Coaching philosophy on discipline?

Wouldn't it depend on the nature of the infraction? Personal or team? In college it important to have the players come together as a unit.

Chill,
I think there are many coaches that “punish” the team if an individual is guilty of a minor infraction, usually baseball related or a team rule. I look at this type of “punishment” as more of a motivational tool or a conditioning exercise. I know of one coach that punishes the whole team, except the guilty party. He is seated in a chair watching the “punishment”…usually laps or poles. On the other hand more severe infractions are dealt with individually….failing grades or missing practice etc.

This is a good question. On my son's high school team, it depends on the problem. Sometimes it's individual, sometimes a team. Although they're all very good boys . I will tell you when we had a player get in trouble last year and he had additional running, many of his team mates ran with him. The boys felt they wanted to show the player they supported him even if he did something wrong. They didn't want him to feel like they had given up on him. I'll say, this was one of the tighest group of kids you'll ever see. So I think it depends on the team/player and it's a coaches call.

Chill
Jr's coach functions exactly as Fungo describes.
Don't get me started on the high school coach, who was inconsistant bordering on irrational.

Chill,
Not sure yet on college, though I know if it is school related (missing class, study hall, etc) it is treated individually. Will have a better answer in the spring. I do know one thing, coach treats players with dignity as young men learning to adjust in a new situation. Of course there are lots of practical jokes trying to embarass each other (coaches and players included), but that is what has made the team chemistry and all in good fun. Dave's team mate was punished a few times for being late to practice and had to run, now Dave makes sure that he is always on time. It is a very close team and they look out for one another so they don't get in trouble. I think that is the message the coach try to send.

In HS, if the team performed poorly as a whole, they all got to run. If it was for any other reason, it was dealt with individually.

This is something that I think alot of coaches struggle with quite frankly. I do not punish the team for an indivduals mistakes. If a player misses a sign or is late for practice etc the player is punished not the team. If the team does not hustle on the field or off then all are punished. I personally dont think it is fair to punish all the players for something that one has done. The players that are doing everything that you ask of them should not be punished because one kid decides to not follow the rules. Just my opinion

I am with Coach May on this one.....do not punish the entire team for an infraction by an individual; Team violations are just that, team violations and all will be disciplined.

Also try to be consistent and fair with your punishments. You will find that once everyone understands what has to be accomplished and how we accomplish those goals; discipline problems are almost non-existent.

Orioles42

Discipline no matter what the type has to be consistent. It is the same for every player.

we got a guy who goes by this philosophy:

if more than 5 players then it is a team problem

if less than 5 they are dealt with individually

Every coach handles this differently---

I prefer to deal with the players individually regardless of the offense

For me, it always depends on the situation. If a player is late, the whole team runs. If the player is disrespectful to an assistant coach or team member, he gets disciplined on his own.
I think every coach needs to have some flexibility in how he disciplines his team, and as long as the players understand that the punishment may differ but will always be FAIR, I think that is OK.

Sorry coach I must disagree..why should those who have made it to practice on time suffer due to someone elses inability to be there...we have created a generation of kids who play the "blame game"...no one accepts responsibility for their own actions..it is always somebody elses fault...by not holding the individual accountable for their OWN actions we are perpetuating the "game"..we all must be held responsible for what we do as individuals...if one of my children does something that warrants punishment do I punish all 3 or make it an individual punishment ...and we are the best "team" on earth

First of all, I'm not perfect so most will disagree with this post. I do both. However, the team knows from a team meeting the rational behind my decisions after the team is made. I try to operate on a system of 8 positives to one negative. However in our outlined rules, they are told that if it comes to that one negative, it will be serious.

Some examples:

• Get sent to the office for some discipline matter and be issued a Saturday school etc. the team runs. (Rational the team will also be punished if that player is suspended in "Saturday School" while we are playing a Double Header.
  
• Argue with a teammate and the team runs. (We are a team and if we divide ourselves, we are helping the enemy)
  
• Fail in your responsibilites at working on the field, putting up equipment etc. the team runs. (Rational - We don't have any "stars" on our team. We are a team and we all do the dirty work.)

For individual punishment - Really, this is a person to person issue. I don't punish for missed signs etc. I do for cursing, actions not in the best interest of the team (late, missing equipment, spreading rumors, wearing your hat backwards etc.) It is always done first by having my player sit in my car so that we can have a one on one talk. I don't want anyone around and I don't want to wonder if anyone is outside our office door listening. I will be brutally honest with the player. I will ALWAYS ASK THEIR SIDE OF THE ISSUE. I will explain mine. When all is said and done, I am the law and I do drop the hammer!

