Coaches and Parents and Rhetorical Questions

If you are like me, you are guilty of having asked rhetorical questions such as these:

• What were you thinking?
• What kind of shot was that?
• Don\’t you know how to stop the ball?

Though these statements were posed in the form of a question, I never expected an answer. Although keeping my mouth shut would have been better, I justified that my rhetorical questions were slightly better than stating:

• \”That was a dumb move!\”
• \”That was a terrible shot!\”
• \”That was a lousy first-touch!\”

Plus, how would I have responded if a player answered one of my questions with a sincere or snide remark?

For one such question, the kids usually had an answer. But the answer was usually a lie. The question was, \”Who was that to?\” I would ask that question when a player made a poor pass or when he/she simply kicked the ball up-field without looking up first to find a teammate. Typical answers were:

• \”Ryan!\” who happened to be the teammate who somehow received the ball by pure chance.
• \”Adam!\” who happened to be the nearest teammate in line with the pass even though in order for Adam to receive the ball, it would have had to pass through three defenders.

Rarely if ever were the answers truthful.

Solution

During practice, anytime a ball is passed, the player making the pass needs to call out the name of the teammate he/she is passing the ball to (loud enough so the receiver can hear his/her name). This tactic will address and solve a number of issues and problems:

• First and foremost, it will eliminate the need to ask the question, \”Who was that to?\” The player will have answered the question before it was ever asked.
• If the ball does not go to the intended receiver, the passer will know it without a coach or parent having to bring it to his/her attention. When older players make poor passes, ask them to state why it was a poor pass. For example, \”I did not use the inside-of-the-foot\” or \”I did not look up\” are good answers.
• Speaking of looking up, in order to call out a player\’s name, the passer has to look up. Too often, players play with their heads down, don\’t see the whole field, and make poor passes.
• Kickball, which is the act of teams kicking the ball up and down the field with no purpose, will diminish. Long balls will still be kicked, but they will be kicked to a teammate.

Over time, the rhetorical questions will lessen and play will improve dramatically.