By Daniel Gering
Contributing writer for The Coaches Closet

Discipline is one of the toughest aspects of coaching. There is a fine line between abuse and constructive discipline. This line is both legal and ethical.

Rule Development

Today children really need structure and rules. This leads to quality learning. The hard part is making the rules clear and concise. To do this, a coach must define to the team what his or her role is to the team. Once the players understand the coach’s role, then the team needs to define the team
rules.

There are two schools of thought on this.

The first is the coach predefines the team rules. This gives the coach complete control over how the team behaves, but does not give the team ownership of the rules. Using this method of discipline, a coach must be very clear to all team members and parents. Not only will the coach need
to define what the rules are, but also clearly define what the consequences will be if the rules are not followed.

The other method is a more democratic method of rule development. This allows the coach to work with the team to develop the rules and consequences if the rules are broken. The team does get a sense of ownership of the rules. The disadvantage of this is that it does take away from practice time to develop the guidelines. It might be best to set up a pre-practice meeting rather than take away critical team practice time. Also, the coach must still make sure that core guidelines are added to the rules. This takes some skill to still make the players feel like the rules were developed by the team.

Here is an example of what some coaches do to accomplish this:

• Coach: Now that we have a rule about tardiness what is another rule should we have?
• Team: (talks all at once)
• Coach: What? I can’t understand if all of you talk at once.
• Billy: (raises hand) Coach, there should be a rule if we get thrown out of a game.
• Coach: Billy, that is a good one, but let’s put
  that on hold for a minute. Just a second ago something happened. Can anyone
  tell me what that was?
• Tommy: We all talked at the same time.
• Coach: You’re right, Tommy. What do you guys think of that?
• This leads to a conversation about interruptions and talking when the coach is talking.

Once the rules have been stated, develop a method of consequences for breaking the rules. Time outs, taking away privileges, and meeting with parents are common methods that coaches use. Remember, most sports leagues have guidelines that don’t allow coaches to take away playing time
unless the infraction is severe. Check with your local league officials about your local guidelines.

Also, remember that giving players or the team laps, pushups, or other physical activities as a form of punishment is considered corporal punishment and is banned by most leagues.

It is a good policy to have the rules put in writing and discussed during the parent meeting. Any concern must be addressed then. This is a great time to begin developing clear communication lines with both the parents, players, and the coach. Everyone must understand what the rules are. A copy of the rules should be given to all players and parents.

This becomes a powerful tool to use when correcting a player’s behavior. By referring to the team rules you can avert most disciplinary problems. It also shows players that the coach is being unbiased. This is critical. Players take what the coach says very personally. A coach can crush a player’s self-esteem in seconds if he or she feels that the coach is “picking on them”. This will haunt the coach later.

Appropriate Disciplinary Action

Now we must go back to the issue of crossing the fine line between correction and abuse.

We must first define what is “appropriate”. According to Merriam-Webster Online the term is defined as “especially suitable or compatible”. “Discipline” is defined as “training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character”. Lastly, “action” is defined as “the manner or method of performing”. Combining the three definitions creates this statement:  A manner of training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties, that are especially suitable.

What we gain from this statement is we must use teaching to make the player aware that the action he or she is doing is not a good action. Many times players don’t realize that their actions are causing a disturbance or putting other players at risk.

All children know the difference between right and wrong. Clarifying what is right and wrong on the field will lead to better team work and less difficulties for the coach. It will also create a bond between players and coaches that will always be remembered. All players want to be treated with
respect and will return that respect to the coaching staff.

The Time to Take Appropriate Disciplinary Action

Timing is everything. When trying to teach a group of children a new skill, a group of chatty players can be difficult. This leads many coaches to make an example of a couple of players by telling them to stop. Although this does work, and it gains control of the team for short time, it still leads to  players feeling like they are being “picked on”.

One thing that does work with players is silence. By stopping an activity and saying nothing, the rest of the team will bring the chatting players in line. Then explain to the team that these kinds of disruptions lead to lost practice time. When it happens again, then take the players that are causing the disruptions aside (away from the prying ears of the team), and explain it to them again. If the behavior continues, you will have to take more strict measures. These must be stated in the team rules and be sequential.