Ethics in Coaching 1

Ethics in Coaching

Brittany Archer

HHP 324

Dr. Buchanan

March 19, 2018

Ethics in Coaching 2

Ethics in Coaching

Ethics can be used in every aspect of life. An understanding of ethics helps shape the

decisions we make. Ethics can shape the way of thinking for young athletes. Coaches are given

the task and responsibility to help shape the youth.Coaches need to be ethically responsible in

order to shape they youth of tomorrow. They have as much of a responsibility as parents and

teachers to help the children succeed. The coaches I interviewed had vastly different views on

ethics.

The first coach I interviewed was Coach Cody Skinner from Emory and Henry’s

swimming teams. The second coach I interviewed was Coach Alexis Duarte from Laredo United

High school swimming team. While each had a different view on certain topics. They both had

been coaching for different amounts of time. Coach Skinner has been a head coach for two years

while Coach Duarte is finishing up her first season as a head coach. Each both had been assistant

coaches since 2013. Both were successful athletes in swimming and each found their adjustment

to coaching easy. When making the transition to coaching they both agreed that they had to

prove their knowledge of the sport and coaching to be taken seriously. In a study of a

professional soccer player, R.L Jones notes that, “the degree of success that professionals

experience in meeting societal demands is largely dependent upon the knowledge they generate

and accumulate for the tasks and obligations they undertake.” (Jones, 2003). At one point in their

career no matter how successful they end up being, there is a time where a coach has to prove

their abilities to coach.

Coach Skinner has been coaching since 2013, in a variety of different roles across the

country. Before jumping to the college ranks, Skinner coached a club team. In 2014, he was
Ethics in Coaching 3

hired as an assistant coach at Union College. In the summer of 2015, he was hired as the head

swimming coach for Emory and Henry College.

Coach Duarte has been coaching since 2013 for a local club team before being hired as

the head coach of United High School.

When as speaking about ethics, Coach Duarte had an interesting take on ethics. After

taking over the United Swim Program after the coach before had been fired on his ethical

violations, she found it difficult the whole year to make any decisions of her own, when issues

arose.From the beginning she was told she was going to be under a radar at all times to make

sure ethical issues did not occur. Duarte recounted a time when one of her swimmers was

caught wearing an illegal technical suit after she had qualified for the state championship. Duarte

says she was faced with a hard but simple decision. As she suspended the girl after finding out

she knew about the illegal suit rule, her decision was overturned by the Head Aquatics director

told her to reverse her decision. His reasoning was she was a first year coach who would not

understand the consequences of her decision and will have more trouble later on if she scratched

the girl from the meet. Duarte was forced to take that athlete to state and go against her morals.

Personally, I do not agree with that decision. I would have stood my ground and

continually asserted that I was not the previous coach. Duarte showed have been more assertive.

She should be allowed to make decisions regarding her own team. She should not be held

accountable and treated as if she was the previous coach. In an article written by Jonathan

Passmore, he asserts that, “the development of coaching ethical competence among coaches,

with the coach referring to a conscious framework to help them resolve a dilemma.” (Passmore

2009). Duarte was not given that option to use a plan to resolve her issue and prove that she was

a competent coach not only to herself and the school district but her athletes as well.
Ethics in Coaching 4

Skinner talked about an ethical decision he had to make while he was an assistant coach

at Union. During the conference championships, three Divers decided to sneak out of the hotel

and and attend a party on campus. When they were caught breaking a team rule after the meet,

the head coach decided it was best to not allow them to compete in the Zone diving meet. Thus

ending their seasons. Skinner said while the choice was hard to make, his input was considered

and he agreed with the decision made. This situation was in clear violation of team rules. The

coaches did what they had to do.

Virtue-based coaching was a big part of both of their coaching philosophies. Both spoke

about how they believed coaching with a good set of morals and virtues would help give them a

good reputation and run a successful program.By using their morals in their practice, they have

both found that they have successful and happy athletes for a majority of the time." Like many

instances in life coaching can be a moral practice if morals are used. If a coach uses morals in

their coaching philosophy then coaching can be a moral practice. In cases of coaches like Mike

Krzyzewski and Pat Summitt, they have both proved that morals can be apart of coaching. Then

we have instances of coaches not using morals and participating in illegal activity such as the

current federal investigation in regards to specific basketball programs across the country. Those

coaches showed no morals when deciding to pay their players in order for them to come to their

program. Morals are apart of coaching as long as a coach allows them to be.

