Now, to start things off I’m a little upset and frustrated at this quote from Cam Newton after the Auburn Tigers beat the Oregon Ducks in the BCS Title game. So if this seems a little off topic, I want to apologize.
“I don’t want nobody to feel sorry for me, because throughout this year didn’t nobody feel sorry for Auburn,” Newton said, setting a BCS record for double negatives in a single sentence. “We got the last laugh.”
From an ESPN Article Here.
The issue that I have with this is that Americans have gotten to a point where playing a sport has taken over from the Academic side of being a student-athlete. Please make a note that STUDENT comes first which means (to me) that you need to earn the right as a STUDENT to be an athlete at any level. This is also reinforced in the NFHS Coaches Certification required for non-Teaching coaches.
Now, I know I’m a first year coach and I may not have all the tips, techniques and other skills necessary, but I do know that in our swimming program we don’t tolerate people who slack off in the following aspects.
- Discipline: Our athletes are to respect the coaching staff AND each other. While also having enough common sense to know when something has gone/is going awry.
- Academics: The school and the IHSAA hold our Student-Athletes accountable to have at least a 2.0 GPA and passing a minimum of 5 classes to take part in sports. We encourage a 3.0, anything less you seek tutoring.
- Training: We hold our students accountable to not miss training due to the limited amount of time we have. Missed training time is made up.
Now, I know that these types of things seem like common sense, but it makes for better athletes and better students. If we, as coaches, can hold our athletes accountable for withholding these simple things, we can also plan on them for holding themselves accountable later in life.
As always, feel free to express your opinions, whether they are similar or different. Everyone is welcome here.