Abstract
In many urban communities, unemployment, substance misuse, violence, and mass incarceration among African-American males has reduced the number of conventional adult male role models. These role models could potentially serve as positive sources of social capital for at-risk adolescent African-American males. An understudied population of black men has a long tradition in the black community as conventional adult male role models, mentors, and social fathers for black male youth. Black male coaches have played a significant role in reducing crime and delinquency among at-risk youth as well as influencing positive youth outcomes. Yet this population of African-American men in disadvantaged communities has received little attention. Using in-depth interviews, community-based participant observations, intensive home observations, and auto-ethnography, this study found that black male coaches serve as a critical form of social capital for black male youth and single parents in high-risk neighborhoods. The results suggest that research needs to focus more on the role of coaches as mentors and in some instances social fathers who provide quality adult supervision, guidance, information, support, encouragement, and community bridges to other forms of social, human, and cultural capital for inner-city black male youth.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexander, M. (2010). The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New York: New.
Anderson, E. (1978). A place on the corner. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Anderson, E. (1999). Code of the street: Decency, violence & the moral life of the inner city. New York: Norton.
Anderson, E. (2006). Inadequate responses, limited expectations. In Birch, E. L., & S. M. Wachter (Eds.), Rebuilding urban places after disaster: Lessons from hurricane Katrina (pp. 193–200). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Beamon, K. K. (2010). Are sports overemphasized in the socialization process of African American males? A qualitative analysis of former collegiate athletes’ perception of sport socialization. Journal of Black Studies, 41(2), 281–300.
Bourdieu, P. (1985). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258). New York: Greenwood.
Braddock, J. H. (2005). Athletics, academics and African-American males. In O. Fashola (Ed.), Educating African-American males: Voices from the field (pp. 255–284). Thousand Oaks: Corwin.
Brooks, S. N. (2009). Black men can't shoot. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Brooks, S. N., & McKail, M. A. (2008). A theory of the preferred worker: A structural explanation for black male dominance in basketball. Critical Sociology, 34(3), 369–387.
Burton, L. M., & Jarrett, R. L. (2000). In the mix, yet on the margins: The place of families in urban neighborhood and child development research. Journal of Marriage & Family, 62(4), 1114–1135.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2009). Diagnosis of HIV infection and AIDS in the United States and dependent areas. HIV surveillance report. Atlanta: Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Coakley, J. (1994). Sport in society: Issues and controversies. St. Louis: Mosby.
Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, S95–S120.
Contreras, R. (2011). Working hard to “get known:” Black youth labor and the myth of the natural lack athlete. Journal of African American Studies, 15(3), 409–411.
Dubrow, K. D., & Adams, J. (2010). Hoop inequalities: Race, class and family structure background and odds of playing in the National Basketball Association. International Review for the Sociology of Sport. doi:10.1177/1012690210384660.
Dworkin, J. B., Reed, L., & Hansen, D. (2003). Adolescents accounts of growth experiences in youth activities. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 32(1), 17.
Edwards, H. (1973). Sociology of sports. Homewood: Dorsey.
Edwards, H. (1976). Change and crisis in modern sports. Black Scholar, 8(2), 60–65.
Edwards, H. (1984). The collegiate athletic arms race: Origins and implications of the ‘Rule 48’ controversy. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 8, 4–22.
Edwards, H. (2000). Crisis of black athletes on the eve of the 21st century. Society, 37(3), 9–13.
Elliott, D. S. (1994). Serious violent offenders: Onset, developmental course, and termination—The American Society of Criminology 1993 presidential address. Criminology, 32, 1–21.
Furstenberg, F. F. (1993). How families manage risk and opportunity in dangerous neighborhoods. In W. J. Wilson (Ed.), Sociology and the public agenda (pp. 231–258). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Furstenberg, F. F. (1999). Children and family change: Discourse between social scientists and the media. Contemporary Sociology, 28(1), 10–17.
Furstenberg, F. F. (2001). Managing to make it: After thoughts. Journal of Family Issues, 22(2), 150–162.
Furstenberg, F. F. (2005). Banking on families: How families generate and distribute social capital. Journal of Marriage and Family 67, 809–821.
