CPS PaddleGate…

A new proposal seeks to ban Chicago public school coaches from slapping, shaking, twisting, choking, hitting, pushing, pinching, head-banging or paddling athletes, as well as “avoid displays of temper.”

via Keeping coaches in check :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Education.

I know, I know – I haven’t blogged much of late. I have, however, been keeping an eye on the CPS coaches’ paddling scandal.

The above-described proposal begs the question: Why does this even need to be a proposal? Is there somebody who’s going to legitimately suggest that any of the described behavior would EVER be OK?

Joe Torre on Motivation

Positive Coaching :: Joe Torre on Motivation

At his press conference to explain why he rejected a one-year, $5 million contract to continue as manager of the Yankees, Joe Torre provided a graduate-level seminar on motivation for coaches at every level.

Little League Rules and Ethics

Take the Little League Baseball Ethics Challenge!

I blogged this same incident a while ago, but I’m finally learning that some of the news story links I post eventually disappear. I found an interesting retelling of it on a site that discusses sports ethics. I’m posting the entire description below in case this link goes kaput as well!

It’s an interesting look at two coaches’ attempts to use league-specific rules in a way that was never intended. Click the link above for the whole ethical analysis.

The Situation: On August 11 in Bristol, Conn., a Little League team from Colchester, Vt., only had to retire its Portsmouth, N.H. opposition in the top of the sixth inning (Little League games are six innings rather than nine) to win the game 9-8 and move on to the New England regional championship game.

But there was a problem. The Vermont team had made its third out in its half of the fifth inning before player Adam Bentley got to the plate. The Little League has a strict rule that requires every player to bat at least once a game, and the penalty for violating it is forfeit. Vermont’s coach Denis Place realized, to his horror, that even though his team had the lead entering the last inning the only way it could avoid losing by forfeit was for Bentley to get an at bat. For that to happen, the New Hampshire team would have to tie the score or take the lead, requiring the teams to play the last half of the sixth inning.

Place held a meeting of his players at the pitcher’s mound and instructed them to let New Hampshire score a run. The plan: walk the first batter, and ensure that he made it home with the assistance of wild pitches and intentional errors so the game would be deadlocked at 9-9. Then, hopefully, win the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, with Adam Bentley getting his mandated turn at the plate.

Not so fast. The New Hampshire team’s coach, Mark McCauley figured out what was happening and ordered his players not to score. So after a walk and two wild pitches allowed a New Hampshire runner to reach third base, the player refused to advance to the plate despite another wild pitch and a fielding error. McCauley also told his players to strike out intentionally, preserving Vermont’s lead but guaranteeing a successful New Hampshire protest that, under the rules, would require that New Hampshire win by forfeit.

This obviously led to a ridiculous spectacle: one team trying to give up a run while the other team was trying to make outs and avoid scoring. The perplexed umpires understandably chose to end the debacle by ejecting Place and his pitcher from the game. Vermont won 9-8…and then New Hampshire was awarded the victory by forfeit, because Adam Bentley never got his turn at bat. The New Hampshire team advanced to the next round.

K-States Huggins a great coach

Kansas City Star | 03/08/2007 | K-States Huggins a great coach

This is a wonderful brief portrait of the complexity of K-State Bob Huggins. Worth a read.

News Times Live Documents detail DAYO case

News Times Live Documents detail DAYO case

But the 13-year-old and a 12-year-old teammate were still too heavy. That’s when Hugh Josh Weyer and Christopher Murphy, assistant coaches with the Danbury Trojans junior midget division team, decided more extreme measures were necessary.

The solution they allegedly came up with, giving both boys “water pills” — over-the-counter diuretics that accelerate fluid loss — to further reduce their weight was at least partly successful in the short run. The 13-year-old lost nine pounds and was able to play in the game.

More details on the case of youth football coaches who gave players diuretics to make weight (a story I mentioned earlier).

Private coaching for youth sports

Looking for an Edge? Private Coaching, by the Hour – New York Times

Chelsea and Brockton Boretti, ages 11 and 9, of Wellington, Fla., work out one to three times a week with Sean Benevides, a coach and co-owner of Athlete’s Advantage, a 12,000-square-foot workout center in Wellington (athletesadvantageusa.com). There, the children enhance their athletic abilities by throwing medicine balls, running obstacle courses and leaping into sand pits.

Their parents, Robin and Mark Boretti, pay about $75 an hour for the pair to train with Mr. Benevides. Mrs. Boretti said she had seen a remarkable improvement in the children’s fitness and sports team performance over the last year. Chelsea is a softball pitcher and Brockton plays football and baseball.

I’d be interested to hear any else’s thoughts on private coaching for very young athletes. I’d be even more interested in reading any relevant research on its results in the following regards:

1. Creating more “elite” level athletes in the long term
2. Boosting young athletes’ self-esteem and efficacy
3. Affecting the athlete’s actual ability

I can see both sides here. I have worked with high school athletes who have seen some very positive results from individual performance training, but I wonder about its role for the younger athletes (like the 9 and 11 year-olds mentioned above.)

Coaches Accused Of Giving Kids Diet Pills

Coaches Accused Of Giving Kids Diet Pills – Local News

I guess it shouldn’t be shocking in light of the “Balco-ification” of pro sports. I know from experience we are seeing the problems with supplements at the high school level. It’s downright frightening, however, to think that this has reached its way down to seven year-olds.

Overspecialization

Kids Fitness: Too much of one subject or sport is shortsighted | www.tucsoncitizen.com ®

Interesting analogy comparing academic specialization and athletic specialization.

Dungy and Lovie

I know I’m restating what a lot of people have already said, but, hey… it’s my blog!

Watching the postgame interviews with these two gentlemen made me proud to be a coach.

It’s interesting being a coach in the US where our collective vision is of a coach red-faced and yelling. (I’m inclined to be that way myself many days.) It is so refreshing to see the coaching style of these two men really buck that trend. By all accounts, neither is inclined to raise his voice or intimidate players to get results. Each also models the ideal “humble in victory and dignified in defeat.”

Watching their comments after the Superbowl was like a complete textbook on classy coaching wrapped into 5 or ten minutes of video.

Parent and Coach Fistfight at Youth Hockey Game

FOXNews.com – Parent and Coach Fistfight at Youth Hockey Game – John Gibson | Judge Napolitano | John Gibson | Big Story Weekend

The brawl began when the father of a player from the visiting team lost his temper and started screaming and cursing at the kids from the opposing side. The referee kicked him out of the arena but it didn’t end there. After the game, the coach of the Connecticut Wolves tracked that father down, chewed him out and then beat him down.