Thomas Haddow-Green

Soccer as a Discourse Community

Introduction
The discourse community discussed in this report is that of the soccer community. This sport is known worldwide and loved by millions. Some people believe soccer is a matter of life and death. Im very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that says Bill Shankly Liverpools manager. Many cultures live, breath, and sleep soccer, it is considered way more than just a game to them. This sport is commonly known as football outside of the United States. There have been traces of soccer games as far back as two thousand years ago in China. The first organization to set rules and regulations were the English Football Association in 1863 (Boyer 2). Since this community is so diverse with both cultures and languages it has to be organized at a much higher level. FIFA, which stands for Federation Internationale de Football Association, it serves as the governing body of international soccer. FIFA estimates that 4 percent of the worlds population, or 270 million people, participate in soccer either as players-265 million--or referees and officials--5 million (Parrish 2). The experts of this community include players and coaches. A player could be classified as an expert in this particular discourse community by having a few particular things. Players must have played this game for most of their life and know the game like the back of their hand. It is usually easy to spot the players classified as experts when watching soccer. These are the players commanding players both on and off the field and acting as a mentor to the younger inexperienced players. The experts are also most commonly recognized as the captain of their team which is an honor in this community. It shows that the player has both leadership and perseverance to better their team.

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Coaches are recognized as experts in this community because it takes almost a lifetime to acquire the knowledge they have of the game. They have to experts in order to be able to teach and mentor a bunch of eager players who are hungry for wins. Youll often see in this community many of the greatest coaches were once amazing players when they were younger. This happens because to be an expert in the community coaches must have experienced both the play and coaching aspect of the game. Coaches are an essential aspect of this community who play an important role in the success of the group.

Methodology
To gain information on this community I explored the mind of a former teammate to understand his knowledge on the soccer community. I interviewed Evan McCarn to further conduct some research on the topic. I chose Evan to gather data from because he has been a part of the community for about thirteen years. He loves the sport and continues to be a part of it as he attends his former teams practices to help better younger players as a mentor. I researched some background information on the internet. For instance, I researched some of the history and establishments of certain organizations. I also used the knowledge I gained over the past twelve years from playing this sport.

Results
Soccer is a great example of a discourse community because it contains all the characteristics and it is fairly easy to recognize them. The three characteristics that seem to be the most clearly viewed in this community are goals, lexis, and genres.

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The soccer community has certain goals that clearly defined and some that are not always as easy to identify as others. For example, everyone has the goal of wanting to win their game. Others are defined by the specific coach or team that people are a part of. On Evans soccer team one of the goals of the team was to better themselves both on and off the field. Working to strengthening yourself mentally and physically is one of the greatest achievements in this community. Working on mentally strengthening yourself helps with self-confidence and prepares the team for games. As Evans puts it You do not want to put in hours of work a day and have no particular types of real world skills to show for it. Your soccer career will end eventually and when it does you want to leave it as a better person then what you started as. Working on the aspect of teamwork and building bonds with individuals is another common goal in this community. The great teams see the success that comes from a team that can successfully work together. After these certain bonds are established the community will come together and move forward as one. In soccer if the team does not click together or have good chemistry that is a major problem. That should be one of the major priorities of the community to succeed in the future. Another great aspect of this community is teamwork and building respectful bonds within the group. The team will start to separate and form certain groups if respect and the bonds are not developed. This could lead to multiple things such as arguments fighting amongst teammates and just an overall bad moral. The aspect of teamwork is huge and is needed during games and even when obstacles are placed in front of the group to overcome.

