Life-Coaching im deutschen Profi- und Nachwuchsfußball: Zur Einordnung und Ausgestaltung eines neuen Themen- und Arbeitsfeldes zwischen Verantwortungs- und Leistungsorientierung, Säkularität und Spiritualität

Summary
This interdisciplinary dissertation study deals with the research question of how a lifecoaching
format for German professional and youth football must be systemically and
organizationally classified and designed within the framework of the two areas of tension
of responsibility and performance orientation as well as secularity and spirituality,
so that, on the one hand, the interplay of performance, personal development and
life design succeeds at the individual level of players and coaches across career and
life phases and also creates meaning and identity (micro level) – but on the other
hand, the clubs and associations themselves can also be developed as spaces for
development and resonance (meso level) and are thus able to make a positive contribution
to the transformation of society (macro level). The aim of this action-oriented
research project was to develop a “life-coaching” model for German professional and
youth football derived from the research results obtained and to reflect on the individual,
organizational and social opportunities and limitations or challenges of implementing
such a form of coaching as an independent format. On the one hand, the
study focuses on analyses of English professional and youth football, as the majority
of Premier League clubs have been using so-called “sports chaplains” for many
years to deal with issues relating to meaning and values as well as life design. On
the other hand, developments in business-coaching in the economic context serve as
a second point of reference. In addition, further relevant sources and studies on the
research area, primarily from the Anglo-American region, were collected and analyzed.
Qualitative data was collected in the form of consensual, non-anonymized,
semi-standardized guided interviews (N = 36) with managers, coaches and current
and former players as well as player, club and association consultants and experts
from the examined neighboring formats and disciplines of life-coaching – specifically
from the fields of sports psychology, sports psychiatry and -psychotherapy and sports
chaplaincy. Based on the results of the dissertation study, it can be stated, among
other things, that, in addition to the prevailing biopsychosocial model, only a biopsycho-
socio-spiritual understanding satisfies the requirement of holistic care and
support – and the addition of the athlete identity with identities that are not related to
sport at the individual micro level, it is not an obstacle during the sporting career, but
rather strengthens performance and personal development and provides existential
support in the transition phase after the end of the career. The same applies to dealing
with questions of meaning. According to the findings of the study, there are currently
no offers for this topic in the care and support system of German professional
and youth football – at least across the board – although current and former football
professionals have already pointed out this "missing link" many times and the longing
for meaning is an “anthropological constant”. Furthermore, the study shows that
clubs and associations at the organizational meso level, based on a responsiblefocused
performance orientation, can promote performance and well-being, and can
themselves be developed as spaces for growth and resonance. And if life coaching is
used in its triage and mediation function for formats such as sports psychiatry, sports
psychology and sports pastoral care, an impact across analysis levels up to the social
macro level is conceivable, which has a transformative character. Overall, the
dissertation study makes it clear how important it is for holistic care and support in
German professional and youth football to both differentiate between and relate the
individual social scientific levels of analysis to one another