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Post by bird0660 on Dec 18, 2012 8:20:26 GMT -6
Our team has had a huge problem with Twitter this year, and our players thinking that just because they say things on there, they are not culpable for it. Just a short list:
Our sr d captain talking about drinking preseason
Our receiver questioning playcalling after a loss. Completely disrespecting the coaches in the process
Our RB sticking up for the above receiver when he was suspended for his comments
Our starting QB tweeting about smoking weed before school the week after the season
Our Wr tweeting to friends and to the press about how he got shafted by not making all state
Contrary to how this sounds, we are not an overall unruly program, and this has been our major sticking point.
When we did suspend the reciever we met a lot of backlash "saying that we encroached upon his free speech" even from teachers in the school.
I guess my question is...Has anyone had similar problems, how have they been handled, are we right or wrong to see this as a cancer to the team or is it just the newest medium of kids being kids?
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Post by highball007 on Dec 18, 2012 8:25:56 GMT -6
If the kids are doing or saying anything that makes the program look bad, it is grounds for removal in my program. Kids must know the right way to question coaches decisions, and they must learn that the program is bigger then themselves. I would have given a blanket warning to the entire team after I was aware of the first post, then I would have made an example out of the second, I don't believe there would have been a 3rd!
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Post by bird0660 on Dec 18, 2012 8:29:44 GMT -6
That is exactly what we did. Blanket statement after the first, two game suspension to the second (the WR) which was met with harsh criticism by pretty much everyone outside of the coaches office.
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Post by highball007 on Dec 18, 2012 8:31:00 GMT -6
I would just tell them as soon as they run a classy football program, they can then have an opinion on the deal!
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Post by davishfc on Dec 18, 2012 8:34:37 GMT -6
Holding them accountable for what they say regardless of the medium they decide to use is a responsibility we have as coaches. They put it there for people to see it and read it. Well you saw it and read it. You took care of it. Case closed.
Now you said you took care of the WR about the questioning of coaching decisions. What about the others? The argument here from people may be that you didn't hold everyone equally accountable despite some of them openly stating they violated team rules and even laws in some cases.
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Post by spos21ram on Dec 18, 2012 8:35:54 GMT -6
Not sure if this was a national story, I doubt it was, but it was in the papers around here. A Boston College female soccer player was suspended by the college for making Penn State and Sandusky jokes on twitter a few days before their playoff game vs. Penn State. The remarks weren't even that bad, but she was a senior captain and was not able to play in the biggest game of the year.
The comments by your players are far worse in my opinion. Especially the ones bashing the play calling. The ones about drinking and smoking weed I wouldn't punish them the first time, but I would first make a blanket statement to the whole team then sit down with those specific players explaining to them how stupid it is to be tweeting about that for everyone to see. The comments bashing the staff and team are unacceptable though. I would have suspended them also.
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Post by bird0660 on Dec 18, 2012 8:39:07 GMT -6
That wasnt really the argument we were presented with. It was more of the freedom of speech angle as well as in invasion of personal privacy (although he is the one that put it in cyberspace). The other circumstances we were pretty shellshocked from the backlash from that situation, and kinda gunshy to take care of the others(except the qb who was referred for drugtesting, failed, and got in trouble)
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Post by jgordon1 on Dec 18, 2012 8:50:53 GMT -6
That wasnt really the argument we were presented with. It was more of the freedom of speech angle as well as in invasion of personal privacy (although he is the one that put it in cyberspace). The other circumstances we were pretty shellshocked from the backlash from that situation, and kinda gunshy to take care of the others(except the qb who was referred for drugtesting, failed, and got in trouble) You did the right thing..there will always be doubters..playing on a team is a privilege not a right..You give up some of your personal rights anytime to belong to a team...You don't get to call the boss an a$$ at work |
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Post by shortpunter on Dec 18, 2012 8:51:04 GMT -6
We had an issue with a kid blaming the coaches for the loss. It was called out by a Sophomore at the films the next morning. The Kid stood by the blaming basically saying that we were to blame for putting him in the game
His words were " You had to know I wasn't going to cover that guy, it doesn't take a gret coach to figure that out. (He blew coverage twice for big scores).
So I guess it was a coaching error-
we fixed it- he never played defense again
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Post by bird0660 on Dec 18, 2012 8:55:29 GMT -6
Wow short, thats unbelieveable. Im only 30 but I feel like kids have changed rediculously in the last 10 years. Can you even imagine doing that when you played?
But thanks for the feedback, at least I know that im not nuts thinking we did the right thing.
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Post by davishfc on Dec 18, 2012 9:27:44 GMT -6
We had an issue with a kid blaming the coaches for the loss. It was called out by a Sophomore at the films the next morning. The Kid stood by the blaming basically saying that we were to blame for putting him in the game His words were " You had to know I wasn't going to cover that guy, it doesn't take a gret coach to figure that out. (He blew coverage twice for big scores). So I guess it was a coaching error- we fixed it- he never played defense again LOL! Outstanding. Great decision Coach. |
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Post by CS on Dec 18, 2012 9:46:44 GMT -6
You lose free speech when you are part of a team. Suddenly what you say affects others much more.
