Not often, but when I'm refereeing a tournament I sometimes see this happen. I've often wondered if I should sanction this misconduct. After reading your thoughts and checking them against my gut feeling, I'm going to sanction it the next time I see it.
The question for me, is this
- Unsportsmanlike
- Rude
- Offensive
- Aggressive
behavior, as that determines the level of sanction that will be awarded to the coach.
I applaud refs who would think of sanctioning this, but refs already come under so much fire that I wouldn't want to lose any more of them for what some would see as another bad judgement call.
Another other reason I can’t fully get on board is because it’s hardly the worst thing that coaches/clubs do. Having them run lines during a timeout is unsportsmanlike, rude and offensive. Having 14 players on a u13s team, having some of the parents shell out thousands of dollars to fly across the country to have 12 year olds sitting on the sidelines and gaslighting them into believing that taking stats and helping with warmups is a “role” on a team…well, that’s much more unsportsmanlike, rude and offensive (IMHO).
I’m pretty sure I’d rather have every kid at a tournament get a chance to play, be celebrated when things go well but have to run lines during timeouts if they miss a bunch of serves in a row.
I recognize that all the problems can’t be fixed at once, so I’d support any ref/tournament/club/region/governing body that sanctioned coaches who did this. And I hope that along with the sanction would be a requirement to read Loren’s article.
I would definitely give a yellow card to a coach who runs their team during a timeout. Just for being a tool.
But also in general I think refs should be way quicker to card coaches (or parents) in general.
There is nothing wrong with being a demanding and intense coach. I run kids at practice but training is different than competition and I believe running kids during a timeout is unsportsmanlike.
I really appreciate you sharing this perspective. Officials see parts of the environment that most people in the stands — and even many coaches — don’t always notice.
I’d probably encourage a little caution before turning this into an automatic sanction, though.
My intention with the article wasn’t to suggest that referees should start policing coaching style. That can get complicated quickly, and as you pointed out, the standards for things like unsportsmanlike or aggressive behavior depend heavily on the rules and expectations of the organization you’re working under.
What I hoped to do was shine a light on the culture around these moments.
When a team is told to run lines during a timeout, the bigger issue isn’t necessarily the rulebook question. It’s the message that moment sends to everyone in the gym — players, parents, assistant coaches, even younger athletes watching from the sidelines.
And the fact that you paused and asked yourself “Is this actually okay?” is exactly the kind of reflection I hoped the article might spark.
Officials often have one of the most interesting vantage points in youth sport. You’re close enough to see the behavior clearly, but far enough removed from the team dynamics to notice things others normalize.
So I’d actually be curious about this:
From your perspective as a referee, how often do you see moments like this at tournaments?
Because one of the things I’m increasingly wondering is whether a lot of us in the gym have simply gotten used to things that probably deserve a second look.
More often that we would like, but maybe 5-10% of the time depending on level of play.
We (up here in Canada) have annual Safe Sport training. We are looking out for unsafe scenarios (concussion, etc), abuse, neglect, racism, discrimination, hate speech, etc. we have avenues to report that behavior.
We have a duty of care for those we are officiating over, and I feel some of the adult behavior towards their teams starts wandering into this dark gray area where something needs to be done about it.
This is something I’m going to be thinking about long and hard. When does a coach cross a line that I need to do something about it? Tricky.
The rule book (ours anyway) doesn’t differentiate between misconduct direct to spectators, opposition, or one’s own team. They are all subject to sanction if they meet the guidelines. I guess the question is does having a team run lines as punishment during a time out classify as unsportsmanlike conduct. If so it would be sanctioned. However I can see this maybe being something the team does to keep up there energy and be warm, ready to go back in. I think I will have to take the “temperature “ of the coach before making a determination.
I haven’t heard that specifically. It’s probably codified in some law somewhere. You wouldn’t know it looking in any gym or on any field. Physical consequences for not winning the drill / game is very common.