In that issue, Duarte realized how prevalent cheating was in high school sports, while she

did not agree with the school district’s opinion to allow that athlete to continue to compete. She

had cheated, it was against her virtues, but Duarte was forced to go against them.She also noticed

that other coaches were ok with their athletes breaking small rules at the regional meet in order

to make it to the State championship. For instance many athletes were caught shaving at the pool,
Ethics in Coaching 5

when it is a rule that they are not allowed to. Skinner said he has not had an issue with morals in

coaching but he is glad that he has not and hopes not to in the future.

Both coaches agreed that rule-based ethics is just as important as virtue-based ethics.

Both talked about making sure they are familiar with all the rules and their changes throughout

the year. Using rule-based ethics is important because for many individuals, rules and virtues go

together. Many believe breaking the rules is wrong and unacceptable. It is also believed to make

better people by using rule-based ethics. “ It is thought that if we can develop children ( or

coaches for that matter) who follow the rules (moral and non-moral), then we will thereby

develop moral maturity (or professional conduct).” (Hardman and Jones, 2011, p 27). Teaching

kids to follow the rules will not only teaching them to make more ethical decisions but also

allows them to gain maturity over time. Teaching kids to follow rules in sports will also show

them that they need to follow the rules in whatever they are doing. They learn that following the

rules is the right and mature thing to do. By using both methods, coaches can create a sound and

successful method to coaching.

Predominant and social norms also have an effect on coaching. Athletes are expected to

respect their coaches, but what coaches do with that respect shapes the program. Both Duarte and

Skinner take a similar approach when speaking about treating their athletes. Both spoke about

treating them as adults instead of children. Skinner finds it much easier since all of his athletes

are in college. Duarte finds in harder at times considering her athletes are high schoolers. At

times she wants to tell them exactly what to do but also recognizes that they have to make their

own decisions in order to learn from them. Both coaches express the constant need to remind

their athletes about sportsmanship. While at times it has come acceptable for athletes to show

emotion in regards to a win or loss, both coaches stress the importance of teaching their athletes
Ethics in Coaching 6

to show the correct amount and type of emotion in the appropriate times. Staying humble is a

lesson Duarte reminds her athletes before they step off the bus. Many of her athletes have gotten

better about it over the year but she finds many of her girls still need work. She finds it a little

harder then Skinner does in that manner since many of her athletes still have maturing to do.

When talking to Coach Skinner he talked about how sports impacted his life not only in

coaching but life lessons. He tells stories of all of the people he met and all the lessons he has

learned to be a better coach and more importantly. For him, he claims he needed sports in his

life. In the Hardman and Jones text, we read that “ Sport is not necessary for human survival but

serves a series of significant social and cultural interests in goals.”(Hardman and Jones, 2011 pg

17). Sports serves as a lesson, support system, and a social activity for athletes. At one time

coaches were athletes, Skinner made mention on how he wants to spread all those lessons and

make his athletes not only better swimmers but better people as well. Duarte made a similar

comment. She hopes that by the time her athletes graduate, that they will have learned a few

lessons about life and hopes that they use those lessons to be better people in this world. Both

stresses being better people was much better than being better athletes.

While coaching can be rewarding and growing for an individual, it has also proved to just

as tricky. It is important to be clear in your goals and it is just as clear for your athletes to

understand your goals as well. Coaches need to be flexible but decisive. Coaches need to be

understanding and compassionate. Coaches need to be teachers and leaders. Most importantly

coaches need to know their morals more than they need to know the sport. A good coach knows

the X’s and O’s of the sport but more importantly they know their virtues and morals and how it

applies to their coaching method.

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Reference

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

Jones, R. L., Armour, K. M., & Potrac, P. (2003). Constructing Expert Knowledge: A

Case Study of a Top-level Professional Soccer Coach. Sport, Education and

Society, 8(2), 213-229. doi:10.1080/13573320309254

Passmore, J. (2009) ‘Coaching ethics: making ethical decisions- novices and experts’.

The Coaching Psychologist 5 (1) 6-10