Nurturing and sidelining capitalism in discourses of player potentiality in Finnish ice hockey

Abstract

Ice hockey is an established site for talent identification and development in Finland. In this ethnographic study, I examine the discourses that top gatekeepers of Finnish elite junior hockey construct and favour with respect to the human capital potentiality of ice hockey players. Building upon Foucauldian discourse analysis, the study identified two competing discourses within the Finnish ice hockey domain. The dominant one considers a player to be a capital investment, and the aim is symbolic and economic success; the lesser, but still very vital, discourse looks at a player as an individual with potential that can be nurtured with the right attitudes and conditions. Together, these discourses create a social space in which up-and-coming hockey players’ talents are identified and decisions are made about their possible future athletic careers. These conflicting discourses create tensions for coaches—that is, whether they must obey commercial logic despite their own motivation for working with junior athletes.