RUNNING HEADER: COACHING ETHICS 1

Coaching Ethics Paper

A deeper look into the intricacies of coaching

Connor Stevenson

Emory & Henry College

RUNNING HEADER: COACHING ETHICS 2

Coaching is like the world, it is constantly evolving and society has to decide whether to

evolve or suffer the consequences. The art of coaching is more than just the schematics of the

sport itself, but rather how to motive players to execute those schematics that the coach taught

them during practice. That encompasses the true foundation of coaching rather than the

superficial perception of coaching which is to simply coach the fundamentals and that is it. The

modern sports world today has proven that sports are way more than fundamentals and physical

skill. Throughout the course of my athletic career, I have had numerous coaches that have all

played vital role in my development as an athlete good or bad. However, the two coaches that

protrude over all the others is my American Legion baseball coach, Coach Hargrove and of

course my Dad, Jim Stevenson. Although, both men coached more than the X’s and O’s, they

both had to evolve and develop their coaching styles from when they first started which lies the

ethical dilemmas that hover over sports today.

To start, I interviewed my Dad because although he is not coaching a specific team per

say, he still coaches me as a son, so honestly, he has not stopped and won’t stop until my career

is over. My Dad began coaching right out of college as a head football coach at Timber Ridge

School which is a treatment facility for at risk youth where he was also an overnight counselor

and or staff. He got that job starting in 1993, so with that said he has been coaching close to

twenty-five years! He got his interest in coaching while in high school from his strength and

conditioning coach who he grew very close to because my dad and himself bonded over their

blue-collar work ethics. He was one on the few coaches that was able to reach through my Dad’s

thick, hard-nosed skull and get to his core to truly light that inner determination within him. That

motivation that originated in high school still has not worn off because my Dad is still one of the

most highly driven individuals I have ever met. In fact, he is now passing the torch because he
RUNNING HEADER: COACHING ETHICS 3

was the first coach that was able to light that fire in me to get me where I am today, so that just

shows how influential a coach can truly be.

Early in my Dad’s coaching career, he was a very boisterous, intense coach that knew the

game inside and out, especially the schematics of defense in football. His style of coaching was

not that much of an issue working with his players at Timber Ridge because those children were

accustomed to being in an intense environment, but when he transitioned to coaching in public

schools, that is when his philosophy was challenged. For instance, my Dad was notorious for

grabbing players by the face mask to get their attention when they messed up, in addition to

breaking headsets in frustration in the heat of the game. Before my Dad was able to self-reflect

and improve his skills has a football coach, he left the game to spend more time with my sister

and I at a young age. My Dad walking away from football was “an effective way to move the

moral dimension [of coaching] … to focus on the development of character” (Hardman & Jones,

2007, p. 77). This time taken to develop his character as a coach and father reaped its benefits

later on!

The first ethical dilemma my Dad encountered as a coach was not while coaching

football, but rather when he started to coach me in Little League baseball. The intense nature of

my Dad’s coaching style in football carried over to the baseball diamond which at first was not

working well because all it was doing was upsetting me as player, thus putting our father-son

relationship in jeopardy. What was happening was that when I would make a mistake, my Dad

would scold me or yell at me more than what he would to another player. It took the power of

one of my Little League coaches, John Heflin, sit my down with my Dad and tell him that if he

didn’t change, he would ruin the game for me and our relationship as father and son. In response,

my Dad decided to take what Coach Heflin said with a grain of salt and give it a try by letting
RUNNING HEADER: COACHING ETHICS 4

Coach Heflin coach me rather than him, meaning anything my Dad wanted to say to me on the

baseball field, Coach Heflin would tell me rather than himself. After a while, my Dad and I grew

to love this arrangement because our relationship in every aspect began to improve and that

relationship is stronger today than it has ever been as a result of what Coach Heflin did!

According to my Dad, the most recent issue he has encountered as a coach has been what

he considers success in his eyes. Like most, he defined his success early on as solely wins and

losses, but after coaching me over the years he began to realize that it goes a little deeper. Per the

Seven Secrets of Successful Coaching, it states that, “True success means winning in ways that

causes your athletes to respect you for it” (Janssen & Dale, 2006, p. 12). This definition speaks

to my Dad’s situation as a coach because throughout his career he not only had to learn how to

earn the respect of his players, but how to earn the respect of his son (myself) both as a coach

and a father. The distinction between the two reveals just how coaching is in fact a moral

practice because of situations like my Dad faced where is values were tested. Despite his values

being tested, he responded by changing his philosophy by talking to me as a player and son,

rather than yelling which created a positive working environment that landing “us” to collegiate

athletics. With that said, one could come to the conclusion that the changes made were quite

successful.