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Post by bigm0073 on Dec 18, 2012 10:28:06 GMT -6
IN august our Leadership Council voted and approved a team wide policy. We did not have ONE issue on twitter all year. Here it is
If you play in our program at ANY level. You are not allowed to mention ANYTHING with regards to our football team. Nothing. Winning, losing, issues.. anything. Can not say anything about our program or respond to anything from another team. We had two coaches monitor the public accounts (The captains did as well). You can not even say "good luck tonight against blah, blah, blah." Nothing...
First offense was runnning/suspension..
Second offense was dismissal.
Kids loved it and it worked for us.
Being apart of a football program is not a right. Our players have really bought into that concept.
I know some may not like it but it worked for us and we did not have any of those annoying distractions...
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Post by pvogel on Dec 18, 2012 10:41:25 GMT -6
You're completely justified in your actions.
If you or I was to post anything like that on our twitter/facebook/whatever how would that be received?
I'd make a point to not only the kids in our program but the staff members that supported their "freedoms" that freedom of press is a legal right. It is not a right that guarantees you a job or protects you from anyone's opinion and judgement about you. So it is your right to say whatever you want but it is also your employers right to fire you for saying it!
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Post by Coach Bennett on Dec 18, 2012 10:49:16 GMT -6
Can you even imagine doing that when you played? Aside from it just being wrong, you wouldn't have done it because "back in the day" it would have entailed stating something face-to-face. Amazing how "brave" one can be when they're behind a screen. |
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Post by mariner42 on Dec 18, 2012 11:20:12 GMT -6
You did the right thing, coach. I would ask those other teachers if they think they'd still have their jobs if they were bashing the administration or talking about drugging/boozing via Twitter or Facebook. Idiots. Agreed. Our RB this year was a Twitter fiend, which was appropriate because he was a bit of tw@t. The thing is, as annoying and negative a person as he is, he never questioned playcalling. He talked about being upset with his performance, upset with losses, upset he couldn't get the ball more in some games(when you're losing, you pass more, we saw no problem with that), but never undermined anyone. It was always a source of humor for us to have our Twitter-guru DL coach read the RB's tweets after the game, but if someone crosses a line into the territory that negatively affects team cohesion, you've got to come down on it. |
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Post by coachplaa on Dec 18, 2012 11:24:25 GMT -6
It has become an absolute MUST topic to address in the pre-season. We didn't have any problems I was aware of, because we hit it pretty hard with our kids. We basically tell them its just another way to pull a team apart- whether you say something detrimental in the locker room, on the field, or online; its going to hurt the team- and people that hurt our team will no longer be a part of the team.
We also used it to our advantage. We played our two biggest games against some team with kids that had big egos, and posted all over twitter about how they'd beat us. We did screen-shots of those tweets and put them in our weekly highlight film. It worked both times to get our team fired up.
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Post by davishfc on Dec 18, 2012 11:26:19 GMT -6
You did the right thing, coach. I would ask those other teachers if they think they'd still have their jobs if they were bashing the administration or talking about drugging/boozing via Twitter or Facebook. Idiots. |
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Post by kylem56 on Dec 18, 2012 12:14:51 GMT -6
We had an issue with this with a couple of our kids. First thing you need to do is get your AD and Principal on board with a policy you want for your program. After that then have a meeting. Our whole school district has decided that anything posted on twitter/facebook that is against district policies (i.e. kid talking about smoking weed on twitter) is going to result in some kind of meeting with the principal and possible suspension if theres enough evidence. It gets kinda out of hand at times because people can turn in people anonomously but I guess its better than the alternative.
Now as for kids complaining about football stuff (i.e. I didnt get the ball enough and thats why we lost), first off we dont care. If you dont like it...work harder in practice or quit. If it continues, our captains will call you out on it. It's best not to go searching for that stuff unless another kid brings it to your attention.
