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Re: Coaching Question - Cliques
Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 4:40 pm
by Liphshaye
jBlaze3000 wrote:Just wondering how other coaches deal with the formation of cliques on team. My situation is on a PeeWee B team. For the most part, it's been a really good group of kids but the last few weeks I've seen a definite segregation of the weaker kids on the team from the better kids. Basically, it's a lot of ganging up on kids when they make a mistake, cutting in line which in turn causes a lot of yelling and screaming that disrupts practice, and name calling in the locker room. I had a parent come to me regarding another player continually calling their kid "gay" in the locker room. I sat down with this kid and all he did was deny it (seems like everything happens when the coaches have their back turned).
I'm starting to see a lack of motivation from a handfull of kids but it's hard to do anything about it when you don't catch the "bullying" in the act. I would have thought that at PeeWee's I wouldn't have to deal with this kind of stuff. Any advice would be appreciated.
BTW, I am only an assistant coach.
It definitely should be addressed with the team. No fingers need to be pointed, even good kids make bad choices sometimes. Is the head coach on board with addressing the team? If so, address the team first and the parents second, after a game or practice in person. Not thru email. Deliver your expectations and Consequences. Heading into playoffs, it's not too late to address this. It might bring the kids closer together. Who knows. Those are situations that will make or break a team headed into playoffs.
Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 5:53 pm
by jBlaze3000
InigoMontoya wrote:
You can dumb it down as much as you like. You wonder why you've lost control of 12 and 13 year old boys, and I suggested it is because they haven't received a clear message that the behavior they have exhibited won't be tolerated. You should rather wonder: why you post, when you don't want to hear what someone has to say. If you just want affirmation of what a swell guy you are, then you should simply phrase the question that way.
I'm not looking for affirmation of what a swell guy I am. I'm looking for input on what to do going forward, from people who have coached the game and have gone through similar situations (and anyone who has coached for any length of time has). We had a situation where we were spending more time dealing with bickering than we should have. Somehow from my paragraph hilighting a couple incidents you were able to determine that a) I've lost control of the locker room and b) it's because things are happening right in front of my face and I'm choosing to ignore it.
I'm sorry but you don't have a clue. I've received a lot of good advice in this thread (which I sincerely appreciate), unfortunately none of it has been from you. Thanks for trying though.
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 6:57 am
by InigoMontoya
Thanks, Blaze. I think you're swell, too.
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 8:40 am
by Benito Juarez
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 12:57 pm
by Defensive Zone
nofinish wrote:A little late in the year for parent and kid meeting on what expectations are but better late than never. Once kids know and understand expected behavior then I would suggest that coaches make random visits into lockeroom before and after ice time. Teams that I have helped coach have done this and we had little to no problems.
Any continued behavior issues were usually fixed quickly by the kid getting some bench time in next game.
Not really! It is never too late to problem-solve. The way I see it, if my son was being disrespectful or disruptive to a point that affects the team, I as a parent would want to know. I expect the coach to teach my son hockey with a few life skills on the way. As a parent, I will teach my son the rest. That is my responsibility not the coaches.
