The Next, Next Time...

 Discipline.

If there's a topic or subject that we think we're best equipped to handle only to discover how truly difficult this topic or subject is, it is this.

For the longest time I had discipline and punishment as one in the same and it wasn't until I went through my graduate school courses that I began to change my thinking. And it took a lot of change. The professor, a great professor, who was presenting the course that quarter and I went head to head on nearly every assignment. I thought the information being presented was fantastic, but my pushback was always in one of three areas.

1. The subject pool was too small.

2. The subjects chosen were too young - typically grade school.

3. The subjects did not participate in athletics or did not participate in athletics where results might be the difference between another year or another job. 

And it wasn't until the following fall after I graduated that I saw, in real time, what discipline and punishment looked like and how they were different. And to get quite worldly here, the punishment and discipline meted out had an impact on both parties.

Simply put, I was the assistant and showed up at practice early as I always do. The athletes showed up not long after. The coach running the session showed up a few minutes late, casually strolled around the boathouse before opening the doors. The athletes ran the equipment - oars - to the dock to prepare only to be met with the coach, who arrived late, to launch into a 15 minute lecture on respecting time, respecting coaches, etc. 

Needless to say, practice that day was not good, and a majority of those athletes opted not to continue. The punishment that was handed out by the coach leading the practice was unjust. They arrived late, they put no pep in their step to get doors opened, and then blamed athletes for tardiness. Discipline would have reminded that coach that they were the sole reason for everything being late. Discipline would have taken that 15 minutes of more time wasted, and saved it. The punishment handed out was met with the coach losing the respect of the athletes, and losing a majority of the team. If the coach was going to blame the athletes for their being late and tardy, and it was only fall, one could imagine what the rest of the season would have been like once things truly mattered.

So where is this going? It's not about discipline vs. punishment. 

I'm looking at this from the standpoint of choosing your hills. 

And I'm getting this from watching the excellent series, "Sunderland Till I Die" on Netflix. It's an incredible look into the operations and dealings of an English football team working their way back from relegation, the inside look into ownership and management, and ultimately - spoiler, but the series has been out for a bit - success in the third season under new ownership to promotion back to the Championship - a step down from where they currently play, the English Premier League. 

Specifically, I am watching the episode, "Playing Poker," which covers the saga of Sunderland landing a new striker after losing their top player to a French team. It's a fascinating look, but stepping back from the dealings, you're watching poor culture unfold in real time. A lot of people will, perhaps correctly, point out that one flaw, one small detail doesn't necessarily undo everything. That's throwing the baby out with the bathwater, and I am inclined to agree. However, what I do say is that it can either be a one off, or it can be indicative of a greater underlying issue. 

And in this case, it's my opinion that it's a greater underlying issue that ultimately sees the ownership change hands, again. 

Simply put, the owner who is driving negotiations with another team to land their top striker continues to say, "This is my final offer, take it or we're done." He does this throughout the episode, and it isn't until the final few minutes of a 42 minute episode with a number of renewed offers offered after the "deadline" that Sunderland finally land their top target. And throughout the episode, the owner, with his own staff, offers reasons why he is continuing to pursue the athlete long after "the final offer," all focusing on hypothetical results. 

I don't understand ownership, and if I had the money, investing into a professional franchise likely isn't how I'd invest, but it is fascinating.

I won't critique what is happening here, but I will use it as a springboard.

As a head coach, at some point you are going to encounter a situation similar to this. An athlete who isn't on board, a culture issue, a disciplinary issue, etc. And at some point, if you've not put together a plan, and I don't know why you wouldn't have, you will have to make a decision. And you must understand that this decision isn't isolated or in a vacuum. The fallout of this decision will have a lasting impact on you and your time with the program, and with the next as it influences the decisions afterward. 

First, let me get this out of the way. You as the head coach will never be as popular or as well liked as your assistant coaches. If popularity is the juice that keeps you invested, you need to take a serious look at yourself and what you truly are trying to get out of coaching, and you should also never be a head coach. Everyone wants the big chair, but the buck starts and stops with you. You make the final decisions and you live with the results. Most people head into the big chair for the first time thinking that they will face some challenges, but everything will turn out well, ultimately athletes and or parents will understand what you're trying to do, everyone will get on board, those who quit won't be the impactful ones on speed or culture, etc. 

That's never the case. 

Most people think in terms of paint colors during a remodel. Afterall, finishes are what Home Depot, Lowes and every home improvement contractor shows in their advertisements. Having remodeled a home nearly stud to stud, I can tell you that by the time you get to finishes, you simply want to be finished. They don't cover the things you discover when you tear down that wall, or remove a single light fixture. 

And the same goes for sports. You think lineups are easy, that athletes will be upset, but ultimately your presence alone will lead them to the right path. Everyone thinks that, even the greats, and we discover that no, actually, that athlete who can't move a boat, skips 60 percent of the practices, doesn't complete 50 percent of the ones they do attend, hasn't gotten faster, thinks they should be in the top boat because (insert reason(s)). 

