Recently, while on a visit to my nine-year-old grandson, I asked, “So, what would you like to do today?” Play baseball without the coach yelling his head off,” he replied. Spencer then went on to describe how his coach constantly bellowed instructions on a play-by-play basis.
The next day I went to Spencer’s baseball game and witnessed Coach Almighty in action — barking out commands on every pitch. Little wonder, 80 percent of children drop out of sports by age 13!
Nor are such Coaches Almighty a minority. As a high school basketball referee, I am witness to how often players look to the bench for guidance. It seems there is hardly a time when as the team moves from offense to defense or vice versa that the coach isn’t yelling instructions to his players. It’s amazing that coaches, most of whom are excellent teachers, don’t trust their players to make intelligent choices on court.
Speaking for myself, I believe it’s very important for players to feel the trust of their coach. I’m positive it helps enhance player performance on the field or on court.
Maybe I’m just being nostalgic, but I recall my playing days when coaches remained seated on the bench and trusted me and my teammates to make in-play decisions. That was an era when quarterbacks called their own plays based on how the defense lined up, without any help from the players’ dugout or from Coach Almighty in a box high above the field transmitting plays through a headset. Increasingly, contemporary players and athletes are being robbed of opportunities to assert leadership on playing fields and sports arenas. That’s a pity because it’s important for players to be given chances to exhibit leadership qualities and decision making skills independently.
Nor are almighty coaches and know-alls, who have persuaded the general populace that their advisory services are vital to transforming clients into winners, restricted to playing fields and sports arenas. Doctors, lawyers, accountants, business consultants, teachers, and psychologists among others are active propagators of the ‘myth of professional necessity’ to sustain themselves professionally. This myth preaches that professional expertise is required to solve the increasingly complex problems of the new age. And while such experts may be well-intentioned, the problem is that most people have been brainwashed into believing they must consult an expert before they act. Thus we have unwittingly exacerbated dormant sentiments of insecurity to undermine our inherent competence to cope with everyday situations. Continuous and frequent dependence on experts has decreased individual thinking skills and competence to take quick decisions in difficult situations.
Therefore several questions arise: Do we really want to make young athletes feel incapable by encouraging a battalion of professional drill sergeants to continuously yell out instructions? Is there real need to turn our children over to professional sports experts to induct them into a culture of obedience in which conformity is king and creativity and individuality are regarded as sinful? Is it possible that the tattoos, earrings and wild behaviour of many sportsmen and athletes are responses to assert their individuality and independence from authority figures who control their every move on the field or court?
Life in the world of sport seldom promotes maturity, in spite of all pronouncements to the contrary. As legendary coach John Wooden once said, “Sport doesn’t build character. Instead, sport reflects character.” I would add that sport actually retards the process of character development in many cases, by keeping young people in a state of dependence.
Mind you, this is not an endorsement of indisciplined sports training. Well-prepared coaches are necessary for any thoughtfully conceived sports development programme. All athletes need feedback and guidance to fully develop their talents. But for young sportspersons to develop maturity as well as athletic skills, it’s essential that they are encouraged to make their own decisions and improve their capability to help their teams to play to win.
Maturity is developed when players are assigned rights and responsibilities within their team communities. Only then can participation in sports empower children to develop into well-rounded personalities. We need to transition from the era of Coach Almighty to that of Almighty Athletes — young men and women who have learned how to develop their capabilities in ways that contribute to the creation of vibrant team communities founded upon the principle of mutual respect. We need to work towards an era when parents and sportspersons partner with coaches to build harmonious joyful teams.
When parent-athlete-coach teams are built with everyone playing a role appropriate to his knowledge and experience, it’s possible to interrupt sports traditions that foster dependency and disrespect. Such teams are necessary for the overall development of sports and sportspersons.
(Dr. George Selleck is a California-based sports psychologist and advisor to Sportz Village, Bangalore)