Championship Coaching Style?

The culture of football.  The nature of chatboards.

Wouldn't it be "interesting" if the Mathlete coach employed that style on his students? At least in an SNL skit?

I was reading an article on Milt Schmidt yesterday. He's the oldest living NHL Hall of Famer. He 97 and still quite sharp. He played, coached and was a GM. He was asked why he never swore at players. He always called them men. He didn't feel swearing at them made them better players.

As a coach I never went off on players except three behavioral issues. The players could tell by my facial expressions whether I was pleased or not. I was vocal with positive support. 

From growing up in an era of in your face coaching I've always felt lighting up a player in public only made him more nervous and more likely to fail. I didn't like getting lit up. It didn't make me nervous. I walked away thinking, "what a jackass" then forgot about it.

i was also a basketball coach. Basketball is an emotional sport. I stayed composed. If I found myself getting worked up I sat down. I found I was far more likely to get worked up when I coached standing up.

There are a lot of horse's behinds coaching football. It's why I didn't let my son play organized football until middle school. I've talked to pee wee football coaches who feel they are molding 6-8 year olds into men.

cabbagedad posted:

The college football final four are set.  Yesterday, I watched the head coaches of two of these top teams completely, over-the-top, rip into and humiliate one of their players on national TV with zero effort to keep it behind the scenes. 

Here at HSBBW, there is constant dialog discussing how that there is no place for that sort of coaching, how wrong it is, how those days are long gone, how that is no way to reach your players.  Yet, this is clearly on display by the winningest teams in the country.

What is the disconnect?  Thoughts?

I know you are talking about Dabo Swinney.  The punter took it upon himself to make a play.  As a Clemson fan, IMO he deserved to be ripped, that could have cost Clemson the game. Do I think it was right to rip the kid up on national TV?  What was he supposed to do, take him to the locker room for discussion? These guys  aren't wired that way.

FWIW, this is how it is in big time sports, these coaches didn't get their teams to where they are because they keep their thoughts to themselves. There is tremendous pressure on all and a lot at stake. They have a passion and a personality that drives their players to be the best, they produce Heisman trophy winners and high draft picks. Yes, they are going to go on a rant when you mess up.  Also understand that many of these players were raised in a different culture. They get to programs as boys who struggled through school, no father figures and leave as men with degrees.  Sometimes its hard for us parents here to understand that type of reaction.

I can't speak for the other coaches, but what really tells you about a persons character is how he is perceived as a husband, son, father, human being and coach last. I have never heard a bad word about Swinney , except from a gamecock of course.

We here in South Florida dislike Nick Saban, he actually lied to dolphin fans he wasn't going back to Alabama. But as a coach, I understand he is extremely tough and puts up with NO bs.  He isn't the best in the country because he doesn't show emotion.

BTW, its like that in baseball too, you just don't get to see it as much on national TV.  As a junior my son messed up in a game. He got a verbal trashing in the dugout, he was embarrassed, he was punished by missing a weekend start. I can assure you that he never did what he did again.

I am not saying this is the right behavior, but I do understand it. My advice is if you or your son ( not particular to you) have issues with this, don't play sports, because this happens on all levels in all programs.  

JMO

Urban Meyer is portrayed as the All American husband and dad. He recruited a lot of players with criminal records at Florida. Half the national championship team had records. That's not a character flaw because he's a great guy at home?

I personally try hard not to air a kid out ever, during a game especially.  In my experience it is counterproductive. Simply not how I choose to coach (not that I'm perfect. Sometimes emotion wins.)

BUUUUUUTTTT...in regards to coaching overall, I don't think "not yelling" is the most important thing, I believe it's having a strong, caring relationship with each child. I believe that if that relationship is set, the rest is just differing coaching styles. Most of those football coaches seem to genuinely care about their kids from quotes and dialogue I've read. Yelling isn't my style, but Lord knows my dad yelled at me on several occasions, and I never once doubted that he loved me and wanted what was best for me. And that's what truly mattered.

