Fathering Through Sport and Leisure

Fathering is a highly contested concept in popular, media, academic and policy discourses, yet in the areas of family studies and men’s studies the leisure component of family life is under-played. This book provides a long overdue and thorough investigation of the relationship between fatherhood, sport, and leisure.

Fathering Through Sport and Leisure investigates what fathers actually do in the time they spend with their children. Leading researchers from the fields of sport, leisure and family studies examine the tensions men encounter as they endeavour to meet the new expectations of fatherhood, and the central role that sport and leisure play in overcoming this. Analyzed in relation to social trends and current policy debates, this unique collection examines fathering in a wide range of contexts including:

parental expectation and youth sports


fathers and daughters


leisure time and couple time in dual earner families


divorce, fatherhood and leisure.
The book shows how contemporary fathers use sport and leisure to engage with their sons and daughters, achieve emotional closeness and fulfil their own expectations of what it means to be a ‘good father’. Drawing on research carried out in the UK, Australia, Canada and the United States, this is a crucial text for anybody with an interest in leisure studies, family studies or fatherhood.

Tess Kay has undertaken extensive research into sport, leisure and family life in the UK and internationally. She is a Director of the Institute of Youth Sport, one of the largest research centres dedicated to the study of young people, sport and leisure.

Introduction: Fathers, Sport and Leisure Tess Kay 1. Where’s Dad? The Missing Father in Sport and Leisure Studies Tess Kay 2. ‘Until the Ball Glows in the Twilight’: Fatherhood, Baseball and the Game of Playing Catch Ralph LaRossa 3. The Good Father: Parental Expectations and Youth Sports Jay Coakley 4. Sport and Leisure as Contexts for Fathering in Australian Families Maureen Harrington 5. Leisure and Fatherhood in Dual-Earner Families Liz Such 6. Family and Personal Leisure Perspectives From LDS Fathers Birgitta Baker, Patti Freeman and Ramon Zabriskie 7. Fathers and Daughters: Negotiating Gendered Relationships in Sport Nicole Willms 8. Rising to the Challenge: Father’s Role in the Negotiation of Couple Time Vera Dyck and Kerry Daly 9. Non-Resident Fathers’ Leisure with Their Children John Jenkins and Kevin Lyons 10. Divorce and Recreation: Non-Resident Fathers’ Leisure During Visitation Time With Their Children Alisha Swinton, Patti Freeman and Ramon Zabriskie 11. Lifestyles, Leisure and Queer Dads Angelia R. Wilson and Jeremy Davis 12. Leisure and Grandfatherhood Sheila Scraton and Samantha Holland 13. Understanding Fatherhood Through Sport and Leisure Tess Kay