Basketball and Political Correctness

[MotionMan]

I was wondering if there were any guidelines on what is acceptable vs not acceptable behavior for coaching, players, etc.

Nothing specific. Even the rules are not necessarily handed out in their entirety. For example, it was not until the first game that I learned we started the game with an actual jump ball and or that we shot free throws!

Of course, at the next practice, we learned where to stand for the jump ball and free throws (which, BTW, I know other teams have not learned, at least not yet).

MotionMan

 

[Perknose]

LOL. From the bench.

I think part of the issue is that I have the loudest voice you may ever hear in your life. So, not only am I vocal, I can be heard over the sound of the crowd in a small basketball gym without even using my loudest voice.

That probably freaks people out.

MotionMan

Ahhhh, BINGO!

Be prepared for the "commissioner's" stance to be a political one wherein he's just trying to keep everyone, especially the complainants, happy, and not one in which he frankly admits you're right and they're wrong.

 

[MotionMan]

Here are the comments forwarded to me:

From the moment the game started and continuing throughout the duration of playing time, the two <team> coaches were yelling at their players. It was not encouragement but they were yelling orders at their players. They also were inciting their players to be aggressive to the point the game became very rough.

Many of the parents attending the game were complaining about the incessant yelling. No one enjoyed the game least of all the children. It would be terrible if children playing basketball in your league lost the taste for this sport because of two inconsiderate grown men who were acting like spoiled children.

Coaching "by fear" and yelling beyond reasonable levels not only made me extremely mad and uncomfortable.

MotionMan

 

[Slew Foot]

They're only complaining. Because they lost. F them.

 

[crashtestdummy]

Here are the comments forwarded to me:





MotionMan

I'm guessing your team's kids enjoyed winning.

 

[MotionMan]

I'm guessing your team's kids enjoyed winning.

LOL.

:thumbsup:

MotionMan

 

[FreshCrabLegs]

Here are the comments forwarded to me:

...snip...

Sounds like you got bulletin board material there. =)

I guess at the next practice you could share those emails with your player's parents and ask them how they feel about your coaching style.

That's the only thing that really matters at this point.

 

[Corporate Thug]

My assistant coach just called me. He said that the other team's coach, who he is friendly with, thought "rip it" was "too violent" for 7/8 year-olds.

I am still not sure what else to call it.

MotionMan

wow, seriously? tell me to get a damn life. When a defensive player causes a turnover are you supposed to say "he took the ball away from the offensive player" rather than "he stripped it?"

 

[MotionMan]

Sounds like you got bulletin board material there. =)

I guess at the next practice you could share those emails with your player's parents and ask them how they feel about your coaching style.

That's the only thing that really matters at this point.

I just informed the parents via e-mail and have reminded them that I and my assistant are always open to discuss our coaching style with them.

MotionMan

 

[CPA]

tell the commish to come watch one of your games.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Here are the comments forwarded to me:

From the moment the game started and continuing throughout the duration of playing time, the two <team> coaches were yelling at their players. It was not encouragement but they were yelling orders at their players. They also were inciting their players to be aggressive to the point the game became very rough.

Many of the parents attending the game were complaining about the incessant yelling. No one enjoyed the game least of all the children. It would be terrible if children playing basketball in your league lost the taste for this sport because of two inconsiderate grown men who were acting like spoiled children. Quote:
Coaching "by fear" and yelling beyond reasonable levels not only made me extremely mad and uncomfortable.

MotionMan

Wow... you should hear the yelling that goes on in the games I go to. I thought this one coach was going to explode at one point (as in just burst into flames).

My wife is funny too, she's sitting in the stands yelling "DEFENSE!!!" etc. Then we've got this one parent of a kid on our team who brings a big cone and he's shouting DEFENSE and hitting the cone to mimic the sounds you hear at NBA games.

It's kind of a fun atmosphere actually. I dig it.

I'm curious, what kind of numbers are your kids putting up? My son's team typically scores about 24-28 points a game during four 10 minute quarters. They don't stop the clock for whistles except for timeouts and during the last 2 minutes of play.

As long as your kids are having fun and don't feel intimidated fuck em.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Here are the comments forwarded to me:



[stupid comments]

MotionMan

Wait for the reality check when these boys go on to high school ball...the officiating is a hair better than street ball. I remember a coach shoving me off the court for a bone head play on a time out and when I sat on the bench, he grabbed me by the arm and pushed me towards the locker room

 

[MotionMan]

I'm curious, what kind of numbers are your kids putting up? My son's team typically scores about 24-28 points a game during four 10 minute quarters. They don't stop the clock for whistles except for timeouts and during the last 2 minutes of play.

Similar timing. Similar scoring.

MotionMan

 

[MotionMan]

Wait for the reality check when these boys go on to high school ball...the officiating is a hair better than street ball. I remember a coach shoving me off the court for a bone head play on a time out and when I sat on the bench, he grabbed me by the arm and pushed me towards the locker room

I coach them like a high school team, with a little softer edges.

