Handling Off the Feild Issues

When you are working with young athletes nothing seems to go smoothly. You can always expect some kind of off the field issue to come up at the worst possible time. Learning to deal with these unfortunate and often unavoidable situations is a skill every successful coach must do.

The key to handling any kind of off the field situation is communication. Properly communicating with the people involved will allow you to better understand the full extent of the situation and to decide what needs to be done about it. It is always best to handle these instances promptly, because the faster action is taken the faster the issue is resolved.

When disscussing the siuation with the athletes involved there are a few guidelines to follow, to ensure nothing gets out of control and the problem is solved quickly.

1. Schedule a meeting with anyone involved ASAP, even if it takes away from practice time
2. Keep all details confidential, this is important to the privacy of the people involved
3. Listen to all sides of the story seprately, this will help you determine what really happen
4. Take time to think and discuss with your staff, to determine the severity of the situation and how best to handle it
5. Meet with everyone involved and let them know the plan of action and what they need to do
6. Take action and fix the problem as soon as possible!

Use these steps as a basic guideline next time an off the field issue comes up, and the problem will be solved in no time. Allowing you to get back to doing what you love the most about coaching, the game!

Best of luck,
Coach Nich