Abstract:
The study drawn on for this presentation employed a methodology that combined constructivist grounded theory with narrative inquiry methodology to focus on the stories of eight AFL (Australian Football League) and eight NRL (National Rugby League) players and the socio-cultural factors that facilitated their development of expertise as a process of situated learning. This presentation reports on findings for the sampling phase (6-12 years of age) in the Development Model for Sport Participation (DMSP) that identified the importance of the social and cultural environment for the participants’ development of expertise. In particular it suggests the pivotal role that informal, ‘knock up’ games, shaped by Aboriginal culture, played in their development of game sense, creativity and anticipation as hallmarks of Indigenous AFL and NRL players.