Communities of Practice

"Words have meanings: some words, however, also have a 'feel'. The word 'community' is one of them. It feels good: whatever the word 'community' may mean, it is good 'to have a community', 'to be in a community' " - Zygmunt Bauman (2001)

This is, perhaps, the most consistent theme throughout the Sports Informatics and Analytics sector. The notion of a community can be applied to most aspects of life. Upon reading through the content for this theme, I noted the words of Etienne Wenger: "Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly." - Wenger (1998)

My reflection on this comment was that a High Performance Sport organisation is a perfect example of such a community in practice. Particularly when you consider that elite level teams are all a part of a wider family who are intent on achieving success. Take for example an AFL club: All members of the "brand" from board level, players, coaches, physios, analysts and even fans are a part of a shared journey centred around winning and each of those stakeholders are intent to contribute in their own way toward that outcome.