* Do coaches have moral responsibilities to players? Do those responsibilities shift the older the player and more advanced the play?
* Are coaches guilty of indoctrination?
* Do coaches teach morals? Should they? Give examples of acceptable moral values and questionable ones. I'd answer by saying, for instance, that coaches ought to be teaching mutual respect and that would be manifested in post-game handshakes. Unacceptable values for me, would be a coach who teaches young children that winning at any cost is the most important thing.
When a person accepts the role of being a coach they take on a position that knowingly has many responsibilities. These responsibilities range from teaching the proper techniques and fundamentals of the game to sound moral judgments. Coaches become teachers in this role and a part of being a teacher is to teach the players positive attributes and things they can use in their life. As the player gets older I think the coaches responsibility to the player should be more and more since the player can easily turn down the wrong path since they are growing more as an individual.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with coaches having more responsibilities as a player gets older. Coaches are teachers as well, yes, but they shouldn't have to babysit a grown man. That player is old enough to learn whats right and whats wrong and if they still need help, well, lets just say that player will struggle in life. Life is about making decisions and learning from them and quite frankly, a coach should "prepare you" for life not hold your hand all the way to graduation.
DeleteI agree that the coach shouldn't hold the players hand all the way towards graduation or baby him, but as their coach, no matter what age they are, he still has a duty to develop the player positively in the game and in real life. I think maybe it isn't that the responsibility increases with age, but it causes a greater chance of the coach influencing that player more drastically.
DeleteI might inject from personal experience having dealt with 11-17 age guys and girls that its not the amount of coaching or responsibility that really changes but the type or way in which you do it is what changes. If anything, I was more connected and coaching to my older guys because you know that this is that last step (at least with you) before they move on and you want to make sure you have told them everything you can. But that is just my experience.
DeleteIt is a coach's responsibility to only make these athletes into great athletes and to also make them into great people. However, as a coach you can only do so much because it is that individual's choice to take what you teach and use it or to completely ignore. From my personal experience, I seen guys I played who fell into both of the above mentioned chosen paths and done alright.
DeleteI have to agree with Brandon on not holding the athlete's hand in everything he or she does. You have to let them live and learn from experience. That's how I learned a lot of life lessons which came from athletics and real life.
DeleteI believe that coaches at a high school level and below do have a moral responsibility to players because they have accepted to fill a role of an authority figure in those young people’s lives. However, after the athletes become legal aged adults I think that the responsibilities that coaches take on lessens because they are no longer teaching kids, but adults who by that time should have already have a morally formed character.
ReplyDeleteI disagree. I think that no matter the age, a coach is considered to be a teacher that is meant to either convey or solidify respectable and moral actions and beliefs in the athlete. Even though the athlete may already hold certain moral values, the coach has to embody those values or, in the end, the values don't mean much and the athlete could begin to question the values in the first place. For example, a coach who thinks winning is everything goes into a fit when their team loses, throwing (in softball terms) gloves, bats, the scorebook, kicking buckets, etc. I think that keeping calm in the face of adversity is a value that is instilled in a player, but the coach should embody it. If the coach shows the players that acting like that is okay, then the the reigns on the team begin to loosen and this could unleash players' negative attitudes. You see it in high school, but you also see it in college, as I have noticed.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Ana. It is well said for how coaches should act and how they are moral teachers to athletes of any age.
DeleteI completely agree with Ana. Well said.
ReplyDeleteI think there is a difference between being a good role model and actively instilling moral values. Coaches have a responsibility through High School (and maybe college) to work on developing an ethical framework. However, at the more elite levels, coaches need to only be role models and hold their players accountable for their actions. I agree with Brigid that it is no longer the coaches responsibility to teach. Not necessarily because the athlete is done growing, but because the coach would have the responsibility to be a guide instead. They still work on building the internal values of sports such as commitment and endurance. On all levels, coaches should put these values first instead of winning at all costs.
ReplyDeletecoaching is a lot of responsibility. At a young age the coaches have less responsibility for the kids actions and more responsibility of their morals, as far as during the game. But as you get older the coaches take less moral responsibility and more life responsibility. I think this is because the kids care more about the sport as they are older and that puts the coach in power to be able to control the kids and their actions. I do think that freshman sports were the most important part of my career. I think that year is so important because you are just entering high school and that coach should instill the kind of behavior you are going to apply throughout high school.