As a long time coach of school and club volleyball, my take on this kind of "on court" punishment/consequences during competition is one of absolute disrespect to the players, parents, and I consider it somewhat of an embarrassment to all concerned - I've seen coaches have their players run lines, perform rolls, burpee's, etc. for various mistakes/errors during both club and school matches - If deployed, such consequences should be utilized during practice in a more focused and private environment - Personally, I've not once considered such a thing during competition in three decades of volleyball - It's painful/frustrating to watch and I always have to check myself to not approach such coaches with my concerns along with a "What in the world are you thinking...", coupled with a Batman/Robin slap, lol - Kidding of course but you get the idea... \m/
Hey Jared, wonderful to hear your thought and plans on this. May I recommend you talk to refereeing team and get a unified approach and let the coaches know beforehand. My concern is if you sanction this, it may shame the coaches and lead to further punishment for the athletes.
I think the more likely result is that the parents (who are already thinking this coach is an idiot) now have a concrete complaint they can take to a club director. “Coach is being mean” won’t get you too far but “coach is out of line and even the refs think so” will mean something.
I’ve seen both over the years. We would hope parents could recognize the issue, but so many have learned to accept the tough love or even celebrate it, that I’ve seen parents get extremely angry at anyone suggesting the coach is out of line with their behavior or punishments. It’s crazy to me how many parent enjoy watching someone else punish their kid.
Yep. I think it's the minority for sure, but there's definitely some oddballs out there. In my experience the vast majority of parents much prefer coaches who treat their kids with respect, but they'll put up with way more crap than they should. Or, if you imagine the quadrant of High/Low Demand/Support, parents usually don't want Low Demand out of a coach they are investing a lot of time/money in. So they'll put up with High Demand/Low Support, but I've met few that wouldn't prefer High Demand/High Support.
One thing you didn't mention is that when this type of coaching is modeled some of those athletes become coaches and perpetuate this behavior. As a woman I coach boys and they often comment I should yell and be tougher on them. My response is external punishment/ motivation is short lived if it works at all. They need to develop their own internal motivation and curiosity or it will not last. As a player and a coach I have seen so much damage with the type of coaching you describe. Thanks for writing. I'll be sharing with my coaching staff as well as AD.
"Instead, the players are told to sprint lines."
Not often, but when I'm refereeing a tournament I sometimes see this happen. I've often wondered if I should sanction this misconduct. After reading your thoughts and checking them against my gut feeling, I'm going to sanction it the next time I see it.
The question for me, is this
- Unsportsmanlike
- Rude
- Offensive
- Aggressive
behavior, as that determines the level of sanction that will be awarded to the coach.
I applaud refs who would think of sanctioning this, but refs already come under so much fire that I wouldn't want to lose any more of them for what some would see as another bad judgement call.
Another other reason I can’t fully get on board is because it’s hardly the worst thing that coaches/clubs do. Having them run lines during a timeout is unsportsmanlike, rude and offensive. Having 14 players on a u13s team, having some of the parents shell out thousands of dollars to fly across the country to have 12 year olds sitting on the sidelines and gaslighting them into believing that taking stats and helping with warmups is a “role” on a team…well, that’s much more unsportsmanlike, rude and offensive (IMHO).
I’m pretty sure I’d rather have every kid at a tournament get a chance to play, be celebrated when things go well but have to run lines during timeouts if they miss a bunch of serves in a row.
I recognize that all the problems can’t be fixed at once, so I’d support any ref/tournament/club/region/governing body that sanctioned coaches who did this. And I hope that along with the sanction would be a requirement to read Loren’s article.
Thanks Craig! As always, your insight gives me even more to think about 😁
I would definitely give a yellow card to a coach who runs their team during a timeout. Just for being a tool.
But also in general I think refs should be way quicker to card coaches (or parents) in general.
There is nothing wrong with being a demanding and intense coach. I run kids at practice but training is different than competition and I believe running kids during a timeout is unsportsmanlike.
Do you run kids as a consequence or as part of their practice?
I really appreciate you sharing this perspective. Officials see parts of the environment that most people in the stands — and even many coaches — don’t always notice.
I’d probably encourage a little caution before turning this into an automatic sanction, though.
My intention with the article wasn’t to suggest that referees should start policing coaching style. That can get complicated quickly, and as you pointed out, the standards for things like unsportsmanlike or aggressive behavior depend heavily on the rules and expectations of the organization you’re working under.
What I hoped to do was shine a light on the culture around these moments.
When a team is told to run lines during a timeout, the bigger issue isn’t necessarily the rulebook question. It’s the message that moment sends to everyone in the gym — players, parents, assistant coaches, even younger athletes watching from the sidelines.
