Description
Book SynopsisUsing everyday sporting experiences as a foundation, Suzanne S. Hudd lays out a set of informal rules that athletic team members learn to uphold. Prescribed within the athlete's covenant, these guidelines support the transformation of the player's individual commitment to hard work into a set of collective, role-related obligations that are applicable across time and sport. Hudd's analysis highlights this everyday sportsmanship practiced within the team which flows naturally from the mimicry and synchrony that players routinely use to perfect their talents. Working to turn star players into team players, the covenant encourages athletes to set their sights on goals that surpass what their individual talents alone can provide. Hudd theorizes our waning commitment to these important collectivistic properties of sport has contributed to the belief that sportsmanship is a thing of the past.
Table of ContentsIntroduction: “Did That Really Happen to Me?”: The Moral Transformation of Team Players Chapter One: Morality via Hard Work: “I Was Never Unwilling to Get my Nose Bloodied” Chapter Two: Morality via Attachment: “I Didn’t Want to Let the Team Down” Chapter Three: Morality via Self-Other Merging: “I Was an Academic Standout Myself Now” Chapter Four: Becoming, Belonging and Believing: “You Play for the Person Next to You” Conclusion: Character Building in Sport: Covenant or Contract?
