Social media, sports and teenagers

[BYU 14]

It is apparent on a weekly basis how much twitter, instagram et al and athletes don't go together.

I thought there was nothing else that could make me say WTF after 10 years of playing and 28 years coaching football, but it happened after our game last Friday.

The coaches and wives were at our usual hangout after the game, when somebody brought up a twitter account of one of our players.

He posted a selfie taken during the game. Bad enough under normal circumstances, because WTF are you bringing your phone to the sideline for right? But this was taken on the field, just prior to the SNAP!!! One of our O-linemen actually took a selfie as he got down in his stance pre-snap, and the player across the line was in it as well, giving a thumbs up!

Now, we were playing a team we completely outclassed and we actually sat several starters as we have a big game this week, but are you kidding me?

I was as rebellious as any teen/young adult back in the day, but game day was always serious. I know there is a certain element of humor to this, especially with the opposing player in on it, and I know todays kids are different than "we" were back in the day, but damn!! During a game??

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

It is apparent on a weekly basis how much twitter, instagram et al and athletes don't go together.

I thought there was nothing else that could make me say WTF after 10 years of playing and 28 years coaching football, but it happened after our game last Friday.

The coaches and wives were at our usual hangout after the game, when somebody brought up a twitter account of one of our players.

He posted a selfie taken during the game. Bad enough under normal circumstances, because WTF are you bringing your phone to the sideline for right? But this was taken on the field, just prior to the SNAP!!! One of our O-linemen actually took a selfie as he got down in his stance pre-snap, and the player across the line was in it as well, giving a thumbs up!

Now, we were playing a team we completely outclassed and we actually sat several starters as we have a big game this week, but are you kidding me?

I was as rebellious as any teen/young adult back in the day, but game day was always serious. I know there is a certain element of humor to this, especially with the opposing player in on it, and I know todays kids are different than "we" were back in the day, but damn!! During a game??

Was he not at all concerned his phone would get crushed in a pileup????

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Time for a life lesson. Sit them out for a week, show the rest of the team what you saw, and let them know that they'll be sitting too if you ever see it again. You won't have the issue any more this year.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Was he not at all concerned his phone would get crushed in a pileup????

I promise you, knowing him it was the furthest thing from his mind.

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Time for a life lesson. Sit them out for a week, show the rest of the team what you saw, and let them know that they'll be sitting too if you ever see it again. You won't have the issue any more this year.

Thankfully nobody else would ever try something this boneheaded, but he is going to get a couple out of this.

1-Sitting against our rival in a game that will decide the section champion, which will be our 4th when we win, as well as some one on one time after practice to condition some common sense into him.

2-Losing his recommendation for all-section 1st team. We expect a certain level of character, in addition to academic and athletic achievement and this is certainly not that. The other coaches could vote for him as a write in, but we are not putting him in for the honor, which is a big deal to him.

[molson]

It was kind of funny, in that stupid teenager meaning-no-harm way.

But I think losing the recommendation for all-section 1st team is the way to go. That was the behavior of a 3rd-string loveable goofball, not a captain or other team representative.

[chesapeake]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

2-Losing his recommendation for all-section 1st team. We expect a certain level of character, in addition to academic and athletic achievement and this is certainly not that. The other coaches could vote for him as a write in, but we are not putting him in for the honor, which is a big deal to him.

I love #1 as a punishment, but is this one, perhaps, a little excessive for a single lapse in judgment? If he has a history of boneheaded, me-first behavior, that is one thing. If not, is scuttling a whole season of hard work, which making an all-section team would represent, an appropriate punishment for a single offense?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Honestly, my initial reaction is that this doesn't bother me much at all.

The key to that, I think, is that you had the opponent outclassed to the extent that you sat several starters. I'm assuming that it was indeed the easy outcome you expected and that this selfie didn't occur with the game on the line or anything.

I believe it's fair to say that I'm one of the more competitive people here so it's a little contrary to my nature but, honestly, given the stress & strain I see HS kids go through on a daily basis around here I'm not sure that I'm not inclined to let him have the fun since he effectively pulled it off without any harm -- I mean, that IS the point in playing the game, right? Having fun? -- with nothing more than a stern warning & a discussion about better judgment, appearances, etc.

Around here we're living through a season marred by injuries, a politically motivated coaching change that ended the tenure of one of the most effective coaches in the state, the worst season in over two decades, some college aspirations likely being shattered, just a miserable year for pretty much everyone involved with the program. I'd love to see somebody having fun.

Your team, your call, you know the kid & I don't, etc. etc. ... I'm just sharing my gut reaction to the situation as described.

[Fidatelo]

I'm mostly with Jon, assuming this kid doesn't have a track record. I think I'd just make his next practice super, super hard. Depending on how he reacted to that, that would either be the extent of it or I might sit him for a quarter in the next game.

[Travis]

Echo the thought that while there should definitely be punishment and an example made, give him a chance to prove the message sunk in before you penalize him too harshly. May just need the threat of the second option for what he was did to really sink in while he's "enjoying" the first punishment.

