continues this eating pattern, and developed a clinically prescribed chronic
depression. She eventually retired from competitive sport, unfulfilled. Her eating
disorder continues to play a major part in her daily life — she constantly considers
and monitors her caloric intake and her daily exercise programme. If she
strays from her set path, self-recriminations and self-punishment ensue.
Sporting wise, I continue to run nearly every night and beat myself up if I don’t. Running for
me is about weight loss and keeping fit. I’m searching for something that makes it enjoyable
again and not something to beat myself up about. Running is a stress release but I hate it on
days when I make myself do it. When I’m so tired and I still make myself run. I hate going out
for a run on those days and having to stop after 20 minutes and walk . . . I just cry. I’m
walking ‘cause I can’t go on any further, I’m absolutely knackered [tired]. And I just cry. I
walk down to the beach crying because I can’t do it any more. I can’t run any more. I hate
[it], I just want that to stop. I’m tired of it. I’m tired of feeling like that . . . every day. But I
don’t see me being any other way. It’s always there and affects everything in my life. If I don’t
go for a run though, I lose the plot. If I haven’t run for two days I won’t eat until I run again.
It’s a constant pay off. Also, sometimes, when I’ve eaten something, I get really pissed off at
myself for eating it in the first place. And then my reaction, I think sod it, I’m going to do it
[binge], and so I punish myself. That’s how I feel. I just hate myself. I just want to get it out of
myself. Because I don’t want to get fat, and I want to be this ideal [shape]. At times like that,
I don’t feel good about anything.
In Foulcaldian terms Anne had become and remains the subject of her own
surveillance. Such surveillance was exacerbated for Anne because, in her sport,
her body was exposed to public view permitting what she saw as ‘the critical eye
of the coach and the other athletes to judge the degree to which [she] had adhered
to [her] regime’ (Johns and Johns, 2000: 227). She became influenced by a
‘normalising gaze; a surveillance that makes it possible to qualify, classify and
punish’ (Foucault, 1977: 184–5). However, as self-consciousness regarding her
body shape increased it was not only the critical eye of coaches and others that
she felt; she also reflected the gaze back towards herself, further increasing
its power (Tsang, 2000). Not only does such a gaze engage athletes in selfdisciplinary
practices to maintain an ideal body shape and weight, it also has the
potential to drive the management of everyday life as constituted under ‘personal
responsibility’ (Johns and Johns, 2000). It involves a process of continual
reflection and monitoring, which, as in Anne’s case, can lead to extreme acts of
zealous over-conformity (Hughes and Coakley, 1991). According to Johns and
Johns (2000), such acts of self-discipline, as framed by the subcultural discourse,
give the individual a sense of what it takes it be an athlete. In turn, such practices
become normalized for athletes and accepted as ‘regimes of truth’ created and
fuelled by the discursive actions of coaches (Chapman, 1997: 206).
Self-consciousness regarding weight and body shape was exacerbated for
Anne when the coach’s concern about her weight was also written into her training
diary. Here, it served as an ever-present reminder of her body’s inadequacy

JONES ET AL.: EATING DISORDERS AND THE COACH–ATHLETE RELATIONSHIP 387
and the need for constant surveillance and control: ‘I mean he actually wrote it in
my training diary, so that made it even more of something that was there all the
time. It was in my face all the time, there was just no escape from it’. For Anne,
the compulsion to monitor her caloric intake may have begun as an attempt to
lose weight, but spiralled out of control to become excessive; an obsession often
driven by fear, anxiety and guilt (Thompson and Sherman, 1993).
Anne still struggles with her sense of self and accompanying self-esteem. Her
life remains dominated by issues of food, weight and control:
My whole life resolves around food, making sure I do my exercises and making sure I don’t
put myself in situations where I have to eat. It’s taken over my life. It’s like always at the back
of my head.
A disruptive life event, which shattered her fragile athletic identity, continues
to have significant consequences for her long-term social development.
Concluding Thoughts
Four issues arise from this case study. First, given that Anne’s eating disorder
appears to stem, at least in part, from a coach’s comment, it is important to
recognize the power coaches have over athletes, and the obligations that should
accompany that power. Coach–athlete relationships in top-level sport are often
characterized by hierarchy and asymmetry (Johns and Johns, 2000; Jones et al.,
2004), with one group privileged by knowledge, and the other with a need to
know and a desire to conform (Johns and Johns, 2000).
This view of coaches is embedded within the discourse of modern coaching
which, in turn, is driven by a performance pedagogy based on scientific functionalism
(Coakley, 1992; Johns and Johns, 2002). This interpretation of coaching
is reflected in the desire of practitioners to ‘take charge’ and control the
coaching process, which includes their athletes, as much as possible (Seaborn et
al., 1998), what might be described as a ‘pervasive and reasoned compulsion to
normalize individuals’ (Barth, 1998: 254). It also helps to explain why coaches
need to be considered ‘expert’ (Jones et al., 2003), and why unquestioned athlete
adherence is considered necessary for ‘success’. In the context of Anne’s story,
this discourse may be criticized not only for failing to take into account the
athlete’s individuality, but also for legitimizing the disciplinary power of
coaches to achieve enforced conformity.
In terms of coach education, knowledge of their power can help coaches
better manage and frame interactions towards preferred ends. The influence
implicit in the coaching role should be paired with the responsibility to appreciate
the individual biologies and biographies of athletes, and the nature of coaching
as a complex, multivariate, and interpersonal activity which is contested at
many levels of meaning (Cushion et al., 2003). Coaching is a privilege that needs
to recognize the importance of coaches’ words and practices in effectively managing
the coaching process as both an individual and collective endeavour (Jones
et al., 2002).

