Identity Formation throughout Varying Levels of Coaching Expertise

Identity formation considers the evolving individuality within a community of practice in which the individual may alter personality characteristics dependent upon the expectations of other community members (Lave & Wenger, 1991). Therefore, individuals must be able to manage their image in relation to the other members of the community to have full access to the knowledge within that community. The purpose of this study was to analyze the peer interactions of novice, intermediate, and expert football coaches to gain a better understanding of their peer interactions with regard to knowledge acquisition. Six coaches participating in a football Nike Coach of the Year Clinic were selected to participate based on their level of expertise. Data were collected via clinic observations and audio recorded interviews that were transcribed and inductively analyzed revealing that a) socialization; b) appearance; and c) participation, decisions greatly affected the participants' interactions and subsequently knowledge acquisition.