One last thought, discipline really takes care of itself if you treat these young men like young men on a mission. They understand sacrifice. They understand the bigger picture. However, if you don't demonstrate those same values you stress, you will have trouble.

I haven't yet heard any details about my freshman son's college coaches' discipline philosophy. However, I have observed that team unity seems more important on the college team than any he has previously experienced - they are all united in a very strong commitment to a common mission. So that may be part of the rationale for team punishment, encouraging them to keep each other in line and to all "pitch in" to take care of their share, or more, of any responsibilities.

CoachB25...I agree with most things you say, but a definite "NO' on punishing the team for an individuals school issues is ludacrist. That is an individual issue and really needs parental discipline...as well as you sitting him or running him individually, whatever you choose. On the field issues are different than school issues.

If he were my son, you wouldn't see him for a week anyway...then you can have at him when he returns.

quote:

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Originally posted by Starzz:
CoachB25...I agree with most things you say, but a definite "NO' on punishing the team for an individuals school issues is ludacrist. That is an individual issue and really needs parental discipline...as well as you sitting him or running him individually, whatever you choose. On the field issues are different than school issues.

If he were my son, you wouldn't see him for a week anyway...then you can have at him when he returns.

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Starzz, thanks for the honest response. I do appreciate the critique. I never said I was perfect. I have to do those things that work for us. When I came here, I had several players of which people said, "you'll never control them." Well, we had our parent/player meeting. I laid out my rules. Sure some people grumbled. However, those kids knew I was serious and so... To this point, I have never had to discipline a varsity player for being sent to the office. They simply don't get sent there. You'd also be surprised of the parental support I receive. I think that with regards to discipline, any parent, coach, etc. has to be upfront and establish the boundaries. I also believe that the kids I'm associated want to do good. Sure they are little snots at times. However, they know the line and they don't cross it. We remarked the other day that we haven't disciplined our kids in the last 3 years. No wonder times seems to fly. BTW, we have also done a lot of winning in those last 3 years. I think they go hand in hand. Again, thanks for your honest remarks. When I do have all of the answers someday, I'll let everyone here in on them. LOL!

Coach B,

I agree with using different methods of correction. This post made me think about what I've done in the past.

If it is a school disciplinary problem, I tend to make it some sort of individual correction.
If it is related to the team, that is, doing something that will harm the team (being late for practice, screwing around in practice, etc.) then the whole team will be disciplined.

Why? Well, I agree with Catchermom about needing individual responsibility, but we are a team....if one teammate does something wrong, the whole team suffers. If a player is late, we have to wait for him, or go over things again because he is late. Especially if this happens more than once, I want his teammates to correct him OR I want him to understand that he is hurting his TEAM, he isn't hurting ME.

One time in particular, I had 5 seniors come late to practice because they went to a Reds game, and got a late start back for practice. I had them all take a knee in Center field and watch their teammates run poles for a long, long, long time. Some of them begged to be allowed to run with their teammates. I said no. I wanted them to understand that THEIR behavior affected the entire TEAM.

Then, after they were done running, I gave a short lecture and told the players they had 5 minutes to discuss what happened without me being involved. They all got together and those 5 got an earful from their teammates....after the season was over, several of those players told me it was the best lesson they ever learned.

Another one I've used came from teh LSU coach. He'd have all the other players run for a player being late or some other offense. Then he'd have the players line up and, one by one, the player apologized to his teammates. They as a team, then told the player they loved him, but they didn't love what he did. They then forgave him and then asked him to remember not to do it again. This can also have a strong influence on players.

I understand why some coaches punish the whole team for an individual infraction/discipline
problem in hopes that this will build team unity and it probably works in a lot of cases.

That being said I have to come down on the side of disciplining the individual and making them responsible for their own actions. After all, isn't this the way most of us have raised our own children? I can't imagine my putting my daughter on restrictions along with my son because he missed his curfew on Friday night-??????? Yes, I know it's a baseball
team compared to a family but the logic is the same. A kid does everything he is asked to do
plus a lot more; chases down foul balls when the "stars" never do; helps take care of the field; keeps the dugout clean; always positive to his teammates; always hustles; rarely
gets into a game and he has to run extra sprints because the "star" did not run out a pop up? Sorry, I think there are better ways to build team unity without punishing the whole
team for individual indiscretions.

My son was late ONE minute for hitting this September at USF and had to report at 6oAM
the next morning for drills(they worked his tail off). The rest of the team heard the whole
story at practice the next day---needless to say he's been early ever since and the team is
unified.

If you spend a lot of time disciplining then you have none. As I said before you have rules and you enforce them when you need to enforce them. Consistency is the key. The number one pitcher has the same rules and must follow them just as much as the kid that is on the bench. In todays world some think that discipline is great as long it is for the other guy.