The ‘Human Training Stables’ of Victorian America: Cultural Differences in Sports Coaching

Day, David (2017) The ‘Human Training Stables’ of Victorian America: Cultural Differences in Sports Coaching. Staps, Revue Internationale des Sciences du Sport et de l’éducation Physique, 38 (1:115). pp. 37-47. ISSN 0247-106X

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Abstract

During the latter stages of the nineteenth century, the trajectory of organized sports followed significantly different paths in North America and Britain resulting in a diametrically opposed approach to professional coaching where the American penchant for professional coaches contrasted sharply with the preference for amateur coaches in many British sports. While the American model influenced the development of sports coaching in many European countries during this period there was resistance to the adoption of this system in Britain. This paper contrasts the characteristics of coaching practice and philosophy that typified American and British approaches during the Victorian period and outlines some of the British objections to specialized American coaching methods.