Journal 26, Week 9

Topic of My Choice: How important is discipline?

At the beginning of my season, I handed out team rules. They were pretty simple and to the point of stating that players need to prioritize tennis and attend practice and matches & to communicate with the coach if anything had to be missed. They are expected to work hard and be good student athletes by representing the tennis program well to the rest of the school. All the players had to read, initial each rule, and sign at the bottom along with a parent that they understood the rules.

The last practice of our regular season was rained out. I texted our captains that we would meet in the gym and do an hour and a half of conditioning and indoor drills. 16 of the 17 girls showed up for practice. 1 that did not was a senior.

Our last match of the regular season is typically "senior night" and I like to play all the seniors in the lineup. This girl had not made the varsity lineup (7 players play in a match) all season. This was also her first season playing tennis and my take on her was that she hadn't really made much effort to try to fit in with her teammates. She was usually looking for practice to come to an end, running at less than full speed during practice drills, waiting to leave matches as soon as possible, not sitting with the other girls, and not riding the bus home with the team after matches.

I sent an e-mail to her mother after practice advising her that her daughter had no-showed to practice which puts me in a tough spot since I had been intending to play her in the varsity match. Her mother replied to me that she was sorry, her daughter had gone home sick & asked mom to call me and mom had simply forgot. I pondered this and thought...Am I being told the whole story? Why didn't she call/text when the captains texted her? If I play her, what message does it send to the younger players? If I don't play her, what reaction will I get from her and her parents?

I confirmed with my captains that neither of them had been contacted back about why she could not attend practice. I asked them to make a decision, both of them being seniors and scheduled to play on senior night, on what they feel should happen if they were in the same situation. I asked them to talk it over with one another and let me know later that evening. Both captains called me and said that they understood the rules and that there was no excuse for not coming to practice without notice. They felt that the player should be sat out, even on senior night. I supported that decision...obviously the affected player and parents didn't like that.

I feel that it was the best decision based on the interest of the team. This made me realize that for the rest of my life, regardless of whether my career is coaching kids, business, or otherwise, my decisions will be based in order of what:

1) the team wants
2) an individual player wants
3) what I want

I will not make a decision that benefits me over a player or the team. I will also not make a decision that benefits an individual over the team as a whole. The team will guide my decision making process.