All-Star Team Punishment?

[MissBee]

I don't agree with "punishment" for not hitting. I do believe in corrective action for not hitting. What do I mean by this? If a stunt falls, telling the stunt group to run laps isn't going to make that stunt hit. You need to figure out WHY that stunt isn't hitting and then have the group work on an exercise that will help make that correction. So if it's an arm strength thing, have them do push ups, if a heel stretch is falling b/c the flyer isn't pulling her leg high enough-she needs to hold splits. Don't punish just to punish-give them something to work on that will help them fix the problem.

 

[BlueCat]

"Punishment" is not always the most appropriate tool for the job, but there are times when it is valuable. I believe that many are confusing why some coaches use it.

Example: Shooting free throws. There is a huge mental difference between shooting a free throw when you are by yourself in the gym and shooting one with 1 second left in the state finals when your team is down by one. They are technically the exact same physical motion, but the stress involved is completely different. Sometimes, being able to practice the mental pressure of having something on the line (conditioning, etc.) can at least partially approximate that pressure so that athletes better learn how to handle it.

This is not a replacement for other tools - like specific, corrective instruction/correction on technique. However, there are times when it can be a helpful part of preparing the athletes to compete.

 

[King]

Just a great speech about coaching (which is a form of teaching) and talking about how she talks to this child about a -18 to a positive 2 was brilliant. Just an interesting way to think about how you approach and handle kids.

 

[stuntaholic]

could NOT agree more. why can't some coaches understand this?

In my opinion as a coach and athlete is that it builds your skills mentally. If you can find a way to perform a skill when completely exhausted the less likely you are to let it effect you when you are completely exhausted in the middle of competition.

 

[stuntaholic]

Just a great speech about coaching (which is a form of teaching) and talking about how she talks to this child about a -18 to a positive 2 was brilliant. Just an interesting way to think about how you approach and handle kids.

Very interesting and I agree Coaching is definitely a form of teaching.

 

[SparkleSpankies]

Since it's summer and you can't make practices mandatory, there's really nothing you can do about the kids "skipping" the optional practices. I run my summer practices not as cheer practices but as fitness and conditioning practices. I do a CrossFit approach and post a "WOD" (workout of the day) on our team website (everything is done using body weight-air squats, ab work, lunges, running/sprinting, push up variations) and the kids can either do it on their own, or show up to our practice and do it with me and whoever else shows up. They are required to email me by a certain time to let me know that they will be coming (I don't want to bother driving over if no one can make it). This way the kids who work during our evening work outs, or who are away on vacation or at a camp etc can still do the daily workout.

I tell the kids that it is not mandatory, and that there are no consequences for them not showing up, but if they choose to spend the summer on the couch watching MTV and eating crap and not doing the workouts, they will have a consequence when the season really starts, they won't be able to keep up with the team and won't have the same strength as the rest of the team. If that means I pull them from a stunt group, so be it-that's called natural consequences. NFL training camps are starting up and I sent out a team email with a link to an article about NFL players who showed up to training camp and failed their fitness tests and had to miss out on "real" practice and instead do things like ride stationary bikes, run, lift.....not what they were there to do, and it was letting their team down.

Hello!! My summer is the same. For some reason, this year we had very very slim attendance at summer workouts. My assistants and I decided that like the football team, volleyball team, soccer teams, etc, we will be conditioning for a good portion of the first few weeks. I know a few who had good excuses and a few who truly were making up for missed time, but for the most part, the summer conditioning attendance was pretty dissappointing.

Needless to say they are all being "punished".. not in a way that will hurt anyone, but instead of prepping the fight song to perform at camp and firming up the stunt groups so we can be in elite, I will be taking a good chunk of tonight and conditioning. Girls who showed up at conditioning on a weekly basis will find this a lot more simple then those who have not... and truthfully, they need it.

 

[cheer is crazy]

:rays:

 

[Kimmy]

I am a coach for a high school program and lately another coach and I have been disagreeing about team consequences.

Currently for most things, not all, if an individual makes a mistake the whole team has a consequence. My reasoning for this is at a competition if one person makes a mistake the whole team will suffer. This way you are building team unity and the realization in the athletes that they behavior effects the whole team.

This has become somewhat of a problem because of a simple 5 8-count motion drill we have been working on for 7 weeks. As the weeks have gone on the consequence has become more severe. Recently we have had 4-5 athletes decide to not show up because they "do not want to make the team run for their laziness". Since we are still in the summer and in Illinois we can not make summer practices mandatory. So in theory these kids are able to skip practice with no repercussions.

The coach I am not on the same page with claims that this is a problem. I do not like losing kids in my program but from my perspective we are just getting rid of the slackers. The motion drill we do can be mastered in probably 1-3 hours depending on how quick you pick it up. So basically these kids just aren't willing to put in the time or effort to learn the drill. While these athletes are very talented athletes they aren't willing to dedicate time to learning something simple. Therefore I do not see it as a huge loss and I also feel that team punishment is doing what it is suppose to do in a sense. It is making these athletes feel guilty for having their team have a consequence for their actions.

So I wanted to get everyone's thought on this situation but also team punishment in general.

As an athlete, I hate team punishments. Running 50 lines. Doing 15 minute sprints. Uhh no thanks veto. They work though so I guess I could see why a coach would use them cus they make the team more sucessful