Coaching, Kindness, and Culture: Psychology, Sports, the Arts, & Leadership

Coaching, Kindness, and Culture: Psychology, Sports, the Arts, Leadership…& Ted Lasso

A Transdisciplinary conference

Date: November 15-16, 2025November 15: In person participation in Richmond, London (and online)

November 16: Fully online

Proposal Submission Deadline October 06, 2025

Call for Papers:

“I believe in hope. I believe in Believe.” — Ted Lasso

Few recent television series have inspired such widespread conversation about coaching, leadership, kindness, mental health, and the power of optimism as Ted Lasso. Set in Richmond, London, this Emmy-winning show has touched audiences around the world through its blend of humour, emotional depth, and fresh portrayals of mentorship, masculinity, teamwork, and vulnerability.

This conference invites scholars, practitioners, coaches, creatives, psychologists, cultural critics, and sports researchers to explore Ted Lasso as a springboard for wider questions about how we lead, learn, care, and create connection — both on screen and beyond it.

This conference welcomes 15-minute academic and/or creative presentations, performance, and multimedia work. We invite perspectives from media studies, psychology, sports studies, arts-based research, cultural theory, performance, pedagogy, and beyond.

Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

• Coaching: as a metaphor for leadership, teaching, and community care
• Empathic leadership: and the “lovable fool” archetype in modern narratives
• The Ted Lasso effect: optimism, sincerity, and the psychology of teams
• Comparative readings: Ted Lasso alongside other sports films, series, or real-world coaching practices
• Sport stories: Narrative myth, individuation, and psychological growth through sport stories
• Masculinity, vulnerability, and mental health in contemporary media and beyond
• The power of humour and storytelling to break cynicism and build connection
• Arts-based research inspired by Ted Lasso: performance, creative writing, filmmaking
• Fandom and media: Fan culture, memes, digital storytelling, and participatory media
• Sports: the role of sport in place identity, belonging, and local culture
• Gender, diversity, and intersectionality in sports narratives
• Kindness, mentorship, and moral leadership in an age of polarisation

How to Apply:

If you’d like to present, please submit your proposal using our online form by October 06, 2025:https://forms.gle/Dwy1HbMej3F5HaW4A

We will announce our plenary/keynote speakers and share the full programme after proposals are reviewed and confirmed.

Whether you have watched the show or not, we welcome you to join us as we explore the themes that inspire us to think deeply about coaching, storytelling, kindness, leadership, humour, and human connection. Whether you are a devoted fan of the show, a researcher of sports culture and psychology, or a creative interested in the wider questions Ted Lasso touches — this conference welcomes you.

Non-presenting attendees are also welcome!

We look forward to receiving your abstracts! The London Arts-Based Research Centre is dedicated to fostering transdisciplinary dialogue through creative practice, research, and performance. This conference continues our mission to explore how arts-based inquiry, storytelling, and cultural studies can open new ways of thinking, healing, and imagining collective futures.

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Host or Publisher London Arts-Based Research Centre