Consequence Over Punishment
How many times have we heard the word "punishment" used when it comes to sport? This word, in many ways, has become completely normalized and apart of the coaching dictionary. However, with such a negative connotation, the word "punishment" should be rid of a coaches rhetoric and dialogue as it sends the wrong message. Let's find out why.
When we hear the word punishment, immediately we think that something bad is going to happen. In essence, we have done something wrong and therefore we will be penalized heavily with severe repercussions. Try and think back to the last time you as a coach said the word "punishment" or heard that word as a player. Undoubtedly, what happened was all of the players' eyes widened like deer in headlights, followed by a sudden drop of the head, and not to mention the expeditious thoughts that went through the minds of those same players. In my most basic view & understanding; to punish someone or something is to inflict harm or to seek retribution and retaliate violently & strongly. Is this really the message that we want to be sending our players?
Just because someone breaks a team rule, or if the team plays a bad game, or if the team performs poorly in training does not legitimize such language that inflicts fear into the players. At this point, it is no longer called coaching - You have now become a person who seeks to belittle another person - and this is wrong. No matter the level that you coach, uttering the word "punishment" (in regards to the sport that you are coaching) is, in fact, unacceptable.
There is another word; however, that you as a coach can use in order to send a message to your team. That word is "consequence". Unlike the word "punishment", the word "consequence" implies that there are amends that need to be made and fulfilled when a wrongdoing occurs. Telling your players that there are "consequences" for unacceptable behavior does not instill unnecessary fear which will inevitably turn your players away from you. Rather, it allows them to know that the team has certain guidelines, morals, values, ethics, and principles in which everyone must follow; and if not, certain alterations and improvements will have to be made.
It's important that we as coaches pay attention to our language. The words that we as coaches speak have an everlasting impact on the people we mentor and coach. Admittedly, a coach could say the nicest thing in the world and potentially have it taken out of context - It happens! But, when we pay attention to how we speak, and when we are aware of the verbal information that we are sending to our players, then and only then can we say that we are eloquently sending the proper message to those who have bestowed significant trust in us.