Coach to Coach Dealing with Discipline

I was having dinner on a Saturday night with my family when the doorbell rang. Upon opening the door, I was a little shocked to see a former player that I had not seen in almost ten years standing in front of me. Having past members of my teams stop by to say hello is not an uncommon occurrence but this was different. This young man, who was a part of my  first varsity team at Foothill High School, had the distinctive “honor” of being the first player that I had ever dismissed from my football team for disciplinary reasons. The situation included an alcohol-induced confrontation with a teacher and a subsequent confrontation with the on-campus sheriff. Had the incident happened today, I would have the experience to deal with it in a confident and concise manor. This, however, happened during my first year as a head coach and I was a bit unprepared.

The trouble that this player had encountered was just a foreshadowing of the more serious problems that he was facing now. As he stood at the door, he described events that had left him with a violent felony charge and several police-inflicted bullet wounds to his abdomen. His serious brush with the law had almost cost him his life. He explained that as a result of the charges, he was expecting to go to prison and that as a part of his Alcoholics Anonymous program, he was making an effort to make amends to all of the people in his life that he resented and harbored anger toward. He wanted to do this prior to his trial so that if he was found guilty he could enter prison with a clear conscience. Apparently the decision to remove him from my program had landed me on his list.

Our conversation only lasted a couple of minutes but I thought about it for hours. In making the decision to dismiss him, I had gone beyond the school mandatory two-week team suspension. I could have chosen the minimum but instead I chose the maximum. Was it the right decision?

At the time I chose to use this situation to send a message to my team about what I would tolerate and what I would not. In following that protocol, had I missed an opportunity to help a young man who needed guidance? Or did I have a responsibility to ensure that our team and our school would only have those individuals who conducted themselves in an ethical way participate. In looking back, I am confident that the message was important, but I wonder if I could have made a decision that would have had a more positive impact on this young man’s life. I had every right to dismiss him but in doing so I never developed the relationship nor the influence that I would have had if he would have remained on the team. Would it have mattered? Would a season with me and my staff impart qualities that would have changed his life? Did dismissing him send a message that helped other players in ways that I am not privy to? I’ll never know, but I do know that our decisions impact lives, teams and communities and they should be well thought out prior to implementation.

As I write this column, ESPN has just reported that the players that the NFL had suspended for their part in the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal had been reinstated by an independent panel. If you read the newspapers or watch the sports news, you probably are not shocked by the frequent news of players being dismissed from prominent programs on a regular basis. Disciplinary headlines are not isolated to the professionals.

Just this year we have seen key players such as Tyrann Mathieu, a Heisman finalist from LSU, dismissed from the team for disciplinary reasons. Although it seems that there are more incidents this season, the issue is not a new one. A few years ago The University of Oregon dismissed quarterback Jeremiah Masoli for repeated offenses including stealing laptop computers from fellow students. These are just a couple of the many disciplinary issues that have captured headlines and put programs on the front of the sports page for the wrong reasons. Team rules violation suspensions are so common today that they are frequently noted on the weekly game reports released to the media. From the NFL to the high school ranks, dealing with discipline-related issues are a reality for today’s coaches.

With team and individual discipline affecting rosters at an alarming rate, what can we, as coaches, do to be proactive in limiting the reckless and destructive behavior that can affect our team as well as the young men we care about. While I have heard some say that discipline is a simple issue in which “You make your team rules and apply the consequences to those who trespass”, I would argue, however, that deciding how you are going to manage your team in this area  is one of the most intricate and most impacting aspects of your coaching responsibilities.

During my career, one of the keys of wisdom that was communicated to me by a prominent head coach was to never back yourself into a corner when it comes to enforcing or implementing team rules. While there are certainly rules that carry non-negotiable consequences, these should be the exception and not the rule. Most situations that require disciplinary action are multi-faceted. Things as simple as being late to practice can be caused by limitless issues. One player may be late due to a family issue beyond his control, while another is late because he wanted to walk his girlfriend to her car. It seems hardly fair that each of these players would be treated the same way. But that is exactly what can happen if we have a set of rules that are non-negotiable. This is a simple example but the same principles are often applied to more serious cases.

I learned this lesson early in my coaching career when I had a couple of players that thought Monday practices were “optional”. In response to this issue I made a team rule that stated any player who missed a practice during the week had to sit out the entire first quarter. On the surface the rule seemed necessary but it caused some serious problems. Problems that included the time my starting quarterback was told by his doctor that he had to stay home on a Monday due to a high fever. He made it to practice on Tuesday and was 100% healthy for the game. Based on my non-negotiable rule, I had to sit him for an entire quarter. The punishment hardly fit the crime and it was not intended for this type of incident, but I had not thought it through before I implemented it. The policy nearly cost the entire team a chance at a undefeated season. Today, I certainly have team rules and team expectations when it comes to behavior. I don’t, however, have mandatory sentences for most infractions. I take the time to evaluate each situation and then I make a decision that directly addresses the specific situation.

Another key piece of advice that I have learned is to always seek counsel from those you trust when faced with a tough disciplinary decision. Several years ago I took a team to a summer football camp. Our players had their own team bonding tradition that required that each player shave their head on the first day of camp. This practice was strictly a player’s tradition and was not part of our team’s official activities. At this particular camp a player decided that he did not want to participate. Several of our seniors decided that the player would participate and they made him shave his head. I was notified of the situation the next morning. My initial thought was that disciplinary action would be required but that it could wait until we returned from camp. Before making my final decision, I asked my assistant head coach what he thought and he had a different perspective. After considering what he had suggested, I agreed that we needed to act promptly and we decided to have those players who were involved sent home from camp and each was suspended for the first two games of the season. In the days that followed the “crud” hit the fan with the parents of the boy who had his head shaved. The incident was defined as hazing and that brought a lot of attention to the case. If I had gone with my initial thoughts and actions regarding this incident, I might not have a job today. In dealing with disciplinary issues it is important that we get all of the information and that we enlist the help of those we trust when we are faced with making tough decisions.

I certainly do not have all of the answers, but I do believe that our philosophies as coaches in this area will help our programs be successful in dealing with discipline. All of us can use the mistakes of our players and the way we deal with the individuals as teachable moments for both the individual involved as well as the entire team. As I learned from a player that I coached early in my career, our decisions may have lasting effects on all of their lives.