The line
I don't know that there's a bigger test in the life of being a coach than enforcing one of your rules. I suppose in some cases it's easier than others. Despite what coaches will tell you, we do favor some, and do wish that some would realize that this sport isn't for them. Any coach telling you to the contrary isn't being truthful.
I know that the adage is that "rules are meant or made to be broken" but there are also reasons for the rules and rules are meant to be enforced else they simply become guidelines.
The unfortunate part about rules is that rules are black and white and life does not work in those terms. Life is full of color and there are always going to be different shades of a story. In a way enforcing a rule is like forcing a square peg into a round hole through a triangle. By that I mean that the end result, what comes through that round hole, is the bare bones of any story but by forcing it to happen, you've striped away bits and pieces that may alter how that story looks and reads.
Still, rules, if you are going to make them, must be made for a reason and then enforced. To choose to suspend your rules or ignore them or make exceptions is to open yourself up to criticism and eventually a complete collapse of the order that you're attempting to create using said rules.
And this is where being the coach part comes in. You set the example to your program and how your program is going to be run. And if you are going to list out rules to help govern your program and keep it pointed in the direction you want to run, you're going to have to adhere to those rules...
...even when you wish you didn't have to.
In the long run your program and reputation will be better for it. You will keep the core of your program together and build for long term success and while you may be seen as a "hard ass" now, in a short while, that nose to the grind stone, straight and narrow will pay off and pay off handsomely.
You will lose some people along the way, either to self selection or due to a rules infraction. And while you may be tearing yourself up inside, though you may stare out the window or off into space for however long after, you and your program is going to be fine.
No one person is bigger than the program and if you're going to have rules, you need to remember that.
I know that the adage is that "rules are meant or made to be broken" but there are also reasons for the rules and rules are meant to be enforced else they simply become guidelines.
The unfortunate part about rules is that rules are black and white and life does not work in those terms. Life is full of color and there are always going to be different shades of a story. In a way enforcing a rule is like forcing a square peg into a round hole through a triangle. By that I mean that the end result, what comes through that round hole, is the bare bones of any story but by forcing it to happen, you've striped away bits and pieces that may alter how that story looks and reads.
Still, rules, if you are going to make them, must be made for a reason and then enforced. To choose to suspend your rules or ignore them or make exceptions is to open yourself up to criticism and eventually a complete collapse of the order that you're attempting to create using said rules.
And this is where being the coach part comes in. You set the example to your program and how your program is going to be run. And if you are going to list out rules to help govern your program and keep it pointed in the direction you want to run, you're going to have to adhere to those rules...
...even when you wish you didn't have to.
In the long run your program and reputation will be better for it. You will keep the core of your program together and build for long term success and while you may be seen as a "hard ass" now, in a short while, that nose to the grind stone, straight and narrow will pay off and pay off handsomely.
You will lose some people along the way, either to self selection or due to a rules infraction. And while you may be tearing yourself up inside, though you may stare out the window or off into space for however long after, you and your program is going to be fine.
No one person is bigger than the program and if you're going to have rules, you need to remember that.
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