ReplyDeleteCoaches definitely have a moral responsibility to their players. Players look up to their coaches and see a responsible role model. Depending on the age is what depends on how much responsibility coaches have. the younger the player is, the less responsibility of the kids actions but a huge responsibility of being a good role model for the young players. Coaches teach morals by teaching hard work ethics. Every coach wants their players to succeed and to succeed they must push their players to work their hardest to get the result they want.
ReplyDeleteAs a Coach I do see it important to be teaching moral values. You teach kids life lessons through teaching them the sport. You teach them things like to never give up, and that by putting your heart into something is the most important thing. However, the older a player gets the more in control they become of how they play their game. As a Coach our job is to teach the fundamentals, be competitive, and to win games. Our success is decided by our W-L column not by anything else we do. We coach to win, or at least be competitive. Each player is their own individual if they do something undesirable the coach cannot be help responsible unless he taught that kid that undesirable behavior. Coaches are just like every other human being, they are given a job, and must carry it out to the best of their ability. You can't control an individual, at the end of the day they make their own choices. If a coach witnesses a player doing something undesirable it is his job to correct it to the best of his ability. No matter if they are the star of the team or a supporting character.
ReplyDeleteI believe that coaches play a huge role in the game. They do have a moral responsibility. At the younger ages I feel that little kids look up to the coaches as role models especially if they played the sport. This puts more responsibility on the coach because they are now not only coaching but they are being looked up to. I believe that sportsmanship is a big moral that coaches work to instill especially at the younger levels of sports. Coaches are in control of the players therefore they take responsibility for their own actions and their players actions.
ReplyDeleteI have disagree with Olivia just because it does not matter what age the athlete is, they will still look up to their coach as a role model. My personal experience is as high school senior I looked up to my head coach and defensive coordinator as my roles models because they showed and taught morals. These men are still my role models and are good friends of mine and of my family.
DeleteI feel that coaches do have a moral responsibility to players because from my personal experience I have bonded with most of my coaches and they have become more of father figures to me and I feel like if they did something to betray that, then it would be a major issue. I feel that coach teach moral in a non-direct way. What I mean by that us that coaches hold you to a standard and if you don't stand up to that or if you are about to do something that is not up to that standard, you feel obligated to stop what you are doing and to maintain the standard the coach sets for you.
ReplyDeleteI do believe coaches have more of a responsibility than the players. And because of this, morals must be taught by the coach himself. As players get older I believe the coach's responsibility changes but still is vital. In high school I believe that the coach needs the most responsibility and teaches the most morals. As we can see in the Mike Tomlin case a coach is held to a higher standard than the players, with fines and draft picks because of his place on the field. So even when the players are grown men coaches have big responsibilities to not only the players, but also the organization. In morals I believe they are taught more at a younger age, but can be taught up through high school. Sportsmanship is something that is taught at a young age and goes all the way through the sport growing up. Also one that is debated is should coaches makes sure the players are students before they are athletes, and this is where coaches have acceptable moral arguments against the school and players.
ReplyDeleteI believe that coaches do have a moral responsibility to players. It doesn't matter what age the player is. The coach should always keep the player level headed and on the right track and doing the right things. At a younger age coaches don't need to worry more about sportsmanship and playing the game right.
ReplyDeleteI think that coaches do have morals responsibilities to all players of all ages especially younger kids and even high school kids. They are the ones that have to teach kids how to be moral in sports and sometimes even in life. I don't think their responsibilities shift though because their always going to be coaching the same sport and for the most part dealing with same situation. For example, kids are going to get mad during games and lost their control just as a college student would do so it's the coaches job to help them gain their mentality back and possible teach them how to deal with their emotions.
ReplyDeleteDepending on the level of competition coaches need to balance the emphasis on winning. Coaches at a professional and College level tend to have more emphasis on the winning aspect of sports because most of the time that is what they are getting paid to do. However, those coaches must make ethical decsions when it comes to the rules of recruiting players. At a youth level i believe the coaches must become like a teacher as well as a mentor. These coaches can be competitive but its not as if their job depends on it.
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