Why Exercise and Punishment Don't Mix

One of my biggest pet peeves involves coaches or teachers who use exercise as a form of punishment. Why they do this I'm not really sure. Perhaps it's because they're only doing what they've experienced when they were growing up, but I'm also not one for excuses either. Sometimes I see coaches get so frustrated with the kids their coaching, it's almost as if they don't know what else to do, so they ask the kids to take a lap or do pushups.

It's sad to see really. The practice of ordering kids to do certain types of exercise when coaches gets frustrated  or angry only serves to turn kids off of exercise. It's not long before a young athlete begins to equate exercise as something you do when you've done something wrong, so it's not long before they develop a bad taste in their mouths and learn that exercise is not a fun thing to do.

Exercise is meant to be fun and something we want children to do, not just now, but for the rest of their lives. Our goal is to foster a love for active living in our kids, not turn them off of exercise. But that's exactly what coaches are doing day in and day out when they use exercise as a way to get back at the kids their coaching. It seems to boil down to a coach trying to control and bully his players. Attend any adult organized practice and you'll see exactly what I mean.

One question I ask the children I work with is "Who has ever done pushups before?" In most cases, everyone raises a hand. Several children will speak up and comment that it was because they did something wrong at practice. I also then ask them, "How many of you have ever been shown how to do a pushup?" All hands that were up, are now down. Is it any wonder kids groan loudly upon being asked to perform pushups?

In my opinion, one of the roles of coaches is to foster a lifelong love of physical fitness in each of the kids they coach regardless of what sport they're coaching. If they're using exercise as a form of punishment, they're doing far more harm than good and perhaps it's time they stopped coaching kids. The kids need a role model who will benefit them and help them grow as an athlete but more importantly as a person.

Thank you,

David