This book presents journeys of sixteen Indigenous Australian athletes from their first touch of a
'footy' to the highest levels of Australian football and rugby league, conceptualized as a process
of learning. The authors challenge simplistic explanations of Indigenous success in Australian
football and rugby league, centered on the notion of the 'natural athlete'. The book traces
the development of Indigenous sporting expertise as a lifelong process of learning situated in
local culture and shaped by the challenges of transitioning into professional sport. Individually,
the life stories told by the participants provide fascinating insights into experience, culture
and learning. Collectively, they provide deep understanding of the powerful influence that
Aboriginal culture exerted on the participants' journeys to the top of their sports while locating
individual experience and agency within larger economic, cultural and social considerations.
Stories of Indigenous Success in Australian Sport will be of interest to students and scholars
across a range of disciplines including Indigenous studies, physical education, education, sport
management and sociology
Identifies tensions between an Indigenous culture of sport and the culture of professional, elite level sport in Australia
Challenges the restrictive nature of the dominant methodology used to study the development of sporting expertise
Helps coaches to cultivate creativity, flair and game sense in their team members
