‘It’s the hope that kills you’

By: Ethan Hunt

This winter semester, Dalhousie University is offering a new kinesiology course, KINE 4240, Coaching and Life: Lessons from Ted Lasso, bringing the fictional soccer coach’s lessons of sports psychology and sociology to a university classroom.

Lori Dithurbide, an associate professor of kinesiology and mental performance consultant, became a fan of the show when it debuted in 2020. She dreamed up the course while watching the show with a physiotherapy colleague.

“We were watching Ted Lasso and we were talking about how great a show it is,” Dithurbide says. “And [her coworker] said, ‘You should teach a course about this show.’” 

The show follows American football coach Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis), a fish out of water after being hired to lead Premier League soccer team AFC Richmond. Lasso leans on humour and optimism as he navigates the day-to-day psychological challenges of professional sport alongside broader social issues, such as LGBTQ+ inclusion on sports teams and athlete activism.

Dithurbide initially laughed off the idea of developing the course, but her colleague eventually convinced her. Dithurbide pitched the concept to fellow Lasso fan Laurene Rehman, director of Dalhousie’s School of Health and Human Performance. Rehman greenlit the course, and the university announced it on April 4. 

Dithurbide says the course isn’t just about Ted Lasso.

“It’s a course on coaching, leadership and social justice. We just use Ted Lasso as a kind of vessel.”

Dithurbide says developing the course has been a lot of work. She rewatched the show this summer to do a “full thematic analysis” and is working on constructing lectures.

While the course is based on sports psychology, the show focuses on life lessons that apply beyond sport, such as optimism and forgiveness. Pop culture classes at other Canadian universities have also traded textbooks for TV shows or movies. The University of Victoria offers EPHE 156: The Science of Batman, while the University of Guelph has MUSC 1150: Icons of Popular Music: Taylor Swift.

“It just presents a different way to think about things and how to present it,” Dithurbide says. “It’s a little less conventional or traditional in methods.”

While it’s a kinesiology course, Lasso and Dithurbide’s teachings are open to any student, and there are still spots available. 

As of Oct. 8, 106 Dalhousie students have registered for the course, including Alec Belanger, a kinesiology student in his final year.

While he only tuned into a couple of episodes, Belanger’s excited to see how Dithurbide turns it into an academic course. 

“The show is pretty leadership-based and motivating,” Belanger says. “It switched the mindset on coaching, which I thought was pretty cool.” 

Belanger is ready to apply his critical analysis skills — he’s not expecting it to be a “bird course.”

“This is a prestigious university, it’s not going to be a joke of a course,” he says.