This series publishes monographs, edited collections and reprints of classic studies on the history and the contemporary role of sport, primarily in Britain and Europe but including other parts of the world. Although the focus of the series is historical, it also embraces more contemporary interdisciplinary studies of the role of sport as a local, national and global phenomenon.

Contents: Introduction: Examines the etymology of the term ‘coaching’, discusses the importance of the coaching context and recalls coaching practices in the Classical World – Coaching and Training in the Eighteenth Century: Outlines the fundamental practices of training employed in this period before highlighting the importance to coaches of oral traditions and experiential knowledge – Amateurism and Coaching Practice: Explores the impact of amateurism on coaches and gives an exemplar of a coaching life at the end of the nineteenth century – Coaching Communities and ‘Know-How’: Presents nineteenth-century coaching as a craft and uses census material to uncover the life courses of coaching families – Training the athlete and fuelling the athlete: These draw on contemporary literature to identify the physiological, psychological and dietary components of training during this period – The International Dimension: Compares the coaching environment in Britain with that of Empire, Europe and, most especially, America – Coaching and Competitive Swimming: Uses Victorian and Edwardian swimming to demonstrate the impact of amateurism on professionals and on international performance – Coaching Lives: Continuity and Change: Emphasises that coaching practices in any period are an amalgamation of tradition and innovation.