To Punish or Not to Punish?

It’s a classic leadership scenario a lot of youth sports coaches face.

There’s a young talent in the program, but he/she just can’t make it on time to evening practice. The player is too young to drive, and his parents or older siblings aren’t around, so they repeatedly show up late despite being apologetic.

Does the coach punish the player or simply let this slide?

Well, neither really.

Leadership is about finding solutions to problems, not just disciplining people uniformly for infractions. Sure, rules apply to everyone, but not all situations are created equal, so adaptability is the only steadfast option.

Have we offered to take the player to practice on our own? Have we tried to see if someone else on the team can drive the player? Is there a bus or some sort of ride-share alternative that might alleviate the struggle?

We frequently talk about our team being a big family, and strong families try hard to find solutions to their problems. As the leader, it’s important that we make everyone embrace this individual issue as a team problem, understanding that circumstance, not defiance, is the reason for the tardiness.

When the team solves problems together — when one person’s issue becomes everyone else’s — a deep bond is formed that will build cohesiveness on the field. As the leader, we can’t just preach teamwork and brother/sisterhood, then at the first obstacle, punish a violation of the rules without really understanding the root.

We must make sure we’ve exhausted every possible resource to get the player there on time. Find the reasons first, then enact solutions for the good of the whole.

The best leader is neither the one who puts forth the harshest punishment, nor the one who gives players the most free passes.

The best leader is the one who solves the most problems.