If you’ve coached for any period of time, you have inevitably
had to make some tough decisions. Some are painfully obvious while other seem
to beg the question, such as what was my player thinking, what was their intent
or did they really consider the consequences? While having clear expectations
and accountability measures in place usually allow us to settle the incident or
incidents expediently, it is still a part of coaching that is not enjoyable but
necessary.
So what are some of the player challenges that will
require your leadership?
·
Missing the bus to a game
·
Disqualification during a game
·
Teammates not including a teammate during a game
·
Missing or late to practice
·
Fighting with a teammate
·
Failing academically or disrupting class
·
Drugs/Alcohol/etc.
·
Blatantly not following instructions in a game
·
Refusing to enter a game
·
Influencing other teammates to disregard your
instructions
As
you look at these, it is pretty obvious that some fall under the same category
of PLAYER
ACCOUNTABILITY within your team expectations, which you hopefully
formulated with the players at the beginning of the year. These typically
include missing the bus or practice, fighting, and disqualification. Drugs and
alcohol are usually covered in your school’s handbook.
It’s
those other challenges such as refusing to enter a game, disregarding
instructions, negatively influencing a teammate, freezing a teammate out during
a game, that require immediate attention, and may or may not have been included
in your expectations. That is not to say we need to jump to conclusions. Time
may be required to see who the real problem is. It may be more than one player
and the incident may not be what we think it is.
That
being said, after experiencing these situations a veteran coach usually sees it
for what it is and knows with almost certainty who is guilty. So what is the
solution or what now?
Here
are some steps you may consider:
Avoid, if possible, confronting the player or players
in front of the team. The time allows you to calm down.
Bring the player or players into your office the next day. Always
include an assistant coach or athletic director in the meeting.
Explain your
view of the situation and then be quiet. Let them respond. When they finish,
assuming you were correct in your assessment, be adamant that you and the team
cannot tolerate this behavior.
At this
point you have to decide if punishment is called for. If rules have been
broken, never waiver. Hold them accountable.
If punishment is warranted make sure to let the
parents know.
Never be swayed by an immediate apology. This simply
may be a defense mechanism that worked many times for this player or players.
Never consider the big game coming up or how the
absence of this player will be felt when making a decision. If you delay
punishment until the big game is over you’ll lose any respect you had with your
team.
Let the player or players know that a second offense will involve the
possibility of dismissal from the team.
Only you know the best avenue to handle a situation
with your team. However, the choices will always be to look the other way, see
it with rose colored glasses or step up and hold your player or players
accountable. When we don’t hold them accountable we set a standard of weak
leadership and inability to make tough decisions. If this continues throughout
the season your team will end up in chaos.
For your words to have meaning throughout the season,
your actions have to say, “This is what our team stands for, and anything else
will not be tolerated.”
By doing that you’ll free your players up to do what
they do best, play the game.
I wish you and your team the best! Keep inspiring!
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