Heterotopia as a technology of self: disrupting the sports coaching episteme with Ted Lasso

Sports culture, including its orthodox masculine coaching practices and norms, often contributes to profound negative implications for the mental health of athletes. Sports coaching has repeatedly been problematised through a Foucauldian lens to demonstrate how its disciplinary legacy ensures coaching rarely changes. Notably absent from the literature is Foucault's concept of heterotopia that enables rule-breaking practices to exist. The purpose of this paper is to explore Foucault's heterotopia within the context of sports coaching and demonstrate its use in altering the culture of sports. We begin by introducing Foucault's theoretical understanding of how sports norms are produced, enforced, and challenged. We then explore Foucault's heterotopia within the concepts of power and resistance. We conclude by operationalising heterotopia within sports coaching through an analysis of the popular sports comedy-drama television series Ted Lasso and explore its implications in altering the cultural landscape of sports coaching.