Divergent paths in changing sports – youth interpretations on contemporary socialization in rationalized sports

Authors

• Outi Aarresola Jyväskylän yliopisto
• Hannu Itkonen
• Jari Lämsä

Abstract

In this article we studied the youth sport socialization from a sociological perspective. We examined the sports paths of 26 young athletes aiming at top-level sports by focusing on three dimensions: sports specific socialization, social and cultural capital, and agency. Applying a Weberian ideal type, four sports paths were formulated. Athletes grown in a sports-specific culture (1) had strong family-based capital. They experienced sports specific socialization and developed ahead of others. Sports virtuosos (2) possessed broad athletic capital from various sports, but their success came later. Catchers (3) had an experience of moving from one sport to another and then catching up with the institutional norms of sports paths, based on strong agency. Drifters (4) were likely to have a routine sports path, without significant success or milestones. The findings show that the divergent socialization routes challenge the present institutional socialization practices.