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Lexis is important for any type of discourse community that exists. They are specialized texts that are developed to be understood only by members of the group. These are usually simpler terms to describe a desired action that is wished to be performed. Certain lexis can be created to only be understood by certain teams within this community each one can have different ones from another team. The commonly used lexis is usually the same throughout the entire community. For example, cross simply means to switch the point of attack on the field by simply kicking the ball to the other side of the field. This is used mainly when the side the ball is currently on is clustered or space is tight, so this is used to spread the field and open it back up to maneuver through. Another term used is drop this is a term to describe the action of turning around and playing the ball to the teammate directly behind you. This helps relieve pressure on the ball carrier so they can move to a different position to receive the ball back. Man on is when an opposing player is approaching the ball carrier. Teammates are the ones who use this term the most to give their players a heads up. This allows the ball carrier to get rid of the soccer ball fast without losing possession of it. A genre is a particular type of text that is used in the discourse community. This text allows members to communicate between each other effectively. Soccer has a few types of genres they use even though most of their communication is verbal. The texts include certain terms within them that might only be understood by members of the community. An essential text that is used in the community is a coachs clipboard or play sheet. These could be anything from a pieces of paper attached to a clipboard or a full on book filled with plays. The coach withholds all his formations and plays on this clipboard. It never parts ways with its owner because it is so essential to the success of the team. The team will go over their

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formations during practices and perfect them until they know them. It is difficult to use a general idea of what it looks like for all coaches but many just use Xs and Os to set up formations. The Xs being the coachs players and the Os being the opposing players. Another way to understand or read these notes is by look below or around the formations it will contain little notes everywhere that holds key points the team needs to do in order to be successful. The player sheet is another form of genres that is included in this community. It lists the starting lineup for the team then the substitutes below them. The sheet includes the teams schedule and usually a team motto. At the beginning of the game opposing coaches trade sheets to have a list of each teams player. Announcers also use this sheet to announce the starting lineups for both teams before the game begins.

Conclusion
The purpose of this discourse community is to gather everyone who enjoys playing the game and they do just that. The members of the soccer discourse community all have one common goal to enjoy the game they all love. Each member of the community might have different views or beliefs, but they all have the same purpose of playing or watching. That reason is because they love the game it can brings many different people along with their cultures together. Soccer is the worlds sport and is the main sport in many countries throughout the world. It is such a diverse sport by the way it brings many different ethnicities and cultures together without violence just to play a simple game. It is honestly a beautiful thing which is one few things that make this such a beautiful game and continues to acquire new members from all over. Membership can be obtained at any age when they learn the basic ideas of the game. The members usually determine when they leave the community or if they are asked to leave due to an unacceptable act they were involved in. The community believes in the power of the game

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and they are passionate about it. This community continues to bring passionate and exhilarating games for all of its member to enjoy.

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References
Ehow.com. Background Information About Soccer | eHow.com. N.p., 2005. Web. 24 Oct 2012. [http://www.ehow.com/about_6672221_background-information-soccer.html]. Livestrong.com. Background Information On Soccer | LIVESTRONG.COM. N.p., 2010. Web. 24 Oct 2012. [http://www.livestrong.com/article/160113-background-informationon-soccer/].

WTE 4 Interview an Expert

1. What kinds of specialized language do group members use in their conversations or while on the field? 2. What are some of the roles that included within the community? 3. What are certain things that an individual must do to become successful within this community? 4. How can this community help better you in the real world? 5. What are the common goals that are shared in your community? 6. How do newcomers to the group learn the specific language and the knowledge? 7. How do members of group confront situations and overcome those situations? 8. How can you determine who are the old-timers of the group or referenced as the mentors? 9. What are some certain characteristics that one must have to be successful in the community? 10. Are there understood organized leadership roles in the group? 11. Are members looked down upon in any way in regard to their knowledge in the group? If yes, why? 12. How often does your group meet to better the group of individuals? 13. What are some difficulties that players face while working to better themselves? 14. What are certain types of communications you use with players and coaches? 15. How is authority determined in the community? 16. What are some things the group does in practice to better the team? 17. How does the coach come up with drills or plays to be practiced by the group? 18. Do group members need to be respectful to each other to be successful? 19. Are bonds established between members of the group and certain cliques? 20. Is the group looked at as a family or just individuals who enjoy playing the game?