Fields for training athletes and creation of "habitus" : focusing on club activities at school and private sports clubs

Abstract

A study was conducted to investigate the fields used for training athletes, observing club activities at schools and private sports clubs as fields which respectively have their own systems for reproduction strategies to acquire relative autonomy (acquisition of authenticity) by themselves, and analyze the differences between the phases of somatised cultural capital (habitus) of the athletes trained in the two different fields from the viewpoints of educational and symbolic strategies in the two subgroups of the fields. The subjects studied were all high school soccer players who were highly ranked nationally. Of those, 194 had been playing the sport throughout their junior and senior high-school years, and 78 belonged to private sports clubs. The following is an outline of the results. 1) No differences were found between those from school clubs and private sports clubs in the cultural capital inherited in their childhood. Differences in the present phases of somatised cultural capital (habitus) between those from school clubs and private sports clubs were found 2) in the following:i) Those from school clubs had a particularly physical orientation such as the sanctification of the playing ground and excessive consideration for the relationship between seniors and juniors. ii) In terms of target orientation and view of sports, those from school clubs had a more affirmative attitude towards traditionalism, while those from private clubs were more affirmative towards such things as technique, effort, and discipline. iii) In terms of the opinions they held about their own groups, those from school clubs held opinions such as "hard," "collective," "formal," and" "high-handed," while those from private groups held opinions such as "soft," "personal," "rational," and "democratic." 3) It was suggested that with regard to the differences seen in the present phases of somatised cultural capital (habitus) examined from the viewpoint of educational and symbolic strategies, private sports clubs in particular exercised educational and symbolic strategies skillfully for the formation of a habitus that would not only conceal victory - centered orientation but also presuppose such mental orientation in tacit consent.