[stevew]

Rather than completely sit him I'd make him cover kickoffs and punts.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by molson

It was kind of funny, in that stupid teenager meaning-no-harm way.

But I think losing the recommendation for all-section 1st team is the way to go. That was the behavior of a 3rd-string loveable goofball, not a captain or other team representative.

I won't lie Molson, it will be something we laugh at down the road, but doing this in the 1st quarter of a game, that while we won comfortably, was not decided at that point is irritating. Your second paragraph is the frustrating part. Kid is 6'4" 285, (We rarely get linemen that big at our school) with enough skill to play at some level after HS, but expects that to come without the other stuff (grades, leadership, etc)

Originally Posted by chesapeake

I love #1 as a punishment, but is this one, perhaps, a little excessive for a single lapse in judgment? If he has a history of boneheaded, me-first behavior, that is one thing. If not, is scuttling a whole season of hard work, which making an all-section team would represent, an appropriate punishment for a single offense?

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Honestly, my initial reaction is that this doesn't bother me much at all.

Around here we're living through a season marred by injuries, a politically motivated coaching change that ended the tenure of one of the most effective coaches in the state, the worst season in over two decades, some college aspirations likely being shattered, just a miserable year for pretty much everyone involved with the program. I'd love to see somebody having fun.

Your team, your call, you know the kid & I don't, etc. etc. ... I'm just sharing my gut reaction to the situation as described.

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

I'm mostly with Jon, assuming this kid doesn't have a track record. I think I'd just make his next practice super, super hard. Depending on how he reacted to that, that would either be the extent of it or I might sit him for a quarter in the next game.

Originally Posted by Travis

Echo the thought that while there should definitely be punishment and an example made, give him a chance to prove the message sunk in before you penalize him too harshly. May just need the threat of the second option for what he was did to really sink in while he's "enjoying" the first punishment.

I'll answer these together since they echo the same thought. First of all, don't get me wrong, I love the kid in terms of being just a big laidback goofball and I have a great relationship with him. I am totally on board with sitting next week as well, though the final punishment is not my call.

In terms of the other, it won't wreck his chances to make all section, the other teams coaches can still vote for him. That vote doesn't even take place until December, so he may even have time to redeem himself and make that part a moot point. Other honors that he could earn are done by Media, with the exception of All-Section and All-State.

To address the other question, if this had been a first time offense he probably would have only been sitting for the first half this week, with no other punishment beyond that. Unfortunately, he has a track record of doing bonehead things, that while mostly harmless, are inappropriate and call attention to "me" which is not what we instill in our players. So that is why the punishment goes a bit further, and again he can still make the second part of the punishment go away if he keeps straight. It is something to incentivize him if you will.

Just as a background, a couple of his other gems his 4 years with us include:

Chewing tobacco during practice and getting sick because he didn't want to get caught spitting (The use of this is against team rules, so why even bother. Then to swallow it you get what you deserve)

On the last day of school last year, he wore a hat with a large penis attached to the bill, that said "Dickhead" on the front panel. Again, something that in a dumb teenage way is funny, but wildly inappropriate and not the image we want our players to project.

So there is just a glimpse into his dossier.

Originally Posted by stevew

Rather than completely sit him I'd make him cover kickoffs and punts.

This is almost brilliant, unless you factor in we like to keep the opponents returns to a minimum

[cartman]

You might want to check some of the online auctions to see if he has hundreds of pieces of autographed items out there.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by cartman

You might want to check some of the online auctions to see if he has hundreds of pieces of autographed items out there.

As far as I know, he only had one of those Dickhead hats I mentioned in the post above, so we may be safe there, LOL.

[Travis]

Was he punished for the other infractions? Just asking to see if he's been shown that behavior of that sort isn't going to be tolerated and has continued to break the rules or if it's been only verbal "hey, we don't like that stuff" but no other consequences which almost ends up acting like a non verbal reinforcement that it's really not that bad.

If he's had other punishments and just doesn't seem to learn (which this would suggest) then yeah, I retract my earlier comments as he would have already had the chance to change his behavior as a result. If this would be his first real, non verbal punishment, then may be worth revisiting the team/coach's policies on how to handle those earlier infractions as well to avoid it continuing if/when it happens with other players in the future.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

I won't lie Molson, it will be something we laugh at down the road, but doing this in the 1st quarter of a game, that while we won comfortably, was not decided at that point is irritating. Your second paragraph is the frustrating part. Kid is 6'4" 285, (We rarely get linemen that big at our school) with enough skill to play at some level after HS, but expects that to come without the other stuff (grades, leadership, etc)









I'll answer these together since they echo the same thought. First of all, don't get me wrong, I love the kid in terms of being just a big laidback goofball and I have a great relationship with him. I am totally on board with sitting next week as well, though the final punishment is not my call.

In terms of the other, it won't wreck his chances to make all section, the other teams coaches can still vote for him. That vote doesn't even take place until December, so he may even have time to redeem himself and make that part a moot point. Other honors that he could earn are done by Media, with the exception of All-Section and All-State.

