Life Story Research in Sport by Kitrina Douglas David Carless

Author:Kitrina Douglas, David Carless [Kitrina Douglas, David Carless]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sports & Recreation, General, Sports Psychology, Cultural & Social Aspects
ISBN: 9781134622887
Google: hMffBQAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2014-12-17T05:02:07+00:00

6

The relational narrative

At the time I played for my Dad. I played my heart out for my Dad. It’s for him.

(Leanne)

So far we have presented, in Chapter 4, what we see as the dominant narrative type in elite and professional sport – the performance narrative – and, in Chapter 5, its antithesis: the discovery narrative. We have suggested that the existence of discovery-oriented life stories among successful elite sportspeople proves the falsity of the belief that prioritising winning ahead of all other aspects of life is the only way to achieve success. Through our research, we have also identified a third narrative type that provides a further alternative way to story one’s life in sport. Like discovery stories, this type of story exists within the margins of elite and professional sport, most often silenced or hidden from public view.

We call the second alternative the relational narrative type, a story of complex interdependent connection between two or more people in which sport performance is a by-product. Although it could be said that all stories are relational in that they exist in relationship to others, we use the term to highlight that, in the relational narrative type, it is accounts of relationships with others that anchor the story plot. For the teller of this type of story, being with another person or persons is more important than performance outcomes such as tournament successes and trophies. Altruistic rather than ego motivation permeates the story plot as the storyteller places the perceived needs of others alongside or above the needs of the self. Therefore the relational storyteller does not only exist with another, but also for another. Like the discovery narrative, the relational narrative explicitly challenges the assumptions of the performance narrative because these storytellers achieve success at the highest level in sport without subscribing to the values and behaviours scripted in the performance narrative.

We begin by sharing one illustration of a relational story, as told by a multiple tournament-winning professional golfer we call Leanne. Leanne’s story directly challenges Georgi’s performance story but also differs structurally from Kandy’s discovery story. After sharing Leanne’s story, we articulate the plot and characteristics of the ideal-type relational narrative.

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