When I played volleyball in high school, I was fortunate enough to have a great coach, Shirley Langdon, who taught me the value of discipline. I often got mad at her seemingly dispassionate nature when it came to matters of discipline. I thought she should have held more understanding in her heart especially when it came to me. (I'm certain some of my current and past players feel the same way about how I've handled them.)
One day during the preseason when my mother was taking me to practice, we had a flat tire. I immediately began crying because I knew I would be in trouble for being late. During those days without cell phones (yes I existed before the invention of cell phones), I walked to the nearest pay phone and called the school secretary asking her to inform Coach Langdon of my predicament. When I came through the gym door late, I thought Coach Langdon would offer me some sort of shortcut through the sprints since I had made the effort to contact her and I had a legitimate reason for being late. No such luck. I cursed at her (underneath my breath of course) for the entire thirty minutes I sprinted. I never forgave her for that one until I became a coach.
I now appreciate and understand the value of discipline. I comprehend that when I teach discipline I am teaching self respect, integrity, mental toughness, and the molding of a group of individuals into a team. I don't believe a team can become great without discipline. It is the means to which all ends are achieved.
I didn't understand then why Coach Langdon didn't relieve me of the sprints, but now I know she cared so much about me she wouldn't let me have any excuse for not being good. She took my excuses and threw them out the door. Nothing mattered to her except we did what we were supposed to do when we were supposed to do it. Because she took that approach which seemed harsh to most of us, we did perform exactly as she believed we could. There were no excuses which we could use to tell her why we didn't block a hit or why we didn't get the ball across the net. We did it because she made us believe we could. No excuses were accepted. We battled and we fought for her. We gave until we didn't think we could and then she demanded more of us. It was her way of giving to us a power we didn't know we had.
When I discipline, it is always for the good of the team. My intent is to make them better as players and as people. It is to get them to understand they are responsible for their success and excuses only serve to take them further away from what they desire.
Last Friday, the Eagles forfeited their right to game day which is implemented as a reward for their hard work throughout the week. During game day, we substitute a game for our usual timed sprints. The amazing thing was when I told them why we were running sprints instead of playing ultimate frisbee or one of our other fun games, they didn't quibble, get angry at one another or shoot me nasty looks. No, instead they worked as hard as they possibly could and made the most of the day. This impressed me--this no nonsense approach to finding the best within the situation. I liked that. I believe this team understands the necessity for discipline which means they have matured. Mature players are always wonderful to coach.
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