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When do coaches cross the line?

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Jan 19, 2010
by: dclough
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I play volleyball for Ogallala and we have a very pushy coach. I think that there is a fine line between coaches being not pushy at all, to coaches being over pushy.  I believe that it is alright for a coach to yell at someone because it teaches kids to take constructive criticism, but when a coach gets to the point of yelling and talking about a girls self image, that is taking it way to far.  From personal experience in my school you have to look just like everyone else.  My freshman year I was a little heavier then everyone else and, according to my assistance coach, that was just unacceptable.  Me, being a setter, was supposed to look like a twig, and I for one did not and still don't.  That was one major problem with our coaching staff; they make you think you have to be like everyone else.  I came to the conclusion that I was fine and would work my butt off for my spot on the team.  As I continued to play, they became more and more pushy... anywhere from tearing us down in front of the team to making us cry in practice.  Now some of you might be thinking that that is just mean.  Now most of the time this was mean, but they just see it as a way to make us better team players.  Well this is not the case at all. All this does stress us out and make us want to quit.  If to many more girls quit because of the pushy coaching we will not have a team at all.  My freshman year we started off with 12 girls playing from my class, and by my senior year there were five.  Now that we are gone there are very few girls still on the team. I think that if they keep up the coaching in the next few years they won’t even have a team.             

Comments

 Nice work dclough!  I

Submitted by pengel on Tue, 2010-01-19 17:51.

 Nice work dclough!  I think you described your problem very well.  I do think that breaking girls down and making them cry in practice is a tad too much.  "Talking about a girls self image" is not acceptable in my opinion.  Creating a want to succeed and constructively criticizing are completely different than singling out a member of the team and bashing her.  Coaches should not be allowed to coach a team this way.

Pengel-- So how do we hold

Submitted by dhelzer on Wed, 2010-01-20 15:40.

Pengel--

So how do we hold them accountable? Should schools or districts hold coaches accountable for their behavior or actions like this?

 

D. Helzer Language Arts Instructor Ogallala Public Schools

DClough-- You raise some

Submitted by dhelzer on Wed, 2010-01-20 15:39.

DClough--

You raise some interesting and controversial points! I have often wondered why our numbers are so low on our athletic teams. After reading your post, I am wondering if it is a result of the coaching. This would be worth looking into more---how are coaches held accountable? How does a school determine whether or not a coach keeps his/her assigned coaching duties? Are coaches held responsible for their actions? How do coches's (or any adult's) comments affect students? 

Thanks for the great insight!

D. Helzer Language Arts Instructor Ogallala Public Schools