As the face of a team, school or organization one of the largest responsibilities a coach is entrusted with is the position as ethical role model. Every coach is an example for his or her team, and the team philosophy and rules that each coach establishes will inevitably be tested and challenged many times throughout their coaching career. The most difficult decisions that I believe coaches have to make is how to discipline players when they violate team or school rules. However, a coach must also be willing to adapt and change rules over time. Many coaches agree rule making is a constant on-going process that is modified and enforced differently from year to year. With all of that change being said, how do coaches keep consistent and retain their decision-making integrity? Where does discipline fit into the GROW approach?
No matter what age group you are coaching, giving Ownership to the athletes is an essential part of establishing a basis for discipline that will help a coach and teams achieve fairness as a unit. The best opportunity a coach can create for athletes is to give players Ownership by responsibility and decision-making situations to help them GROW. It is important to assign players different jobs to setting up practice, handling equipment, cleaning up practice and other tasks of that nature can give players Ownership of the team and teach them responsibility. Players must see and feel that the team is dependent on each and every one of their actions or else the group as a whole will suffer. If they fail to uphold the team rules and responsibilities under the coach’s watch, it is easier to correct and enforce discipline. The goal is that players will transcend this attitude to their off-field conduct, and realize that if they fail to uphold their responsibilities by affecting the team in a negative fashion, there will be discipline to prevent future occurrences. That is when the coach’s job becomes extremely difficult. The decision contains many elements; how light or how severe a punishment, what type of punishment etc. Every coach will handle their team differently, but I did find an article below that helped me formulate two DON’Ts for discipline that can help guide your future decision making to help keep you consistent and fair.
1.) Caution with physical forms of punishment
I tend to agree that this is a rather outdated form of discipline. With the current generation of youth, I feel like punishments such as extra sprints and other taxing forms of energy are a waste of precious practice time and further distract players. There is also a possibility that a team-wide punishment for an individual violation or shortcoming can create that individual’s teammates to develop resentment against him or her, creating a negative environment that doesn’t help anyone GROW. There are just some cases where the team has no control over their teammate’s actions (e.g. disrespecting coaches or officials) because it is just the character/nature of that particular player and would better be addressed and corrected separate from the team.
2.) Athlete’s deserve an explanation of discipline
In order to ensure that the athlete fully understands what he or she did wrong and why it will not be tolerated, it is important that the coach offers an explanation so that the player and the coach understand each other. Disciplining player’s can often cause a strain in the player-coach relationship, so I believe it is important for the coach to be the “adult” and mature person to assure that the relationship remains healthy. If the player feels the coach is impersonal and is disinterested in the player’s welfare, they will be much less likely to buy into the lessons and team goals that the coach preaches on a day-to-day basis. This player can become a vice to the team, so it is important that the player-coach relationship remains healthy through discipline to stay in accordance with the GROW approach. Consulting with parents/guardians is also an option, and all though it may not be a coach’s favorite way to handle a situation, in some cases it is necessary. Parents are often the most important influences to players. If there is a lack of communication or understanding, players may be influenced by their parents to believe that “Coach doesn’t know what he/she is talking about” or “Coach is not fair.” This doesn’t mean that the parent must agree with your plan of action for discipline, but it is important to make sure the parent feels and trusts the punishment is justifiable. Always keep the GROW approach in mind, and I believe parents would appreciate if they knew that the GROW approach is something you as a coach believed in to develop their children. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FIH/is_n9_v65/ai_n18606892/
Nick Conrad
Social Foundations of Coaching
Class of 2014
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