I just got done teaching in a place where HS and MS coaches were looked down upon for NOT doing stuff like that because certain influential schoolboard members thought coaches had to be "fiery" in order to be good.

That’s accurate....there will be parent wannabes that want to beat the kids , grind the kids....” kick their A” after a loss....ridiculous when some matchups make it unrealistic that they would win.....and in those games it’s easier for a coach to avoid emotions. Emotions and fire come up when kids over perform or underperform....but you gotta know the difference...

Emotions and fire come up when kids over perform or underperform....but you gotta know the difference...

This is very accurate and I wish more coaches would read this

That’s accurate....there will be parent wannabes that want to beat the kids , grind the kids....” kick their A” after a loss....ridiculous when some matchups make it unrealistic that they would win.....and in those games it’s easier for a coach to avoid emotions. Emotions and fire come up when kids over perform or underperform....but you gotta know the difference...

2 seasons ago, we absolutely ripped our team . . . after a 40-0 win. Two of the dads even chirped us from the stands. I worked with one of those kids over the weekend and we talked about that day. I simply explained that the score had little to do with what we put on the field and that we had a championship game coming up against an undefeated opponent. I admitted to him that it was a head game and that I'm rarely in favor of such tactics, but we had an important game to win. The worst thing we could have done would have been to let them walk off that field thinking they had accomplished something.

Last season, we had a few former players who were too heavy for our age division come out as General Assistants. A part of our regimen is to send them on a slow jog around the goal post while staying together as a group. We sometimes (rarely) use bellies to discourage certain behaviors. For example, if I find water bottles or trash on the field after practice, I will have them do 5 bellies for every bottle I pick up. I blow the whistle, they hit their belly during their slow lap. Anyway, the GAs would blow the whistle just to f*ck with the team, grinning their tails off. I was really disappointed by that. I felt that they really missed the point when they were playing for us. We didn't blow the whistle for some sick joy. Is that how our players perceived us? Or was it just immature A-holes who couldn't contain themselves? Either way, the point was missed.

Lar, sounds like you have the expectation that kids should understand the how's and why's of coaching, despite not having been told how and why you do what you do.

--Dave

Las, sounds like you have the expectation that kids should understand the how's and why's of coaching, despite not having been told how and why you do what you do.

--Dave

Clearly there were some assumptions on my part that were off the mark. However, I've been consistent in saying, "I found 3 bottles on the field last night! Bellies on the whistle." I started to type, "Not that big a deal", but on second thought, it really is. If we only have them do bellies as a consequence for something important, then they are effective. When they are done for giggles, they lose all effectiveness. Then you find yourself escalating the correction. Before you know it, you're saying stuff like, "You're going to run until you figure out how to block!"

Just like how I never assume my players know anything until I've taught them, I assume my coaches know nothing, as well.  I have to assume that, because so much of what I do and how I teach is contrarian.

--Dave