What determines (in)effective post-competition parent-child interactions in British Tennis? A conversation analysis of car journeys home

Although researchers have recently started to investigate naturally occurring parent-child interactions in youth sport, the use of orthographic transcription, combined with video coding or thematic analysis, overlooks the interactional features resulting in researchers potentially over-simplifying such interactions. The purpose of the current study, therefore, was to examine the naturally occurring parent-child interactions which unfold during the post-competition car journey within British tennis. Specifically, the research questions focused on identifying the parental communicative practices that constrain or afford affiliative and productive conversations about children’s tennis performance. Audio and video recordings were collected from 13 parent-child dyads (n = 26) resulting in 4h 26mins of parent-child interactions. These recordings were transcribed using the Jefferson (2004) system for capturing the production, pace, and organisation of social interaction. Conversation analysis revealed that children resisted or disengaged from the interaction when parents attempted to review their child’s performance by highlighting problems or areas for improvement. However, when children initiated conversations about their own performance, and parents aligned with such invitations, extended sequences of affiliative talk unfolded, irrespective of the result or outcome. From an applied perspective, these findings highlight the importance of post-competition discussions being a child-initiated and child-driven interactional practice which promotes ownership of their tennis development and performances.