Coaching kids that are ODD

I had never heard of that myself.

I was going to say I'm pretty odd myself, so I don't have much problem with it.

These are the kids you gotta be toughest with. Let them know that this aint no day care. You arent momma and you arent gonna take their being a punk by attaching some diagnosis to it. Either shape up, pay attention, or you will do hit its and run. If you dont want that then you can get off the team.

That has always been the way I was raised in the game, playing with strong role models at a strict catholic school. I feel that kind of discipline is what makes this game so great. Don't be afraid of it.

I'm glad you added this.

I don't want anyone to get the impression that I dont CARE about the kids. What I am saying is that I simply dont accept that kind of behavior, as I believe it is them being babied in every other aspect of their lives that makes them believe it is ok for them to act that way.

After I have disciplined, of course I listen and I tell them WHY. My post, mistakenly, left that fact out. Great point, coach.

I worked as a counselor in the lock down unit of a children's mental health facility. ODD is a real diagnosis and its very hard to handle even in a clinical setting. These kids struggle to be compliant with every day requests and tasks. I had a kid pop me in the mouth after he lost privileges for refusing to follow my directions and brush his teeth.

IMO.m, your best bet on the athletic field is to establish your discipline guidelines and hold them accountable the same way you would any other kid. Nothing good will come of it. Yes, you want to develop a working relationship with them but the same goes for every kid out there.

This is the football field, it's not the classroom; it's a privilege to participate and not a right. These kids can control themselves, they just have a harder time doing it. They make the choice to be defiant and destructive.

So, you do the right things; stay calm, rational and positive, focus on developing intrinsic motivation, hold the kids accountable for poor behavior (etc) and hope it sticks with these ODD kids. They will be in a far better place if they learn coping skills through football. But they have to learn it and maybe they don't need to be a part of the football program if they choose to exhibit defiant behavior.

Good coaches understand that they can't treat and talk to each player the same way. Regardless of whether they have some diagnosed, recognized disorder some players don't respond well to being verbally pushed and some do (in fact some need it). Coaches should know their people and treat each accordingly.

BUT.. you do need standards of behavior. You can't just accept tantrums, arguments, and disrespecting coaches and teammates. You just can't have it. 

If the purpose of education is to prepare a student for life after graduation, I believe that allowing bad behavior is not serving the student well. Kids need to learn to handle themselves because once they're out in the real world nobody cares if you have ODD or some other disorder. 

First off, I have to laugh, when I read the title of the thread I though you meant odd; I was all ready for the tales of coaching the weirdos Ive come across.

That being written, I've never coached a kid with ODD (or at least knowingly) but have had numerous in class. Ive known several teachers to come at these kids pretty heavy, they have the whole attitude that they are gonna be tough on them and its their way or the highway. In the end these teachers have ended up just unfairly attacking the kid, I'd be wary of that.
Now that doesn't mean don't give them rules, they have the same rules and consequences as everyone else. But what I would provide for them is a structured "Out". A Place they can go to, to step away from the situation before they end up going overboard. Also, watch them around other players; those with ODD have a tendency to try to bother and annoy intentionally.

Yup but 10 out of 13 boys on the unit were diagnosed with ODD. They all had severe anger issues, regardless of their other mental health issues..I had a 12 year old kick me in the head and knock me out. I was out of work for four days.

It was much easier working on the girls' side of the unit because very few of them struggled with ODD. Depression and anxiety were the problems over there and they were much easier to handle. Just throw on "Twilight" and we were good to go.

I kind of feel like every year my kids are weird. I was kind of wondering if it was just me getting older. 

Although, I did coach one kid who missed a practice b/c he was attending a medieval fantasy role playing festival called "Orctoberfest". I'm pretty sure it's not me getting older to consider that weird.


Pretty sure that kid will never get laid either. Just sayin' 

I'm going to respectfully disagree with you here, coach.

A kid with ODD behavior could escalate to the point of violence in this situation. At the very least, you'll have a helluva time getting them back on board. You could end up fighting with them all year until you boot them.

The chances if these kids controlling themselves when they're set off is slim to none. So, in my experience, instituting a punishment on the spot will get ugly.

I'm speaking from experience here; it works better to de-escalate them first and then approach them:

"Alright, Lil Billy, that kind of of disrespect is unacceptable. I need you to go stand over there in the sideline away from the team and we will address this later",

If they refuse, then it's time to cut ties.

I wonder if I fail to get my job done and do what's required of me if I can dip my hand into a pot of alphabet soup to get some letters to lay on his desk as an excuse