When looking at the Sunderland owner, the lesson to be taken is that if you keep pushing your, "PNR" line, it doesn't take long for people to understand that you don't have a PNR. You just have a line you haven't redrawn, yet. Sunderland kept trying to hold a firm line, but the moment the owner changed, offered more than the "firm line" the opposing franchise knew they had him. They had what he wanted, and they could make him pay because the firm line in his mind was him being firm on needing this athlete, not on refusing to go further than the athlete was worth. 

For those of you curious if the move paid off, no it did not. The athlete in question scored a total of 8 goals in four seasons. Not great for an attacking player. 

What we see here isn't about the direct result, but about the culture you're ultimately creating. Culture isn't something that you've said, but the actions you live by and lead with. Saying, as Sunderland did, "This is my final," when in fact it's far from your final, means that you can be pushed and manipulated which means you're not in control. You have to set boundaries, and make them clear and consistent, regardless of whom is standing in front of you.

I have said this, and I believe this though I believe this mostly applies at the collegiate level or if you're at a junior program with sufficient numbers. There are three moves I believe you need to make when you are building a program either from scratch or taking over. They can't just be made randomly either. They need to be made with precision, but ultimately, these two moves, I believe, start your culture on the right track. 

1. Cut someone who is great for team culture, but doesn't bring the performance either on the water or in the classroom. 

2. Cut someone who is bringing the speed and boat movement you desire, but is poor for culture. 

3. Anyone who quits or is cut is handled properly - a simple thank you, goodbye - but not allowed back onto the team, especially if they quit. 

Yes, there are other things that are important and I'll briefly cover those in a second, but those three things send the right message. You can't rely on being a good person alone to make up for not bringing the work and progress. Your speed can't save you if you're a jerk or bringing the team down. And the team isn't a revolving door where you can opt in and out.

Decisions such as this need to be mae methodically, rationally, and with good discussion with your staff, and they need to be firm, and final. And your bottom line i.e. team size, cannot be a determining factor in cuts. Again, the decisions you make have a lasting impact. Keeping a problem on the team regardless of which they fall into, or welcoming back someone who quits might help in the immediacy, but the long term damage is done. 

We can apply much of this to recruitment, but that's another topic entirely. 

I have a point of there being a 3-strike policy. Third time, you're done. However, I make it clear that it does not take all three before you're gone. Behavioral and attendance issues might be a one and done, especially behavior. Each step has a discipline that goes with it. 

Discipline as I learned in graduate school still has bite, but it is a teaching moment, not simply a reaction to what is happening in front of you. An athlete screams at a coach. Punishment is banning the kid from practice for a week, from all communication, etc. Discipline is sitting down with the athlete. What happened that led to this? What's going on? You need to understand that there will be some discipline that comes with this because we don't disrespect a coach or adult, but I'm wanting to understand how we got here, and then I'll outline what happens next. 

An example from a previous head coach role.

Athletes are screaming back at the coaches assisting in running practice. They are pulled from the water by the coaches, and I am notified. I cut practice short, and we sit down. What's happening? A lot of frustration over not being selected to go to a specific race. Well, the stipulations for being considered were outlined: Top 8 6k times. Outside of that, even by 0.01 second, you're not being selected to try for a spot. There's only 4 seats, so 50 percent of the original 8 aren't moving on. Out of 37 athletes, 5 are going including a driver, so you have a 13 percent chance of making the boat. Not great odds. 

Discipline. We do not disrespect coaches. You come talk with me if you're struggling, but lashing out at the coaches is unacceptable. Well I can't ban the entire team from practicing so instead I'll take the fun from it. No water for a week. Anyone who skips practice adds a day to the length so if two people skip, that's two extra days. And because no one has told me as is the rule, that they have anything for next week, no one is excused. Hand written notes will be delivered to the staff tomorrow outlining that you are sorry, why you are sorry, and ways you will ensure this doesn't happen again. Anyone missing this tomorrow will add a day to the length of time off the water. And then we move on.

However, as a final piece, this will be the only time I have to deal with this from a team or individual and the next line will be significantly tougher to swallow. 

Reasons are outlined. The line is drawn, firm, and future discipline is noted, but the incident is done. The staff knows I have their back as well. The athletes know that they are in trouble, but the trouble is finite and once it's done, it's done. 

This isn't a flex. This took a while to learn as well. I've never been a yeller at practice so when I lose my cool, you know it means something. It carries weight because "Coach doesn't do that." And it took trial and error on my part. Inconsistent handling of issues, inconsistent discipline. In some cases, punishment. I can think of one instance where a kid skipped a test, and my response was to make him do the test, twice, alone in the boathouse. 

I was young, dumb, and that was a stupid move. Their mother rightly called me out on it, we talked for about 30 minutes, reached an understanding of what I wanted, what I expected, and we moved on after I apologized in person to that athlete. That athlete has been a long standing lesson in my mind, less about the mistake handling them for missing the test, but more of what I saw from the athlete as they grew. A firm lesson about making hypothetical assumptions of what an athlete is or isn't based on nothing more than emotions. 

The point being, as this is long enough, discipline, unlike the Sunderland example, needs to be firm. Your decisions need to be firm. Note that I didn't say hard, or set, but firm. They can adjust and adapt, but overall you need to find your hill, and stand on it.