The Extreme Phronesis of Percy Cerutty: A Narrativized Life History of a Legendary Sports Coach

Abstract

This paper presents and interprets a narrativized coaching life history of the Australian athletics coach Percy Cerutty (1895-1975). Through a relational process of self-improvement and practical wisdom sometimes called phronesis, Cerutty exemplifies an intimate interconnectedness with his own and others’ experiences, with the natural environment, and with the transformative capacities of such influences, as often highlighted in transpersonal literature. Three potential themes are offered from the resultant meaning-making: a feel for the game, phronesis, and the coach as a paradoxical figure. Those themes are also interwoven with a consideration of how Cerutty’s story and practices might link to aspects of the transpersonal approach, using the motifs of redemption, transformation, and transcendence, as well as to elements of coaching theory. The paper concludes by evaluating Cerutty’s influence and legacy, and their broader implications