Coaches and Fear: The Luck of the Draw

 In lecture, we have studied how Thomas Hobbes argued that, "fear of untimely death is the prime motivator explaining why free individuals give up freedom." Hobbes’ use of fear to stimulate results  is  represented by coaches today particularly in college and pro sports. The concept of using fear to rule people can be seen in our lives from even a very early age. Every child who  has participated in sports can remember his or her favorite or worst coach. There is absolutely no question that an athlete's experience within his sport is almost completely colored by the type of coach he is lucky or unlucky to draw. Good coaches teach you to love the sport. They inspire you to dream big and take risks in order to reach your  goal. They motivate you to work hard, push through suffering and exhaustion and to overcome obstacles in your way. Good coaches turn players into a better, happier and more confident person.

"The condition of man .......is a condition of war of everyone against everyone." (Thomas Hobbes)

A bad coach on the other hand, teaches very different lessons. Through his treatment of his players and the exchanges with those around him, he will turn off his athletes to the sport.  

He takes away the player's  love of the game. He steals their self confidence and motivation and displaces  it with self-doubt and lack of motivation. He actually takes away the athlete's hopes and dreams and makes him fear failure on and off of the field. Under the worst of coaching, the lessons learned are limiting and destructive. Emotional abuse, jealousy, head games, and selfishness are all insensitive and unproductive issues that really get in the way of the goal , and that is to be the best you and your team can be on the court and off.  A coach that stands out as an excellent example of Thomas Hobbes's fear driven theory when in charge is Bobby Knight, the one time coach of the Indiana Hoosiers from 1971-2000. He also coached at Texas Tech for 7 years as well as at West Point. Knight was nicknamed "The General" which embodies Hobbes's quest for a dictator- style leadership . Knight was known for his violent temper with his players as well as referees and game officials. He pushed a player's chin in a well known exchange, in an attempt to get the player's attention. He was also accused of grabbing a player by the throat and was fired. But, he always  seemed to get hired again. He was often seen pulling a player off the court by his jersey while yelling obscenities at him. His players taped an explosive outburst  where he screamed vulgarities and four-letter words at them while in the team locker room when they lost to Purdue. His most famous lewd act was throwing a chair across the court at referees after he received a technical foul. He was kicked out of the game.

'"Force and Fraud are in war the two cardinal virtues!'     (Thomas Hobbes)

Interestingly, Bobby Knight has almost fanatical devotion from some former players and the fans of Indiana. He was a successful and innovative coach perfecting the "motion offense."

Knight won 902 NCAA division I men's college basketball games. Knight received  the National Coach of the Year honor four times and the Big Ten Coach of the Year eight  times. He ran a clean team - none of his teams were ever in trouble for recruiting violations. It is compelling though abusive and demeaning coaches win they are considered brilliant, great coaches, no matter how corrupt they may be. I think winning is great and who wants to lose? But in my opinion, the outcome has little to do with the caliber of the coach. Really good coaches end up winning anyway. I would also like to empathize with the no-win situations that many coaches are placed in today, specifically, college players in March Madness and the finals of the men and women's  NCAA basketball championships. When you think of the men's NCAA tournament, sixty-eight teams begin the tournament, so there will be 67 losers! That means 67 coaches will go out "failing." The media and the fans will be brutal towards these coaches. They will have to answer to their administrators and will face losing their jobs. They will fear being replaced. The athletes will regret signing with these coaches. The effective job that these coaches were actually doing with these players will not even be realized by everyone. The pressure of coaching is overwhelming. Does this justify fear and abuse in coaching? I do not believe it does but the demands of coaching at an elite level remain and if they are not winning coaches they are not considered successful or good at what they do. If they don't win the big one then they have not really made it. Let's face it, the real barometer for many coaches is how many big titles they have won.

To sum it up, I think your personal ego and self-worth have to be strong enough as a coach to keep winning in perspective and to successfully survive the pressures in today's crazy and intense sports world. How about you, would you ever take on coaching at the college or even high school level today? Would you ever use fear to control your player? How would you handle it as a parent if a coach was using manipulative tactics s to provoke your son or daughter? What is the solution? I think we have to strike a balance of proper and effective motivation within reason at a competitive level without fear. Is it possible? The fact of the matter is it has to be because really good coaches are getting harder to find.