ABSTRACT
The word ‘coaching’ appeared in France very late on compared to the term’s use in England and at the beginning of the twentieth century it was still being used to mean ‘driving a carriage’. It was only after WWII that the terminology ‘coaching’ and ‘coach’ began to be used intermittently in the sense of ‘training’, ‘teaching’, or even ‘managing’. It is difficult to pinpoint the emergence of ‘coaching’ in sports without first defining it, although this imprecision says something about its characteristics. ‘Sports coaching’ as a notion is something of a chameleon concept in history, as it has changed its appearance over time according to culture and context. This article focuses on the historical example of France, where gymnastics and physical education had been developed and were being taught from the beginning of the nineteenth century, providing an eclectic context for the notion of ‘sports coaching’ to become closely linked with the development of modern sport as it appeared later in this country. The goal of this chapter is to understand the dimensions which fed (or not) this notion of ‘sports coaching’ during its originating period in France, by analysing how it was constructed. The analysis will be made through an exploration of political, scientific, and social aspects of the term and includes a consideration of women and sports coaching in this period.