And the fact that you paused and asked yourself “Is this actually okay?” is exactly the kind of reflection I hoped the article might spark.
Officials often have one of the most interesting vantage points in youth sport. You’re close enough to see the behavior clearly, but far enough removed from the team dynamics to notice things others normalize.
So I’d actually be curious about this:
From your perspective as a referee, how often do you see moments like this at tournaments?
Because one of the things I’m increasingly wondering is whether a lot of us in the gym have simply gotten used to things that probably deserve a second look.
More often that we would like, but maybe 5-10% of the time depending on level of play.
We (up here in Canada) have annual Safe Sport training. We are looking out for unsafe scenarios (concussion, etc), abuse, neglect, racism, discrimination, hate speech, etc. we have avenues to report that behavior.
We have a duty of care for those we are officiating over, and I feel some of the adult behavior towards their teams starts wandering into this dark gray area where something needs to be done about it.
This is something I’m going to be thinking about long and hard. When does a coach cross a line that I need to do something about it? Tricky.
The rule book (ours anyway) doesn’t differentiate between misconduct direct to spectators, opposition, or one’s own team. They are all subject to sanction if they meet the guidelines. I guess the question is does having a team run lines as punishment during a time out classify as unsportsmanlike conduct. If so it would be sanctioned. However I can see this maybe being something the team does to keep up there energy and be warm, ready to go back in. I think I will have to take the “temperature “ of the coach before making a determination.
Doesn’t Canada ban all uses of physical punishment as a teaching tool?
I haven’t heard that specifically. It’s probably codified in some law somewhere. You wouldn’t know it looking in any gym or on any field. Physical consequences for not winning the drill / game is very common.
https://sportintegritycommissioner.ca/files/UCCMS-v6.0-20220531.pdf
5.3.1 would be what you are looking for
As a long time coach of school and club volleyball, my take on this kind of "on court" punishment/consequences during competition is one of absolute disrespect to the players, parents, and I consider it somewhat of an embarrassment to all concerned - I've seen coaches have their players run lines, perform rolls, burpee's, etc. for various mistakes/errors during both club and school matches - If deployed, such consequences should be utilized during practice in a more focused and private environment - Personally, I've not once considered such a thing during competition in three decades of volleyball - It's painful/frustrating to watch and I always have to check myself to not approach such coaches with my concerns along with a "What in the world are you thinking...", coupled with a Batman/Robin slap, lol - Kidding of course but you get the idea... \m/
Hey Jared, wonderful to hear your thought and plans on this. May I recommend you talk to refereeing team and get a unified approach and let the coaches know beforehand. My concern is if you sanction this, it may shame the coaches and lead to further punishment for the athletes.
Respectfully
Oliver
I think the more likely result is that the parents (who are already thinking this coach is an idiot) now have a concrete complaint they can take to a club director. “Coach is being mean” won’t get you too far but “coach is out of line and even the refs think so” will mean something.
I’ve seen both over the years. We would hope parents could recognize the issue, but so many have learned to accept the tough love or even celebrate it, that I’ve seen parents get extremely angry at anyone suggesting the coach is out of line with their behavior or punishments. It’s crazy to me how many parent enjoy watching someone else punish their kid.
Yep. I think it's the minority for sure, but there's definitely some oddballs out there. In my experience the vast majority of parents much prefer coaches who treat their kids with respect, but they'll put up with way more crap than they should. Or, if you imagine the quadrant of High/Low Demand/Support, parents usually don't want Low Demand out of a coach they are investing a lot of time/money in. So they'll put up with High Demand/Low Support, but I've met few that wouldn't prefer High Demand/High Support.
One thing you didn't mention is that when this type of coaching is modeled some of those athletes become coaches and perpetuate this behavior. As a woman I coach boys and they often comment I should yell and be tougher on them. My response is external punishment/ motivation is short lived if it works at all. They need to develop their own internal motivation and curiosity or it will not last. As a player and a coach I have seen so much damage with the type of coaching you describe. Thanks for writing. I'll be sharing with my coaching staff as well as AD.
https://rehmiee.substack.com/p/why-inner-emotional-architecture?utm_campaign=post&showWelcomeOnShare=true&_src_ref=com.linkedin.android