Coaches Must Set the Example
October 15, 2012
By Scott Westfall
MSU Institute for the Study of Youth Sports
NOTE: This is part one of a two-part viewpoint explaining the importance of coaches and parents setting proper examples for young athletes in their treatment of game officials.
In light of the recent uproar over NFL replacement officials, it seems that never before has it been so common and socially accepted to yell disgust at referees.
While this trend is prevalent in both professional and college football, it has unfortunately trickled down into the high school ranks. What is actually accomplished when a coach or fan yells at an official? Do people really believe that if they become irate, a ‘bad call’ will be erased? In all of my years watching, playing, and coaching athletics, not once have I seen a referee change his or her ruling because a coach or a fan yelled at him or her.
When adults lose control and scream at referees, who does this bad behavior really affect? Since youth learn their emotional control from adult leaders, I believe the true damage is done to the young minds that are witnessing their mentors lose their cool. After their display of anger, how can these same adults hope for kids to stay calm when things do not go their way in life? It is pure hypocrisy to expect otherwise.
Whether we like it or not, referees are the absolute authority in athletic contests; they control the game from start to finish, make the tough calls on the playing surface, and even decide who gets to stay and who is sent to the locker room. Yet, it is baffling how often their authority is disrespected.
It is the coach’s responsibility to establish his or her program as one that respects authority. Since players watch all of the moves their coaches make, it is imperative that coaches respect the officials – especially when the calls do not go their way. If a player sees his or her coach going berserk due to a ‘bad call,’ the same player will think it is OK to act like this down the road when upset or faced with adversity. Even more detrimental to these kids is hearing their coach preach a message but contradict it by not backing it up with actions.
Great high school coaches will use the playing surface as an extension of their classroom. In my years as a head coach, I tried my hardest to set a good example for my players and told them to never question, back-talk, or disrespect an official. However, I made the mistake of breaking my own rule on one occasion by questioning the referee’s judgment.
When I was a younger coach, I may have attributed my actions to the heat of the moment, or defended myself on the criteria that I was trying to stick up for my team. However, being a veteran leader who wanted to practice what I preached, I saw my mistake as a teaching moment.
The next practice, when we conducted team discipline conditioning, “Reminders” (usually reserved for players with unacceptable school behavior or poor grades), I asked my players what I had taught them about respecting authority and if I had broken my own rule. The players agreed that I had broken my rule and had not respected the referee.
I let them know that this rule applied to me as much as them. I then lined-up on the goal line and ran my own set of wind sprints as the players, assistant coaches, and managers watched in disbelief. Afterward, to even my surprise, several players thanked me for holding myself accountable.
One kid even had tears in his eyes, and said that after watching my self-imposed discipline, he wanted more than ever to be a man of his word and do the right thing.
Scott Westfall has spent the last 10 years as a teacher, coach, and athletic director in Fort Collins, Colo. He currently is working on his Doctorate at Michigan State University, with an emphasis in Sport Psychology and Athletic Administration, and assisting the MHSAA with its student leadership programs. Westfall is a former athlete who participated in football, wrestling, tennis and cross country at the high school level, and rugby at the collegiate level. He can be reached at [email protected].
PHOTO: Scott Westfall celebrates with his football team while serving as a coach at Boltz Middle School in Fort Collins, Colo.
NFHS Voice: Nationally, Lost Spring Ends
May 8, 2020
By Karissa Niehoff
NFHS Executive Director
On Monday, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association became the 51st and final NFHS member state high school association to cancel its spring sports championships due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The cancellation announcements began in late March and stretched to early May as states made every attempt possible to conduct spring sports and other activity programs.
Driven by a desire to offer perhaps a few weeks of competition – particularly for graduating seniors – many states waited as long as possible to move from postponed to cancelled, ultimately forced to make decisions when schools were closed to in-person learning for the remainder of the academic year.
While the leaders of our state associations knew that spring activities could not occur if schools did not re-open, and that the health and safety of the millions of participants ultimately drove these decisions, having to make these announcements was perhaps the most difficult task they had experienced as state leaders.
“We are disappointed for the thousands of New Jersey student-athletes who will be unable to compete this spring,” said Larry White, executive director of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. “While we remained hopeful to the end, and left open every possibility, competition simply is not feasible given the circumstances. It has been a harrowing time for everyone, and we know our student-athletes are extremely disappointed. That said, these unfortunate circumstances may have put an intriguing challenge in the path of our young people. As New Jersey’s own Vince Lombardi once said, ‘It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up.’ We’re confident all our kids will get back up and stand tall.”
Rhonda Blanford-Green, commissioner of the Colorado High School Activities Association, showed her emotions in making the difficult decision in her state:
“This decision, unlike the many decisions our office makes over the course of a year, has been extremely difficult because we are personally connected as former participants and officials, current parents and grandparents of graduating seniors, as well as educators and members of our high school communities. Our hats are off to the many seniors who have shown maturity and resolve as their culminating year of high school has been impacted beyond activities and athletics due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. The Class of 2020 will not be forgotten.”
Craig Anderson, executive director of the Illinois High School Association, said, “Our thoughts are with all the impacted students, coaches and communities, especially the seniors. It will be difficult for them to find a silver lining in all of this, but we stress that even if they don’t get the chance to compete again at the high school level, they are better for having been a part of their respective high school teams. They were exposed to life lessons in teamwork, leadership and overcoming adversity that are difficult to replicate elsewhere.”
What was at stake and who was affected by these cancellation announcements? More than 500 girls and boys spring sports championships in about 18 sports and involving about three million student-athletes. Along with multiple classes for both boys and girls in track & field, other sports affected this spring were baseball, softball, lacrosse, golf, tennis, soccer, flag football, boys volleyball, water polo, weightlifting, gymnastics, riflery, judo, Unified track & field and ultimate Frisbee. Also grounded were perhaps another million participants in band, choir, orchestra, speech, debate, robotics and other activity programs.
And last, but far from least, we remember the thousands of volunteers who make these events happen every year – ticket-takers, concession stand workers, booster club parents, meet officials and the leaders in communities throughout the country where these events were planned. We thank these individuals for their faithful service year after year, and we look forward to the day we are all back together again.
Dr. Karissa L. Niehoff is in her second year as executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is the first female to head the national leadership organization for high school athletics and performing arts activities and the sixth full-time executive director of the NFHS, which celebrated its 100th year of service during the 2018-19 school year. She previously was executive director of the Connecticut Association of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference for seven years.