It is alleged that some of the Waimea Junior Varsity basketball coaches have been verbally abusive to their players. Some charge that even after being confronted by concerned parents and officials, the staff continues to use profanity during games. Now
It is alleged that some of the Waimea Junior Varsity basketball coaches have been verbally abusive to their players.
Some charge that even after being confronted by concerned parents and officials, the staff continues to use profanity during games.
Now I don’t report merely on hearsay, and can’t accurately judge the situation based on the context of how the profanity was being used – whether it was an attempt at constructive criticism or an example of reckless insensitivity – but I can use this recent event to remind all coaches around the island the adverse effects harsh leadership can have on young people.
It can drive them to hate the sport, or worse, it can give kids a misguided sense of how to approach their goals later on in life.
My brother, Phil, had a warped list of priorities when he was a state-level swimmer in high school.
Swimming came first, school second, life third, and always in that order.
He would wake up at five in the morning and practice until eight, go to school until three, and head back to the pool for another three-hour conditioning session until long after sunset. He swam all weekend, too, and his heavy meet schedule didn’t leave him much time for a social life.
My mom thought he was determined. I thought he was brainwashed.
Although Phil always worked hard at the things he loved, no teenager should put more emphasis on fine-tuning the backstroke flipturn than having fun with friends. It’s just not normal. And I knew his coach, Warren, had something to do with his fanatical attitude towards the sport.
Warren was a despotic coach.
He would swear at the kids and make fun of them if they said they were tired. If a swimmer threw-up from pushing themselves too hard during practice, Warren wouldn’t let him out of the pool until he could see physical evidence of the vomit along the poolside wall.
It’s too bad I didn’t know how bad it was until Phil miffed his flipturn at the Junior National Tryouts in Clovis, California in 1994. He didn’t make the time; he didn’t make the team.
What is it like for a kid who spent 15-years of his life training for one moment to fail by four-tenths of a second? What do all those years of time and dedication amount to? What does it say to a young person about the value of hard work in terms of higher education and career goals?
Thankfully, Phil is a rare bird.
Although he turned down a swim scholarship at Loyola Maramount University, and would never again swim in a competitive race, he is still a hard worker and will be successful in whatever he chooses to do in life.
But some athletes aren’t that lucky.
Eric Lichte, a former water polo All American who used to study fundamentals tapes every second he wasn’t training, ended up with a drug problem, two slit wrists and a two-year tenure at a local mental facility.
Todd Mathews, another Warren protege, never went to college even though he was an honor student in high school. His parents couldn’t afford college unless he signed a letter of intent to swim, and he never wanted to touch water again.
And many others like Todd and Eric, who were pushed too hard as high school athletes, are going to live the rest of their lives with the horrid feeling that they never got to experience their youth.
Coaches are a big part of the development of young people, and it’s important that a general sensitivity is exhibited when scolding athletes.
Coaches should yell. They should show disappointment and exhibit a sense of emotion in practice and during games.
But within reason.
Coaches should teach balance – sports are important, your team is important, but so is education and so is your social life. They should scold an athlete for not showing up to practice, for not listening during games or for showing a certain lack of enthusiasm. Make them run lines, jog for miles around a track and do push-ups until they can’t feel their arms. But don’t make them feel worthless and don’t force them to hate what began as an intrinsic love.
Most of all, commend them for the things they do well.
This all sounds obvious, doesn’t it?
It would surprise you to know how many coaches forget that sports is about the kids, not themselves.