Honestly, if there was any issue with my coaching, the first person I would hear it from would be my wife.

I also coached my nephew last year, and my sister-in-law says she misses me as his coach (he is in the league one year younger than my son).

MotionMan

 

[zinfamous]

how about "lip it!"

:\

 

[MotionMan]

how about "lip it!"

:\

When I spoke with the league director, he admitted that "rip it" is an actual, long-standing, basketball term, but he asked me to try to come up with a different phrase.



MotionMan

 

[MotionMan]

From the moment the game started and continuing throughout the duration of playing time, the two <team> coaches were yelling at their players. It was not encouragement but they were yelling orders at their players.

Where I come from, that's called "coaching".

The things I yell the most are, "hands up" (defense), "shift" (zone defense), "on him" (defense - see below), "swing it" (offense), "rebound" and generally telling the players by name that they are in the wrong position (which still happens a lot but will happen a lot less as the season progresses).

They also were inciting their players to be aggressive to the point the game became very rough.

This made me laugh because I know exactly what they were talking about: I teach my players that, when an offensive player picks up his dribble inside the three-point arc, I want a defensive player to get chest to chest with them. My son, who, if I do say so myself, is a great defensive player, did that, except he kept moving into the other player, knocking them down...three times. After each knock down I told him to not move so aggressively, but he is 7 and cannot always control his excitement or his body. We will work on that at practice this week.

One kid on the other team took a finger to the eye on a loose ball scrum, too, but he did not have to leave the game.

MotionMan

 

[Dr. Zaus]

When I spoke with the league director, he admitted that "rip it" is an actual, long-standing, basketball term, but he asked me to try to come up with a different phrase.



MotionMan

"I've been working on this with a team of millionaire geniuses online... and other than the factual term used to overcome this un-sportsman like game play, the best we can come up with is 'Sodomize the ball.' as that's what you're doing to the game of basket ball and the entire concept of a team sport, which is inherently a violent thing, when you stick your dick where it doesn't belong vis a vis b-ball."

/thread

 

[zinfamous]

How about: "Pick his pocket, T!"


(bit of an inside joke with a high school-age bball league where father coached his son, and would constantly be yelling out to 'T' during the game."

 

[MotionMan]

How about: "Pick his pocket, T!"


(bit of an inside joke with a high school-age bball league where father coached his son, and would constantly be yelling out to 'T' during the game."

Rip it, grab it, pull it, get it.

Boy, this basketball is much too violent a game for grandparents.

MotionMan

 

[Squisher]

I really have nothing for you MM, but I can't pass this thread without parroting that this is ridiculous.

How about naming the move the league director's name? That should endear him to you.

 

[Capt Caveman]

A bunch of us in high school used to coach 5th grade YBA teams. It was all about fun and learning. Some of the kids and parents would bitch b/c we didn't play their kids enough and weren't interested in winning but they were in the minority and we just ignored them.

I can't remember any of us ever yelling. At the end of the season, I remember a bunch of parents buying us movie gift certificates to thank us for treating all the kids equally and making it fun for all.

 

[SP33Demon]

Rip it, grab it, pull it, get it.

Boy, this basketball is much too violent a game for grandparents.

MotionMan

How about just "grab!" or "tie it!" to try and tie the ball up. I don't see anything wrong with your ultra competitive coaching style, as long as you are teaching them that it's ok to lose as well (which I'm sure you do, knowing you from the forums). But of course winning is always preferred!

 

[MotionMan]

A bunch of us in high school used to coach 5th grade YBA teams. It was all about fun and learning. Some of the kids and parents would bitch b/c we didn't play their kids enough and weren't interested in winning but they were in the minority and we just ignored them.

I can't remember any of us ever yelling. At the end of the season, I remember a bunch of parents buying us movie gift certificates to thank us for treating all the kids equally and making it fun for all.

Every week I work out my rotation for the game in a spreadsheet and I follow it during the game, no matter the score. There are substitutes every five minutes, so there are 8 shifts. I have 8 players this year, so every player plays 5 shifts, 2 in one half and 3 in the other. Every kid plays exactly the same number of shifts.

When I coached last year, at the end of the year, I was given not only a group gift from the team, but individual gifts from various parents. They thanked me for treating their kids like basketball players and not just letting them run around like little kids - one parent commented that "This was not suppose to be recess time, this was suppose to be class time, and you taught them how to be basketball players."

ALL of the parents with kids who were my son's age said they hoped they could be on my team again the next year. The parents of the kids who were too young to be on my team this year (we moved up a level because of my son's age), all said they hoped they could play for me in 2 years.

2 weeks ago we played against one of my former players. The parents said they missed me.

I have never received a complaint from one of my parents and this is the first time anyone else has ever complained about me to the league.

MotionMan

 

[zinfamous]

"A-hoy, young man! Make haste and abscond with that gentleman's ball! But do no dishonor to his general nature!"


That should please them.