Mentoring in coaching: the means of correct training? An autoethnographic exploration of one Australian swimming coach's experiences

This paper reports on research that identifies the disciplinary mechanism of surveillance and power at work within pathways for coach education in the Australian swimming culture. Utilising autoethnography and Foucault, one Australian swimming coach’s experiences are explored, particularly his experiences within the mentor–mentee relationship of the Australian swimming coaching culture. It is contended that mentor coaches act as intermediaries of the wider sporting organisation and apply mechanisms to that are perceived as encouraging conformity and obedient, docile bodies within the mentor–mentee relationship. This research investigates the mentor–mentee relationship that one coach was immersed in and seeks to understand the complex interrelationships central to the development of an individual coach’s practice.