I watched all three games of the 2009 SED district baseball tournament. My ears heard the repeated use of the F word by one head coach on the first base side. When I said something to some parents of players on that team, the response was that it was a waste of time to complain. Complaints in the past to administration had fallen on deaf ears. Clearly a double standard exists as to what a teacher can say in the classroom and what is acceptable for a coach to say at the field. I even heard one parent, from another SED team other that referenced above, comment that in one post-game speech (where the team had lost), his son counted over 50 uses of the F word.
Contrast that with the approach of a head coach in the 2008 Beach District tournament, whose team in the tournament finished well above its place of finish for the regular season. In the top of the 7th (my recollection), a player made a very bone-head play. He was picked off first base while not paying attention. The head coach did not demean, yell, or curse. Instead of pounding the player into the ground emotionally, the coach made light of the situation, telling the player not to worry about it, that he (the player) was just anxious to get back on defense so they could end the game and win (which they did). That coach's positive approach and encouragement, as well as coaching, through that whole game clearly contributed to an unexpected win.
This is not the 1960’s or 1970’s. A person who cannot motivate players or employees without cussing or swearing at them, or being demeaning, should look for other employment.
Captainhasbeen, Are you referring to the same Bob Knight whose inability to control his emotions and his words cost him his long-time job at Indiana?