Like stated before, my Dad was not the only coach that had an impact on me as an athlete

that was faced with some dilemmas. Coach Hargrove began coaching right out of high school in

1968 which is approximately thirty-two years’ worth of coaching experience. Coach was got his

motivation to become a coach through his love of sports and his Dad among others, much like

myself. In fact, this similarity is one of many reasons why Coach Hargrove and I relate to each

other so well. Coach Hargrove’s determination to coach began shortly after not making the
RUNNING HEADER: COACHING ETHICS 5

baseball team at North Carolina State which what led him to take a deeper look into sports such

as the how and why aspects of sports. Also, the influence of his Dad and other coaches along the

way revealed to him the true schematics and value of the sports he played which are what

ultimately solidified coach’s decision to get into coaching.

Per Coach Hargrove, early in his career, the most difficult ethical dilemma he faced was

how to handle winning versus developing players on his team. Coach told informed me that he

thinks this is the number one issue all coaches face throughout their careers and I agree with him.

In youth sports, the most common dilemma talked about year in and year out is parents

complaining that their child is not getting enough playing time. Coach Hargrove attacks this

issue head on and proceeded to enlighten me on how although winning is important, ensuring the

development of players is the number one priority. If players don’t get better, wins will

constantly elude one as a coach because at the end of the day, players get the wins, not the

coach! Coach’s top rule is that if a player is a part of his team they WILL play, however he states

that when “competitive juices are flying,” that rule tends to challenge him as coach.

Most recently, Coach Hargrove has had to transition from recreational coaching to high

school coaching which lies the ethical dilemma on team discipline and the accountability that

stems from it. According to Hardman and Jones from the book, The Ethics of Sports Coaching,

“the coach… has an important role identifying and clarifying what kinds of values, aims, and

objectives ought to be pursued by athletes, as well as embodying how they are to be achieved by

them” (Hardman & Jones, 2007, p. 80). There is a lot of truth to that statement because coaches

set the tone on how the team the team will be conducted and how they will conduct themselves.

Through his experiences, Coach Hargrove stated that setting the stage like stated in the

book, is effective, but comes with its own set of challenges. Challenges such as fair punishment,
RUNNING HEADER: COACHING ETHICS 6

player backgrounds, and parents all play a part into this dilemma of team discipline. Coach

specifically referenced situations where he had to check himself and make sure that the

punishment he was giving his “top” player was the same he was giving his “worst” player.

However, he said the hardest decision to make is when “the behavior is bad enough that

removing the player from the team is necessary.” What stuck out the most throughout his

interview, is the way he held himself accountable in ethical situations. He would ask himself,

“How I would I want (or I want my child) to be treated if faced with the same problem… usually

the first instinct is the best way to the situation.” Although that sounds so simple, the amount of

humbleness and pride that takes is something I truly admire because he proves shows that virtue

and rule-based ethics can in fact coincide with each other successfully.

Based on the information given by my Dad and Coach Hargrove throughout this process,

made me realize that a lot of the issues they faced as coaches translate into the everyday society.

For instance, Coach Hargrove’s dilemma of proper team discipline correlates both in society and

in sports because the norm in society is that if one breaks a rule they are punished. However, in

sports, that is not always the case because if the discipline of a player jeopardizes the chance to

win, then the discipline is not reinforced, therefore causing an ethical dilemma for the coaching

as a result of societal norms. According to an article published by the Coaching Association of

Canada, they state that one “can only be an effective coach if [they] are a happy and balanced

coach” (Parkins-Forget & Parro, 2014, p. 4). To emphasize the point of team discipline, a

“balanced coach” is crucial because if one is a “balanced coach” then issues such as team

discipline and others are not an issue because the coach holds everyone accountable including

themselves. In conclusion, Coach Hargrove and my Dad are living examples of how to evolve

one’s coaching for success in order to adapt to the rapid evolution of the sports world.
RUNNING HEADER: COACHING ETHICS 7

Bibliography

Hardman, A. R., & Jones, C. (2011). The ethics of sports coaching. London: Routledge

Janssen, J., & Dale, G. A. (2006). The seven secrets of successful coaches: how to unlock and

unleash your team’s full potential. Cary, NC: Winning The Mental Game.

Parkins-Forget, J., & Parro, W. (2014). Our best advice ever. Coaches Plan/Plan Du Coach,

2(1), 4.