Furstenberg, F. F., & Hughes, M. E. (1995). Social capital and successful development among at-risk youth. Journal of Marriage & Family, 57(3), 580–592.
Furstenberg, F. F., & Kaplan, S. B. (2004). Social capital and the family. In J. Scott, J. Treas, & M. Richards (Eds.), The Blackwell companion to the sociology of families. Oxford: Blackwell.
Furstenberg, F. F., Cook, T. D., Eccles, J., & Elder, G. H. (1999). Managing to make it: Urban families and adolescent success. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Chicago: Aldine.
Gwaltney, J. L. (1980). Drylongso: A self -portrait of black America. New York: Random House.
Hagan, J. (1994). The new sociology of crime and inequality in America. Studies on Crime & Crime Prevention, 3, 7–23.
Harding, D. (2008). Neighborhood violence and adolescent friendships. International Journal of Conflict and Violence, 2(1), 28–55.
Harding, D. (2009a). Collateral consequences of violence in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Social Forces, 88(2), 757–784.
Harding, D. (2009b). Violence, older peers, and the socialization of adolescent boys in disadvantaged neighborhoods. American Sociological Review, 74(3), 445–464.
Harding, D. (2010). Living the drama: Community, conflict, and culture among inner-city boys. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Harrison, L., Sailes, G., Rotich, W. K., & Bimper, A. Y. (2011). Living the dream or awakening from the nightmare: Race and athletic identity. Race Ethnicity and Education, 14(1), 91–103.
Hawkins, D. F., Laub, J. H., & Lauritsen, J. L. (1998). Race, ethnicity, and serious juvenile offending. In R. Loeber & D. P. Farrington (Eds.), Serious & violent juvenile offenders: Risk factors and successful interventions (pp. 30–46). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
James, S. (1994). Hoop dreams. St. Paul: Kartemquin Films.
Jarrett, R. L. (1995). Growing up poor: The family experiences of socially mobile youth in low-income African-American neighborhoods. Journal of Adolescent Research, 10(1), 111–135.
Jarrett, R. L. (1998). African American mothers and grandmothers in poverty: An adaptational perspective. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 29(2), 387–396.
Jarrett, R. L., Brooks-Gunn, J., Duncan, G. J., & Aber, J. L. (1997). Bringing families back in: Neighborhood effects on child development. In J. Brooks-Gunn, G. J. Duncan, & J. L. Aber (Eds.), Neighborhood poverty. Volume 2. Policy implications in studying neighborhoods (pp. 48–64). New York: Sage.
Jarrett, R. L., Sullivan, P. J., & Watkins, N. D. (2005). Developing social capital through participation in organized youth programs: Qualitative insights from three programs. Journal of Community Psychology, 33(1), 41–55.
Keller, T. E. (2005). A systemic model of the youth mentoring intervention. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 26(2), 169–188.
Kids Count. (2009). Kids Count: State profiles of child well-being. Baltimore: Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Larson, R. (2006). Positive youth development, willful adolescents, and mentoring. Journal of Community Psychology, 34(6), 677–689.
Macleod, J. (1995). Ain’t no makin it: Aspirations and attainment in a low-income neighborhood. Boulder: Westview.
Mahoney, J. L., Larson, R. W., Eccles, J. S., & Lord, H. (2005). Organized activities as development contexts for children and adolescents. In J. L. Mahoney, R. W. Larson, & J. S. Eccles (Eds.), Organized activities as contexts of development: Extracurricular activities, after-school and community programs (pp. 3–22). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Martin, B., Harrison, C. K., & Bukstein, S. (2010). It takes a village for African-American male scholar athletes: Mentorship by parents, faculty and coaches. Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education, 4(3), 277–296.
Mateu-Gelabert, P., & Lune, H. (2003). School violence: The bidirectional conflict flow between neighborhood and school. City & Community, 2(4), 353–368.
Mateu-Gelabert, P., & Lune, H. (2007). Street codes in high school: School as an educational deterrent. City & Community, 6(3), 173–191.
May, R. B. (2008). Living through the hoop: High school basketball, race and the American dream. New York: New York University Press.
