The Coaches

I enjoy watching my son play lacrosse. I make his games a priority when I am planning my week. One evening, as my son was warming up for his game, he was on the home team, I was watching the game that was still on the field. At one point, four of the athletes, two from each team, got into a fight. More pushing and shoving than a real brawl. Nonetheless, these middle school boys needed to be separated and order restored. The refs were the first ones there to settle things down and stop the altercation. The coach from the visiting team ran across the field and instructed his two “fighters” to get off the field. He then told them that they were done for the day. The home team’s coaches lumbered onto the field as they were clearly out of shape. By the time they got to the melee, the two players from the visiting team were already walking dejectedly to their bench and the refs had calmed things down, In addition to the four home team coaches, a mother of one of the home team players involved in the fight was on the field.

What happened next was disappointing. The home coaches yelled at the players on the other team to stay away from their players. They then yelled at the refs to stay away from their players. They then yelled at the referees as the referees told them that their two fighters, by rule, were also being excluded from the game. Not one of the home coaches stayed on the bench to make sure that none of their athletes on the bench ran onto the field. Not one of the home coaches acted with the same class that the visiting coach had when addressing the fight. What was a great teaching moment was lost on the home coach’s wrong mindset. I have higher expectations for our teams and our coaches. 

I kept watching the game, waiting for the final whistle so that my son’s team could start their game. There was one more incident that bothered me. One of the home coaches called timeout with less than one minute remaining. Not only were they up by 6 goals with time running out, he only did it to save possession while they were playing keep away from the other team. Even the home parents were upset. The move was unsportsmanlike. The only way it could have been a constructive move was if the coach wanted to teach, AKA coach, his athletes. However, there was nothing that I would want him teaching my son during that timeout.

      Every day is an interview.