Not work,  or kid appropriate. 

We are sitting on a HS baseball board discussing what 2 of the most successful COLLEGE football coaches in the country are doing wrong.  Who cares.  Would I do that, absolutely not.  Would I want my kid to play for them absolutely!  It is about consistent behavior.  

PS....I would also want my kid to play for Auggie!

There are great coaches who yell, scream and even grab their players.

There are great coaches who are quiet and never embarrass their players.

All coaches have to correct mistakes. Some do it on National Television. Some do it in the locker room or clubhouse.

Also, there is a big difference from one sport to another. Also from one level to the next.  You don't see many Major League managers ripping into their players.

One thing for sure, players need to have the ability to deal with many different coaching styles. 

To me the biggest falsehood in sports is coaches should treat every player the same.  While your rules might pertain to everyone the same way, you'll never get the most out of the players if they are all treated the same.  They are all different and they respond differently.  Some might respond favorably to a tougher approach, others might respond better to a calmer approach.  Either way, every coach wants to get the most out of every individual player.

Here is a question... Should coaches be considered great or poor based on their win/loss record alone? If so, does that make the coach with the most wins, the best coach?

As bad as it sounds, read the text at the end.  They went on to win their next 10 games and the big 10 championship.  Nick Saban has won MANY championships.  Dabo Sweeny and the Tigers won the ACC and are set up to win a nationional championship.

There must be something to be said about the way they handle certain situations.  Mark Richt was Mr. Good Guy and he just got fired because he consistently lost meaningful games and could not get in SEC or National contention.  Sometimes these young men need a good kick in the butt.  Like it or not...

I think it has a lot to do with the home environment, as well as a kids makeup.

I played basketball in grade school at a Lutheran school in the early '70's, and except for the cussing that speech was almost every game at halftime 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade (we weren't very good).  But I was cut no slack at home either so it wasn't a big deal.

Skip forward to about nine or ten years ago and at seven my son got hooked up with a travel basketball team with a coach that was very, very demanding and intense. I was asked a lot of times how I could let my son play for him, but it wasn't that big a deal to me. And the kid will still tell you that he was his favorite coach to date. Also couldn't tell you how many games and tournaments that team won they had no business winning based on talent alone.

Any coach who knows what they are doing knows that there is a time and place for everything.  Moderation is the key most of the time.  However, keep in mind, like a deposit in a bank, you have to make a deposit before you take a withdrawal.  IOWs, if you are going to yell and scream, you had better make sure that you have coached your team to your fullest and that the players know you have paid the price.  Then, they will accept almost anything.  I know this from first hand experience. 

I've told the story before but I coached basketball for a couple of decades.  I should have never been allowed on a court.  I was in a pretty bad car crash and so, a few weeks later, I was on my way to see another specialist.  I was badly bruised and had several bandages on me.  My daughter was with me.  I had to make a stop and so, ran into the one basketball player that I yelled at the most in my career.  His name is Stacy.  Stacy came up to me and saw had badly I was hurt.  He had not played for me in probably 5 or 6 years by this time.  My daughter asked him why he was crying.  He said that he never wanted to see me hurt.  I guess I made a deposit in the bank.  You can't just yell at kids.  JMHO!

Obviously, there is a time and place for everything. Moderation is also a good rule to follow. But if you say a time and place for everything, getting hard on the kids from time to time is part of that. If the yelling is all a coach is going to do, it would obviously be a horrible experience for everyone involved. On the flip side, if coach was super nice and encouraging ALL the time, I think there are consequences to that as well. 

Be nice and encouraging when the situation calls for it. Be a *ick when the situation calls for it. I guarantee that punter that got screamed at over the weekend won't make a mistake like that again. He learned a valuable lesson. But I also guarantee the coach will have him back out there again next game. Because he trusts that a lesson has been learned.