Last week, I wrote about the Mike Rice situation, the former head basketball coach at Rutgers University. He was abusive to his players, which was brought to the forefront by a whistleblower, so to speak, who had posted a YouTube video of his conduct. There is no excuse for the way he treated his players. He was dead wrong with his practice of mistreatment and disrespect toward them—it was bullying. I fear this will be an ongoing scenario throughout the world of sports for years to come. People today are more aware of their rights and how the bullying techniques practiced by employers, coaches, teammates and peer pressure groups are detrimental and should be addressed. This is a change from years ago.
A new environment in amateur sports, changed from the 1970s and before, is one of our country’s oldest organizations, the American Amateur Union (AAU). It has trickled eastward from the Midwest in the last couple of decades. Presently, the AAU organization is so big that it’s possibly crumbling the wall of the eliteness of scholastic sports. Here’s the new picture of off-season sports: what used to be an environment of programs designed by local coaches in sports, like basketball, AAU has usurped the numbers of students ready for team play. It has moved in to take the numbers. This is not a criticism of the program. It’s a picture of how scholastic sports have changed because of AAU. There are many pros and cons relating to AAU programs, especially for the players, and the effect it has had on scholastic coaches.
The AAU is a productive organization that can benefit the players. The athletes get to play a lot, they’re not idle, and the more they compete the better they might become. Some of the drawbacks for the players can mainly be in the cost. Some players might not get to play because they can’t afford to. There are some cases, and more than not, when there are sponsors for the athletes and teams that may have financial limitations, AAU is a scenario of “pay to play.” This can become a double-edged sword. The good thing is that the lesser talented kids can get on a team that suits their skills and that gets them playing time.
A negative outcome may result when it comes to trying out for the scholastic team. There can be a feeling of entitlement that was created via AAU play, and that could develop into a negative scenario for those who thought that they just might be better than they really are. This can create the delusion of stardom and that’s where the idea of being entitled can sprout. The parent of a child who experienced success on that AAU team, might have the impression that their child is being treated unfairly by the scholastic coach. This becomes a wedge between the scholastic coach, the player and his or her family, which can get really ugly.
My observation comes from both sides, especially from a scholastic level of coaching basketball for almost four decades and a brief time as an AAU coach. With some elite AAU teams, it’s like coaching an all-star team, because there could be a makeup of many different exceptional athletes who come from various schools. So the parents and athletes who are involved in AAU can become a critic of the school coach and problems can develop about playing time or position on the team. On occasion, the microscope comes out and the school coach becomes second guessed on what is going on with a family’s player. Parents are their child’s best cheerleader and support but often forget the coach knows his or her sport in depth.
Often, when misunderstanding ensues, there is complaining to a school administrator or the athletic director. There are cases of disrespectful rhetoric and possibly prejudicial accusations that can sometimes be blown out of proportion. A coach can become a victim of slander or highly scrutinized for his or her strategical philosophy, actions and words. I have seen, in some instances, where a coach’s family has become the target of critics. Being a coach now is a more difficult job in the world of teaching children because of these added pressures. If one isn’t prepared for this, it can become a coaching nightmare.
