Using history to comprehend the currency of a passionate profession

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the growing popularity of coaching; a concept whose influence increasingly spans academic disciplines and institutional fields. Design/methodology/approach – The paper makes sense of coaching by using actor network theory, an approach that seeks to understand how a phenomenon becomes macro social. By examining a wide array of historical documents it traces the characteristics that underlie the transformation of the coach from a technological object to a management concept. In doing so it outlines the fundamental characteristics of coaching. Findings – Specifically coaching involves a post technological nature where performances often occur in extreme conditions that involve the reciprocal interdependence of bodies (teams). These performances may also be viewed as involving impurity, as amateurs who participated purely for the love of the game have usually paid coaches for their services. Originality/value – While there is no denying the influence of coaching, little attention has been given to the history of this concept. This article provides an example of how the past frequently remains present and offers explanation for the popularity of coaching. In doing so it outlines a potential framework for consistently discussing the concept across organizational forms.