As the start-up time for practice moves closer for a lot of you, let me encourage you to make plans to prevent hazing and not have to deal with it after the fact! It’s a situation which can break down team unity and can get you, as Coach, in legal trouble if it gets out of hand!
First thing, you have to confront it head on! It must be a part of your over-all team policies and your players/veterans MUST know that you will not tolerate it! “0 Tolerance Policy!” If discovered, suspension is the only recourse.
But, for those of you who have read my book and other entries here on the blog, you know that I encourage you to find a “positive/encouraging” approach as opposed to having to hand out “punishment” after a rule is broken!
I believe that there is a simple and effective remedy to prevent hazing. It’s developing a “Big Brother/Little Brother” system on your team. Every senior… every veteran on your team is assigned a “rookie” or freshman to look out for. That Veteran must know that if something happens to his “little brother” then he wasn’t doing his job. It is his responsibility to look out for that rookie.
Take some time in choosing who is going to be assigned to which rookie. There are factors to consider in making your choices. Email me if you want some ideas or… if you have some ideas of your own that you’d like to run by me.
The KEY is: you want to “catch a Big Brother in the act”… of doing something good or positive and recognize it during a team meeting. Praise the heck out of that veteran for being a good Big Brother! Praise can be a powerful motivator. Ask the rookies to share with the team something that their Big Brother did for them. Or, at least, have them report it to you so you can tell everybody.
With the older guys taking pride in looking out for the younger guys, everyone feels a part of the program.
Something to think about!
