Foreign players in Polish table tennis clubs: differences between sports cultures and coaches’ perception of the impact of foreign players on Polish table tennis

Michał Lenartowicz; Anna Ciok

doi:10.18778/0208-600X.75.02

Authors

Michał Lenartowicz Faculty of Physical Education, Academy of Physical Education in Warsaw, ul. Marymoncka 34, 01-813 Warszawa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6237-6287
Anna Ciok Physical Education and Sport Centre of University of Warsaw, CENT I, ul. Stefana Banacha 2A, 02-097 Warszawa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3351-2526

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/0208-600X.75.02

Keywords:

sport migration, athletes and coaches, sport career, sports cultures, table tennis

Abstract

The paper presents results of empirical study on elite international athletes and Polish coaches working in the Polish top table tennis clubs. It focuses on foreign players and investigated Polish the perceptions of coaches with regard to the differences between sports cultures in foreign players’ countries of origin and Poland, and their consequences for efficiency of sport training and competition results. Major research findings concerned Chinese athletes. Another issue analysed in the paper concerns on-going discussion on the limits, costs and benefits of introducing international players into national sport leagues. Based on the research results and literature review, we analyse the perceived impact of foreign players on the table tennis training system in Poland, relationships between Polish and foreign players and the role of international players in club competition. Applying qualitative research allowed the authors to present the insights and views of the investigated athletes and coaches, and to analyse problems occurring in the sport careers of international sport migrants a sport discipline that has hitherto not received much scrutiny.

References

Agergaard S. (2008), Elite Athletes as Migrants in Danish Women’s Handball, “International Review for the Sociology of Sport”, vol. 43(1), pp. 5–18.
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690208093471

Agergaard S., Tiesler N.C. (eds.) (2014), Women, Soccer and Transnational Migration, Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, London–New York.
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203544617

Agergaard S., Ungruhe C. (2016), Ambivalent Precarity: Career Trajectories and Temporalities in Highly Skilled Sports Labor Migration from West Africa to Northern Europe, “Anthropology of Work Review”, vol. XXXVII(2), pp. 67–78.
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/awr.12096

Bale J. (1991), The Brawn Drain: Foreign Student-Athletes in American Universities, University of Illinois Press, Urbana.
Google Scholar

Bale J., Maguire J. (eds.) (1994), The Global Sports Arena. Athletic Talent Migration in an Interdependent World, Frank Cass Publishers, London.
Google Scholar

Du-Babcock B., Tanaka H. (2017), Leadership Construction in intra-Asian English as Lingua Franca Decision-Making Meetings, “International Journal of Business Communication”, vol. 54(1), pp. 83–98.
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2329488416675451

Elliott R., Gusterud R. (2018), Finding the Back of the Net. Networks and Migrant Recruitment in Norwegian Football, “International Review for the Sociology of Sport”, vol. 53(1), pp. 69–83.
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690216640526

Elliott R., Maguire J. (2008), “Getting Caught in the Net”: Examining the Recruitment of Canadian Players in British Professional Ice Hockey, “Journal of Sport & Social Issues”, vol. 32(2), pp. 158–176.
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723507313927

Fullen R. (2003), Training in China, http://protabletennis.net/content/training-china (accessed 8.08.2017).
Google Scholar

Gill D.L., Kamphoff C.S. (2010), Gender and Cultural Considerations, [in:] J.M. Williams (ed.), Applied Sport Psychology – Personal Growth to Peak Performance, McGraw Hill, Boston, pp. 417–439.
Google Scholar

Larcombe B. (2012), Why is China So Good at Table Tennis?, https://www.experttabletennis.com/why-is-china-so-good-at-table-tennis/ (accessed 12.09.2017).
Google Scholar

Lenartowicz M. (2016), “Dziś będę Polakiem”. Migracje sportowe i zmiany obywatelstwa przez wyczynowych sportowców, [in:] J. Kosiewicz, E. Małolepszy, T. Drozdek-Małolepsza (eds.), Filozoficzne i społeczne aspekty sportu i turystyki, Wydawnictwo im. S. Podobińskiego Akademii im. Jana Długosza, Częstochowa, pp. 117–126.
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.16926/fisasit.08

Magee J., Sugden J. (2002), “The World at Their Feet”: Professional Football and International Labor Migration, “Journal of Sport and Social Issues”, vol. 26(4), pp. 421–437.
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0193732502238257

Maguire J. (1999), Global Sport: Identities, Societies, Civilizations, Polity, Cambridge.
Google Scholar

Maguire J., Falcous M. (eds.) (2011), Sport and Migration: Borders, Boundaries and Crossings, Routledge, London–New York.
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203877319

Maguire J., Jarvie G., Mansfield L., Bradley J.M. (2002), Sport Worlds. A Sociological Perspective, Human Kinetics, Champaign.
Google Scholar

Pawlak Z., Smoleń A. (2015), Strategie zawodowych klubów sportowych w Polsce, Oficyna Wydawnicza Szkoły Głównej Handlowej, Warszawa.
Google Scholar

Smoleń A., Pawlak Z. (2010), Płaszczyzna i skala umiędzynarodowienia działalności profesjonalnych klubów sportowych w Polsce, [in:] Z. Dziubiński, P. Rymarczyk (eds.), Kultura fizyczna a globalizacja, Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego Józefa Piłsudskiego, Salezjańska Organizacja Sportowa Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, Warszawa, pp. 485–495.
Google Scholar

Thorpe H. (2011), “Have Board, Will Travel”: Global Physical Youth Cultures and Transnational Mobility, [in:] J. Maguire, M. Falcous (eds.), Sport and Migration: Borders, Boundaries and Crossings, Routledge, London–New York, pp. 112–127.
Google Scholar

Wang J., Calloway J. (2011), The Challenges and Strategies of Foreign Coaches Working with Chinese Olympic Teams, “International Journal of Coaching Science”, vol. 5(2), pp. 81–91.
Google Scholar

Wu T., Su P. (2010), How to Coach World-Class Athletes of Table Tennis, “International Journal of Table Tennis Sciences”, vol. 6, Beijing Sport University, Beijing.
Google Scholar

Yu Z., Wang L. (2008), Differences between Youth Sports Training in China and America, “Journal of Wuhan Institute of Physical Education”, vol. 42(2), pp. 5–10.
Google Scholar