To address the other question, if this had been a first time offense he probably would have only been sitting for the first half this week, with no other punishment beyond that. Unfortunately, he has a track record of doing bonehead things, that while mostly harmless, are inappropriate and call attention to "me" which is not what we instill in our players. So that is why the punishment goes a bit further, and again he can still make the second part of the punishment go away if he keeps straight. It is something to incentivize him if you will.

Just as a background, a couple of his other gems his 4 years with us include:

Chewing tobacco during practice and getting sick because he didn't want to get caught spitting (The use of this is against team rules, so why even bother. Then to swallow it you get what you deserve)

On the last day of school last year, he wore a hat with a large penis attached to the bill, that said "Dickhead" on the front panel. Again, something that in a dumb teenage way is funny, but wildly inappropriate and not the image we want our players to project.

So there is just a glimpse into his dossier.



This is almost brilliant, unless you factor in we like to keep the opponents returns to a minimum

Well the kick off coverage standard is the standard. He'll never forget having to sprint down the field 4-5 times(at least) and if he wants to be a look-at-me type spectical this would certainly accomplish that

[molson]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Honestly, my initial reaction is that this doesn't bother me much at all.

The key to that, I think, is that you had the opponent outclassed to the extent that you sat several starters. I'm assuming that it was indeed the easy outcome you expected and that this selfie didn't occur with the game on the line or anything.

I believe it's fair to say that I'm one of the more competitive people here so it's a little contrary to my nature but, honestly, given the stress & strain I see HS kids go through on a daily basis around here I'm not sure that I'm not inclined to let him have the fun since he effectively pulled it off without any harm -- I mean, that IS the point in playing the game, right? Having fun? -- with nothing more than a stern warning & a discussion about better judgment, appearances, etc.

Around here we're living through a season marred by injuries, a politically motivated coaching change that ended the tenure of one of the most effective coaches in the state, the worst season in over two decades, some college aspirations likely being shattered, just a miserable year for pretty much everyone involved with the program. I'd love to see somebody having fun.

Your team, your call, you know the kid & I don't, etc. etc. ... I'm just sharing my gut reaction to the situation as described.

I've changed my mind and agree with this. It's high school, and he's just a goober. Run a couple of extra laps after practice.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Travis

Was he punished for the other infractions? Just asking to see if he's been shown that behavior of that sort isn't going to be tolerated and has continued to break the rules or if it's been only verbal "hey, we don't like that stuff" but no other consequences which almost ends up acting like a non verbal reinforcement that it's really not that bad.

If he's had other punishments and just doesn't seem to learn (which this would suggest) then yeah, I retract my earlier comments as he would have already had the chance to change his behavior as a result. If this would be his first real, non verbal punishment, then may be worth revisiting the team/coach's policies on how to handle those earlier infractions as well to avoid it continuing if/when it happens with other players in the future.

Yes, we are always as consistent as possible with punishments. He has sat before for the chewing incident and being disruptive in class. For the hat issue he was stripped of his team leader role for summer activities (We have upcoming seniors lead 15 'teams' of 9-10 returning JV and Varsity players in fundraising, lift-a-thon, etc over the summer) which was given to him because he had started to show improvement prior to that incident. So he knows there are consequences.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by stevew

Well the kick off coverage standard is the standard. He'll never forget having to sprint down the field 4-5 times(at least) and if he wants to be a look-at-me type spectical this would certainly accomplish that

We have gassers for that while the team cheers offenders on

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by molson

I've changed my mind and agree with this. It's high school, and he's just a goober. Run a couple of extra laps after practice.

We would have chaos if we did this Molson. Like I said, a couple of quarters if it was a first offense, but this is a pattern and even in high school kids need to learn consequences.

We have a player council that is involved in more serious things and also hears 'appeals' on some incidents. With incoming freshmen we have up to 200 players in our program at the start of most seasons and though our numbers are damn good, we still don't get the talent that many of the top division 1 programs in the state get, yet over the last 8 seasons only 2 division 1 schools have more wins than us.

Those schools (and others) send 3-5 kids to FBS schools each year. We have had a total of 3 FBS and 6 FCS players in 12 seasons at the school, with only 1 playing for a P5 school. We have the success we do mostly on work ethic and tough, scrappy kids that play hard and buy in to what we do. I would like to think part of that relates to the fact that we do things the right way and hold kids accountable. I agree, that kids should enjoy high school and we encourage them to have fun, knowing they will be dumb at times, but they need to learn some common sense too.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

I would like to think part of that relates to the fact that we do things the right way and hold kids accountable. I agree, that kids should enjoy high school and we encourage them to have fun, knowing they will be dumb at times, but they need to learn some common sense too.

This

When you develop a sense of entitlement as a high schooler it makes you into a douche bag adult with a sense of entitlement.

[BYU 14]

Just follow up, this 'incident' got us a possible AIA sanction for use of illegal technology on the field. SMH, depending on the outcome of that, not such a harmless boneheaded thing now.