Reaching Men to Improve Reproductive Health for All Adolescents and Soccer: Where Masculinity is at Play Rodrigo Aguirre, Francisco Aguayo, Juan José Perez

Reaching Men to Improve Reproductive Health for All

Adolescents and Soccer: Where Masculinity is at Play

Rodrigo Aguirre , Francisco Aguayo, Juan José Perez

September 2003


(In) This Presentation:

• Theoretical Basis

• Global PAHO Project

• CIDE Project

• Intervention Model

• Coach´s Guide


Health and Developmental challenges in adolescents• Understanding masculinity as a social

construct.

• It is necesary to go beyond risky behavior and intervene in the process of identity building

• It is necesary to go where adolescents are and become men (i.e: the soccer field)


Masculinity: a social construct

• Men ¨built¨ themselves in relation with and as opposite to women and present themselves as ¨men¨ in front of other men

• They confront mandates, transitions and behavior patterns that ¨build¨them as men


Basis for Intervention though Soccer:

• In LA there is still a ¨traditional¨ and hegemonic model of masculinity and it has some fissures that allow psycho-social intervention

• Most of these mandates, transitions and behaviors associated with masculinity building are present in the soccer field


Basis for Intervention through Soccer:

• Belonging to the ¨Soccer world¨ is seen as a transition from the mother to the father

• The ¨fissures¨ in the traditional masculinity concept are easily expressed and allow direct intervention

• Sports are particularly relevant for the young, specially Soccer (in LA). It allows for the development of the body and the building of the character with it’s manly characteristics (agressiveness and defensiveness, speed, resistance, shrewdness and others)


Basis for Intervention through Soccer:

• The Soccer field and Club: the community has legitimated soccer in it’s capacity for educating and evaluating masculinity

• The soccer club promotes the transmission of manly identities through generations (¨my father and uncle¨s also belonged to the club¨)

• The key person is the COACH. He is the one who defines and regulates the activation and mandates of masculinity in the soccer field.


Global PAHO Project

The project “Adolescents and Soccer: where masculinity is at play¨ is part of the WHO initiative to promote health and development in male adolescents and to promote gender equity.


Global PAHO Project: 3 Phases

I. Development of a manual and validation

II. Adaptation in five selected countries of the Region

III. Scale-up


PAHO – CIDE Project

General Objectives

To develop an educational and psycho-social intervention program about masculinity with pre-adolescents, using the context of popular soccer clubs, to promote alternative models to the hegemonic mandates of masculinity that enable young men to prevent disease and have improved health and human development.


Specific Objectives

• To identify the educational and psycho-social needs of pre-adolescents members of popular soccer clubs

• To identify the group management abilities and deficits of the coaches

• To define a strategy and develop an educational and psycho-social intervention model on masculinity issues in pre-adolescent members of popular soccer clubs

• To develop an educational program that includes the writing of a manual and a training program for soccer coaches and workshops for pre-adolescent members of popular soccer clubs


Study Elements

• Recommendations for the development of an educational program appropriate to the age of the participants.

• The coach-coachee relationship (Mutual respect, responsibility,...)

• Thoughts and beliefs of the coaches about the children

• Thoughts and beliefs of the coaches about themselves


Soccer Suited to the Pre-Adolescent Style

• Focused on the fun side of the game

• Coach must be sensitive to the players rights. More of a guide than a teacher

• Promoting a gender-equitable masculinity

• Situational Leadership

• Knowledge and abilities related to psycho-social issues


Intervention Model

Educational Program

Soccer school “Playing for health”

Educational Program for Coaches

TRAINING

Certificate

Monitoring

Educational Material :

MANUAL FOR THE COACH/MONITOR

Educational Program for Pre-Adolescents

SOCCER SCHOOL

9 sessions

1. Concentrati1. Concentratioonn and psychosocial and psychosocial issues issues 2. 2. Playing in the Playing in the fieldfield


The Sessions of the ManualV

ert

ica

l te

xt

go

es

he

re

Session 1: My rights as a player

Session 2: My record as a player

Session 3: The field of Life

Session 4: Team play

Session 5: Soccer: Passions and feelings

Session 6: Healthier Soccer without drugs

Session 7: Soccer ¿Fair or unfair play?

Session 8: My affections and desires

Session 9: The celebration of soccer


Validation

• A validation study was done with a group of coaches

• The educational material was tested with a group of pre-adolescents

• Revisions were made to the educational material


Findings

• It is important to keep the psycho-social intervention within the limits allowed by the soccer game

• Tension between biological and cultural explanation of behaviors

• Participants found the issues motivating and provocative but sometimes very distant from the soccer game

• The coaches in the pilot study showed a type of masculinity of the classic hegemonic model - we think it possible to change that

• Coach R made changes as a monitor after his participation in the study

• The facilitators were redeined as part of the technical body


Facilitating Factors

• The coach is seen as a leader and guide and is admired by the young. He transfers them experiences and is not seen as a teacher

• When the coaches are motivated and inquisitive

• When the issues are closely related to soccer

• When facilitators and therapists work in the field coordinated by the coach

• Having the chance of formal training certified by an educational institution


Obstacles

• Soccer and the soccer field can be a closed space and resistant to new issues and players

• The masculinity model of the coaches (hegemonic)

• Tha date (wheather, vacations, timing?)


Recommendations

• Adequate selection of the participants by: motivation, interest in psycho-social issues, flexibility, commitment and teaching skills

• Clearly define the objective group and adapt the program to their skill level

• Training has an experiential and biographic dimension

• The contents must be simple and not too much

• NEVER forget that this is a soccer school that we joined voluntarily and invited ourselves into the team. We should not be dismissed!

Documents

Reaching Men to Improve Reproductive Health for All Adolescents and Soccer: Where Masculinity is at Play Rodrigo Aguirre, Francisco Aguayo, Juan José Perez