Miscellaneous
Earlier in the week I tweeted out this tweet: Never punish players with conditioning. Why? Because conditioning is a key part of being the best player you can be. Why would you program a player to view an aspect of getting better as a punishment? — CultureCoordinator (@CultureCoord) February 5, 2018 It created lots of some positive feedback, some pushback, and a fair number of questions so I decided to turn that tweet into a podcast. Here are the notes I followed as unpacked why I think we should never use conditioning as punishment: Disciplinary actions should be carried out with two goals: Teach a player that his choices are out of alignment with the program’s ambitions and goals. Restore the team member to their proper place with the team I think too often we fall into the trap turning discipline into a power struggle. We don’t do this because we are bad people, we do it because it’s what we have always known. Never punish players with conditioning or acts of service. Getting better, playing, having a leadership role, and being on the team are the ultimate rewards of the program. Therefore, taking those things away are the best forms of punishment. “But what about the player who never plays and doesn’t care about not getting better and letting his team down?” Teach and train, teach and train. Discover the reason he is on the team. He’s likely out of alignment with your program ambitions and goals. “Running” players is not only the appeals to the lowest levels of motivation, but it teaches a players to view getting into shape as a bad thing or necessary evil in the preparation process.