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Post by davishfc on Dec 18, 2012 12:27:14 GMT -6
We had an issue with this with a couple of our kids. First thing you need to do is get your AD and Principal on board with a policy you want for your program. After that then have a meeting. Our whole school district has decided that anything posted on twitter/facebook that is against district policies (i.e. kid talking about smoking weed on twitter) is going to result in some kind of meeting with the principal and possible suspension if theres enough evidence. It gets kinda out of hand at times because people can turn in people anonomously but I guess its better than the alternative. Administrative support and a formal policy on addressing these issues will certainly make the lives of many coaches much easier. Great point Kyle. Get it in the school and/or athletic handbooks and now it's not YOUR rule, it's the school or athletic department's rule. You're just responsible for enforcing it. But you could express how you see the value in it with regard to unity within the program. Now as for kids complaining about football stuff (i.e. I didnt get the ball enough and thats why we lost), first off we dont care. If you dont like it...work harder in practice or quit. If it continues, our captains will call you out on it. It's best not to go searching for that stuff unless another kid brings it to your attention. Address it if a kid brings it to you but don't go searching far and wide for incriminating evidence. Sound advice. I just think of the sacrifice searching for this stuff would make to the preparation on a weekly basis for the opponent you face. Not a good trade in my opinion. But you do need to maintain a united front on the field, in the locker room, in school, out of school, and online. |
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Post by davishfc on Dec 18, 2012 17:01:44 GMT -6
We take enough criticism from the outside without dealing with it internally. Don't pi$$ in your own tent. |
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Post by dubber on Dec 18, 2012 17:47:29 GMT -6
The "freedom of speech" argument in these type of situations is just wrong, and underscores a complete misunderstanding of that concept.
You can say whatever you want (minus inciting a riot or crime), and not incur censorship from the government.
To have a right to do something does not mean there are or should be zero cosequences.
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Post by bird0660 on Dec 19, 2012 7:39:33 GMT -6
Yea I think looking back, one thing a lot of you mentioned were your team captains taking care of it. We had very bad captains this year, just not what you look for in leadership. And in one case he was even the culprit. I think having that student presence to discourage teammates from doing the wrong thing is very very important.
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Post by davishfc on Dec 19, 2012 8:58:20 GMT -6
Yea I think looking back, one thing a lot of you mentioned were your team captains taking care of it. We had very bad captains this year, just not what you look for in leadership. And in one case he was even the culprit. I think having that student presence to discourage teammates from doing the wrong thing is very very important. This does make it tough when the "supposed" leaders of the team are making the mistakes. They should be the ones helping to police this type of activity. But when they are not on board, it's more like the blind leading the blind. |
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Post by mrjvi on Dec 19, 2012 9:50:56 GMT -6
I had a player twitter about what a bleeping, bleep I was.(8 lines of stuff) I wanted to boot him right away and so did the AD. The AD felt he needed other administrative support. All of the administrators including the super said we were "educators" so we couldn't remove him. He got a 1 week suspension. I will just boot them in the future and make the administrators have to tell me they need to come back. Plus, I certainly don't need to play them again, which I didn't. I've been coaching a long time and this is a new area for me. I agree with what was said earlier, that typing on a screen is impersonal.
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Post by cqmiller on Dec 19, 2012 11:26:43 GMT -6
We have the "talk" with our kids during our "Football Academy" (our version of 2-a-days) where they are told all of the dos and don'ts of the twitter/youtube/facebook world we live in... Always go back to our golden rule...
DON'T BE STUPID!!!!
Stupid = Consequences
Not Stupid = Praise and Rewards
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Post by 33coach on Dec 19, 2012 12:00:54 GMT -6
Our team has had a huge problem with Twitter this year, and our players thinking that just because they say things on there, they are not culpable for it. Just a short list: Our sr d captain talking about drinking preseason Our receiver questioning playcalling after a loss. Completely disrespecting the coaches in the process Our RB sticking up for the above receiver when he was suspended for his comments Our starting QB tweeting about smoking weed before school the week after the season Our Wr tweeting to friends and to the press about how he got shafted by not making all state Contrary to how this sounds, we are not an overall unruly program, and this has been our major sticking point. When we did suspend the reciever we met a lot of backlash "saying that we encroached upon his free speech" even from teachers in the school. I guess my question is...Has anyone had similar problems, how have they been handled, are we right or wrong to see this as a cancer to the team or is it just the newest medium of kids being kids? Policy policy policy. You have to set a policy (at the begining of the year.) that any statement made in a public forum is made as a representitive of the team. Failure to comply is grounds for removal. Sent from my DROID Pro using proboards |
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Post by bigm0073 on Dec 19, 2012 14:03:43 GMT -6
Agree...
This is a simple solution.
Our leaders voted not to have it. They did not want it to get in the way of them winning.
Create a pre-season policy. Make it apart of your team rules and have the players and parents sign it. When something happens you pull out the team rules and everything is documented and expectations are CLEAR from day one.
Our players have to turn in a copy of team rules every year before they get any equipment or practice. Have parents and players both sign it.
Pretty simple IMO... OUr season went through december and we did not have any twitter issues after we installed this in August.
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Post by davishfc on Dec 19, 2012 16:28:58 GMT -6
This just needs to be an athletic policy. It's not just a football problem, it's an athletic problem. Any AD worth a damn would want a social media policy in place for all of their coaches. |
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Post by coachcb on Dec 19, 2012 17:07:38 GMT -6
Again, this is where a Coaches' Discretion Clause comes in handy.
You establish a base set of rules but everyone understands that there are unique situations that pop up.
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