The Importance of Being Reasonable

In Coaching by Brock Bourgase

During the first half of last night’s contest on Football Night in America, Mark Sanchez called an unnecessary timeout as his team approached the goal line within the two-minute warning. The Jets scored but left enough time for Tom Brady and the Patriots to answer back with seconds remaining in the half. Interviewed at half-time, Rex Ryan called Sanchez’s actions “the stupidest play in football history.”

Obviously hyperbole, Ryan’s remarks suit his intense personality. It seems to suit the New York defense perfectly and feeds their aggressive personalities. With a young quarterback, such comments may have the opposite effect.

Michael Jordan is praised as much for his insatiable desire to win as his exceptional skill. During hard-fought scrimmages in practice, Jordan and Scottie Pippen pushed the Chicago Bulls to new levels. However, during his return with the Washington Wizards, Jordan’s perfectionism may have irreparably stunted the development of young players like Kwame Brown.

When does intensity degenerate from a positive attribute to a negative influence? How do you foster that intensity without going too far? Successful teams are built on mutual respect and this is best achieved with a professional approach. Youth coaches must be especially cognizant of nurturing the players they coach and encouraging achievement in all aspects of life.

Mark Sanchez is a highly paid football player and will get over what Ryan said about him. Quarterbacks must be able to do that in order to survive in the National Football League. It’s unlikely that his mental health is at risk. An issue emerges when rep and high school coaches see this behaviour and choose to follow it.

There is a great deal of publicity about the sexual abuse scandal at Penn State University and it is horrifying that something like that occurred, apparently aided and abetted by several figures of authority. Emotional abuse is the most common type of abuse suffered by youth who play sports. Personal criticism, pressure to win and exhortation to play through injuries or attempt advanced manoeuvres are examples of emotional abuse (the latter may be a legal liability for the coach if they do not follow a standard of care that a knowledgeable coach would).

Calm and collected coaches can succeed at the professional and community levels. Joe Torre was the right manager for the Yankees in 1996, just as Cito Gaston was for the Blue Jays in 1989. Both provided skilled athletes the room to perform and both won multiple titles. A highly skilled team needs a relaxed environment more than anything else.

These coaches are often chided by fans because they are seen as too passive and indecisive. Actually, once they make a decision they stick to it, because once you have talent you stand back and let it perform. Derek Jeter said that Torre was a great manager because he only managed when he had to.

While managing, Gaston was often criticized because he seemed too quiet but he is now much more appreciated given the recent performance of the Toronto Blue Jays. Gaston gave younger players confidence (Juan Guzman, John Olerud), trusted veterans to do their job (Jack Morris, Paul Molitor), and helped others get results they never matched elsewhere (Devon White, Kelly Gruber). Much of Gaston’s success was due to his patience and respect.

Cito Gaston brought an air of calm to the clubhouse. He let pitchers work out of jams and allowed his players to play through slumps. He never showed up those who played for him. Subtle encouragement created a positive, professional environment. At a basic level, challenging someone to a fight is not respectful behaviour.

A positive approach does not burn players, coaches, and even assistant coaches out during the season. At times, high intensity volatile coaches succeed (Ozzie Guillen, Mike Keenan, Chuck Daly, and Bill Parcells have all won titles). But they also tend to blow up quicker and rarely succeed in the long-term.

Among fiery coaches, those with the most success are those who base their outbursts on a foundation of respect (Tony LaRussa, Scotty Bowman, Gregg Poppovich, Tom Coughlin). Like a bank account, the more positive deposits made during the season, the more effective withdrawals made at critical junctures become. Why would anyone listen to a coach’s outburst if it were merely one track on a broken record? As Del Harris asked: “If everything is F— this and F— that, what’s left when you’re really upset?”

According to Kouzes and Posner, the first foundation of leadership is modeling the way. Words must correspond to actions to be meaningful to players. Where does intensity fit in? Moderation may seem like a daft response but intensity and composure are two extremes separated by a wide grey area.

Obviously, coaches should model the way as much as possible and remain above the fray. However, coaches have emotions and it is sometimes necessary to show some fire for long-term gain. So long as the coach’s commitment and integrity are exemplary, they are entitled to make judicious use of their intensity.

Does this tactic work because coaches show players their intensity and encourage the team to match it or because it reminds players of the significance of that game? Coaches know the players that they coach the best and the team’s personality is an important consideration; if a team freezes due to fear or surprise, the theatrics have backfired and the damage must be undone as soon as possible after the game.

Fear of emotionally abusing a player should not mean that a coach ignores the team. Coaches should always instruct and provide non-judgmental objective feedback. Some players may need some key words to serve as reminders (like the Big who needs to be convinced to stay near the glass) or a prompt debriefing after the leave the game (perhaps a point guard who is learning to make decisions under pressure for the first half).

Student-athletes need that motivation too and sport remains the exception to the rules which guide other fields in life. It’s neither a business office nor a Hollywood stereotype, yet elements of both persist. Intensity and fire have a place in sport that they don’t have elsewhere. The trick is to employ those elements with consistency, respect, and integrity.

Goran Ivanišević won the 2001 Wimbledon Championships after spectacular meltdowns had derailed previous attempts to win Grand Slam events. The Croatian described his new use of intensity in moderation, “I still break racquets, but now I do it in a positive way.” Remaining positive keeps things fun for players and keeps them involved with the sport.