388 INTERNATIONAL REVIEW FOR THE SOCIOLOGY OF SPORT 40(3)
A second issue concerns coaches’ responsibilities in relation to athletes’
identities. Because they are so heavily invested in their sport, elite athletes are
often vulnerable to criticism of their abilities, which may be viewed as a direct
reflection of their total worth. As was the case with Anne, such criticism can lead
to self-doubt and low self-esteem (Lewis, 2001). Coaches need to help develop
athletes with multiple identities, and ensure that their self worth is not solely
dependent on successfully fulfilling the athlete role (Coakley, 1992). The emphasis
should be on developing the whole person as opposed to the standardized
mechanistic athlete (Jones, 2000).
Third, Anne’s story also raises questions about coach education programmes
(Jones et al., 2002) in terms of their adequacy to equip coaches to deal with complex
human problems and issues. Programmes might include more subjective
knowledge components related to how coaches can help athletes adapt and grow
out of dysfunctional epiphanies. For example, Sparkes advocates giving coaches
the necessary tools to supply athletes with the means and ‘opportunities to
re-embody and reinvent themselves so as to form a different self body/athletic
relationship/identity’ (Sparkes and Smith, 2002: 274). By providing athletes with
the confidence, security and space to ‘craft the people they can be’ coaches
can help them to overcome their epiphanies and their dysfunctional athletic identities
(Sparkes and Smith, 2002: 277). This translates to educating coaches to
understand dysfunctional athletes’ biographies and of giving such athletes the
resources, support and respect to engage in an emotional healing process.
The final, and perhaps greatest value in the telling of Anne’s story lies in its
potential to frame her as, what Frank has termed, a wounded storyteller.
The ill person who turns illness into story transforms fate into experience. As wounded,
people may be cared for, but as story tellers, they care for others. Through their stories the
ill create empathetic bonds between themselves and their listeners. But telling does not
come easy, and neither does listening. (1995: xi–xii)
Despite being the main character in her story, she may also be a character in
all of our stories. Reading Anne’s story can help repair the damage resulting from
harsh experiences in the world of sport. This is because such stories have the
potential to connect with others in a way that can help individuals overcome their
lives’ problems (Gilbourne, 2002). Binding together those who have suffered
similar setbacks produces a collective story which can ‘overcome some of the
isolation and alienation of contemporary life’, thus giving a significance beyond
the immediate (Richardson, 1990).
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Robyn Jones, PhD, is a Reader in the School of Sport, Physical Education and
Recreation at the University of Wales Institute Cardiff, Wales. His research comprises
a critical sociology of coaching.
Address: School of Sport, Physical Education and Recreation, Cyncoed Campus,
UWIC, Cardiff C23 6XD, UK.
Email: rljones@uwic.ac.uk

JONES ET AL.: EATING DISORDERS AND THE COACH–ATHLETE RELATIONSHIP 391
Niki Glintmeyer was formerly at the School of Physical Education, University
of Otago, New Zealand.
Alex McKenzie, PhD, formerly of the University of Otago, is a sport psychology
consultant, and a professional Development Manager for the Wellington Rugby
Football Union, New Zealand.
Address: Hurricanes Rugby, 113 Adelaide Road, Newtown, PO Box 7201,
Wellington South, New Zealand.
Email: alex.mckenzie@wrfu.co.nz