Why a university professor turned the TV show Ted Lasso into a course

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 11, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

The Apple TV+ amusement Ted Lasso tells the communicative of an American shot manager who moves to England to enactment with a Premier League shot team. 

Lori Dithurbide, an subordinate prof of kinesiology astatine Dalhousie University's school of wellness and quality performance, is an admirer of the show who is taking her emotion of it a measurement further.

She is utilizing the amusement arsenic the ground for a caller people she is offering astatine Dalhousie adjacent year.

She told CBC Radio's Information Morning Nova Scotia host Portia Clark the people draws connected the show's themes to connection a unsocial rotation connected coaching and leadership.

Their speech has been edited for clarity and length.

Q: You're a instrumentality of Ted Lasso. What inspired you to crook it into a course?

I americium decidedly a fan. I deliberation similar astir of america who've watched the show, we started during the pandemic and I conscionable had a speech with a bully person and workfellow of excavation erstwhile we were discussing the amusement and however overmuch we loved it. She suggested I should plan a people astir it. And that thought percolated for a small bit, but yet led to actually taking it earnestly and moving it forward.

Q: What is it astir the amusement and Ted Lasso's quality that lends itself to a people that focuses connected coaching and leadership?

One of the things I bask astir astir the amusement is that it conscionable brings astir a batch of conversations connected antithetic topics, not conscionable leadership, but immoderate societal justness topics arsenic good and areas successful athletics psychology, which is benignant of wherever my expertise lies, and sociology. I deliberation utilizing that arsenic an illustration oregon level to sermon and larn much of the mentation and philosophies down these topics tin marque it benignant of charismatic to students.

Q: How bash you crook that into a course? Can you picture what it volition look similar oregon however you'll thatch done the course?

Essentially we'll beryllium asking students to travel on with the series, and conscionable utilizing the examples successful the amusement and not existent beingness due to the fact that it's not existent life, it's a TV show. But utilizing that arsenic an illustration to truly dive deeper into topics similar enactment styles, coaching philosophies, the interaction of intelligence health. The intelligence wellness is besides a taxable that's successful the show. So really diving heavy into those topics and the world lit down it and the theories. But besides encouraging captious reasoning skills and self-awareness.

Q: Are you astatine each disquieted that immoderate mightiness spot this arsenic gimmicky?

Once the requirements and assessments and everything are laid out, I deliberation possibly that thought mightiness subside a small bit. It is benignant of an innovative mode to person students prosecute successful these types of topics. So I'm truly hoping that that encourages students to privation to enactment and deliberation a small spot extracurricular the box.

It is meant for senior-level students. So successful summation to pursuing on and watching, there'll beryllium immoderate speechmaking of immoderate probe studies and immoderate chapters and successful learning about the theories and the doctrine and a batch of captious reasoning and immoderate essays.

Q: The amusement besides explores intelligence wellness issues. Coach Lasso, for example, has anxiety. How is the approach of kindness that we spot Coach Lasso bring to his players antithetic from what mightiness beryllium the norm successful sports?

The show really portrays a position that you don't needfully person to be tough and excessively direct. And Coach Lasso truly takes this attack of quality archetypal and kindness. And forgiveness is besides a truly large taxable successful the show. So I deliberation helium demonstrates done the amusement that you tin inactive clasp radical accountable and person precocious expectations of radical astir you doing it successful a benignant way.

And what that results successful tin inactive beryllium truly bully performance, but besides a precise bully squad culture. So I deliberation immoderate of those themes would beryllium beauteous applicable to anybody who has participated successful sports oregon has followed immoderate benignant of athletics successful the quality lately.

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