Metaphorical Conceptualizations of Football Coach through Social Cognitive Theory

The purpose of this study was to examine the metaphors which were used to describe the concept “football coach” by some stakeholders in football, such as players, club officials and referees. Each individual (N= 389) within the study group was asked to reveal the single metaphor s/he has in mind in respect of the concept of football coach. The responses were analyzed with the qualitative method of content analysis through the core principles of social cognitive theory. Thirty-three metaphors and 4 conceptual categories were identified. Results showed that players used metaphors related to protective figure while club officials and referees referred to decision-maker figure. There were differences in use of metaphors based on the age of participants