Stories of Indigenous Success in Australian Sport

This book presents journeys of sixteen Indigenous Australian athletes from their first touch of a 'footy' to the highest levels of Australian football and rugby league, conceptualized as a process of learning. The authors challenge simplistic explanations of Indigenous success in Australian football and rugby league, centered on the notion of the 'natural athlete'. The book traces the development of Indigenous sporting expertise as a lifelong process of learning situated in local culture and shaped by the challenges of transitioning into professional sport. Individually, the life stories told by the participants provide fascinating insights into experience, culture and learning. Collectively, they provided deep understanding of the powerful influence that Aboriginal culture exerted on the participants' journeys to the top of their sports while locating individual experience and agency within larger economic, cultural and social considerations.

This book presents journeys of sixteen Indigenous Australian athletes from their first touch of a'footy' to the highest levels of Australian football and rugby league, conceptualized as a processof learning. The authors challenge simplistic explanations of Indigenous success in Australianfootball and rugby league, centered on the notion of the 'natural athlete'. The book tracesthe development of Indigenous sporting expertise as a lifelong process of learning situated inlocal culture and shaped by the challenges of transitioning into professional sport. Individually,the life stories told by the participants provide fascinating insights into experience, cultureand learning. Collectively, they provide deep understanding of the powerful influence thatAboriginal culture exerted on the participants' journeys to the top of their sports while locatingindividual experience and agency within larger economic, cultural and social considerations.Stories of Indigenous Success in Australian Sport will be of interest to students and scholarsacross a range of disciplines including Indigenous studies, physical education, education, sportmanagement and sociology

Part I: Introduction.- 1. Indigenous Australians and Sport.- 2. Sport, Experience, the Body and Learning.- 3. The Study.- Part II.- 4. Alvin: 'It's Our Life'.- 5. Max: 'Dad Wanted Me to Try a Lot of Different Sports'.- 6. Toby: 'Bring Your Own Flavour'.- 7. Carl: 'Geez-I'm Not Too Bad at This Caper'.- Part II: Discussion.- Part III.- 8. Danny: 'Rugby League's a Religion for Aboriginal People'.- 9 Ryan: 'Having Good Relationships with People Who Believe in You and Believe in Your Ability'.- 10. Bernie: 'I Knew What I Wanted and I Was Willing to Do Anything to Get It'.- 11. Zac: The Road Less Travelled.- Part III: Discussion.- Part IV: What These Stories Tell Us.- Introduction to Part IV.- 12. Laying the Foundations of Expertise.- 13. Transitioning into the Culture of Professional Sport.- 14 Locating Learning in the Bigger Picture.- 15. Conclusion and Implications.