McLaughlin, M. W. (1993). Embedded identities: Enabling balance in urban contexts. In S. B. Health & M. W. Mclaughin (Eds.), Identity and inner-city youth (pp. 36–68). New York: Teachers College Press.
McLaughlin, M. W., Irby, M. A., & Langman, J. (1994). Urban sanctuaries: Neighborhood organizations in the lives and futures of inner-city youth. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Paschall, M. J., & Hubbard, M. L. (1998). Effects of neighborhood and family stressors on African American male adolescents’ self-worth and propensity for violent behavior. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66(5), 825–831.
Pew Center on the States. (2008). One in 100: Behind bars in America. Washington, DC: Pew Center on the States.
Portes, A. (2000). The two meanings of social capital. Sociological Forum, 15(1), 1–12.
Putnam, R. D. (1995). Bowling alone: America’s declining social capital. Journal of Democracy, 6(1), 65–78.
Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Rhoden, W. (2006). Forty million dollar slaves: The rise, fall and redemption of the black athlete. New York: Crown.
Rhodes, J. E. (2002a). A critical view of youth mentoring. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Rhodes, J. E. (2002b). Stand by me: The risks and rewards of mentoring today’s youth. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Rich, J. A. (2009). Wrong place, wrong time: Trauma and violence in the lives of young Black men. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Richardson, J. (2009). Men do matter: Ethnographic insights on the socially supportive role of the African American uncle in the lives of inner-city African American male youth. Journal of Family Issues, 30(8), 1041–1069.
Richardson, J. (2010). At wits end: A qualitative study of the relationship between African-American parenting strategies, social capital, the juvenile justice system and mental healthcare for at-risk youth. Journal of Correctional Healthcare, 17(4), 319–328.
Rose, D., & Clear, T. (1998). Incarceration, social capital and crime: Implications for social disorganization theory. Criminology, 36(3), 441–480.
Sailes, G. (1998). African-Americans in sport: Contemporary themes. New Brunswick: Transaction.
Sailes, G. (2009). Review of the May’s (2008) R.A. Buford, living through the hoop: High school basketball, race and the American dream. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(1), 137–138.
Sampson, R. J. (1987). Urban black violence: The effect of male joblessness and family disruption. The American Journal of Sociology, 93(2), 348–382.
Sampson, R. J., Morenoff, J. D., & Earls, F. (1999). Beyond social capital: Spatial dynamics of collective efficacy for children. American Sociological Review, 64(5), 633–660.
Sampson, R. J., Morenoff, J. D., & Raudenbush, S. (2005). Social anatomy of racial and ethnic disparities in violence. American Journal of Public Health, 95(2), 224–231.
Samuels, C. A. (2008). Schott Foundation to step up advocacy for black males. Education Week, 27(45), 9.
Sickmund, M. (2010). Juveniles in residential placement: 1997–2008. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile and Delinquency Prevention, US Department of Justice.
Teplin, L. A., McClelland, G. M., Abram, K. M., & Mileusnic, D. (2005). Early violent death among delinquent youth: a prospective longitudinal study. Pediatrics, 115(6), 1586–1593.
Wacquant, L. (1992). An invitation to reflexive sociology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Wacquant, L. (1995). The pugilistic point of view: How boxers think and feel about their trade. Theory & Society, 24(4), 489–535.
Wacquant, L. (2002). Scrutinizing the street: Poverty, morality, and the pitfalls of urban ethnography. The American Journal of Sociology, 107(6), 1468–1532.
Williams, T. M., & Kornblum, W. (1985). Growing up poor. Lexington: Lexington Books.
Wilson, W. J. (1987). The truly disadvantaged: The inner city, the underclass, and public policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Wynn, J. R. (1996). Bike Shops, Tumbling Teams, and Other Primary Supports: Opportunities for Learning and Civic Life. Final Deliverable to OERI. Draft.
Young, A. A. (2004). The minds of marginalized black men: Making sense of mobility, opportunity, and future life chances. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Richardson, J.B. Beyond the Playing Field: Coaches as Social Capital for Inner-City Adolescent African-American Males. J Afr Am St 16, 171–194 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-012-9210-9
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-012-9210-9