Same rules for volunteers
Being a volunteer coach doesn’t mean that he or she gets to ignore the rules, policies and procedures of a given team, league, or association. Yet, there are some volunteer coaches out there who think that they can break or ignore rules and procedures because they aren’t being paid.
In other words, they play the volunteer card, as in, “I am not being paid so why should I follow the rules or have to answer to any one?”
In Sault Ste. Marie, there is a minor hockey coach who is under investigation for allegedly not following rules set forth by various associations. And in a terse message sent to executive members of the Soo Pee Wee Hockey League and the Northern Ontario Hockey Association, the volunteer coach in question went on and on about his years and years of volunteer service — as if, somehow, that entitled him not to be held accountable.
Personally, I know all about being a volunteer coach. I coached elementary and high school basketball in Sault Ste. Marie for 20 years as a volunteer who was never paid a penny. I coached because I loved it and never once used my volunteer status to ignore the policies and procedures of whatever school I happened to be coaching at.
At any rate, being a volunteer coach — regardless of the sport — does not give one the right to break the rules. A volunteer coach is just as accountable as those receiving an honorarium or any sort of reimbursement.
No excuses. No exceptions.
Agree with your statement that volunteer coaches should abide by all rules and most coaches will try the ‘ask for forgiveness first then permission later’ format. Coaches should not be breaking rules or not abiding by policies – whether you are paid or not – what example are you setting as a leader/mentor? Then there are coaches who abide by the rules, policies, procedures only to come out on the short end of the stick (ie-recruiting, losing players to others who tampering, not compensated for expenses, etc…). The question here is, if a volunteer coach is always breaking the rules – why are they still coaching? Thanks!
Parents and parent coaches have learned to manipulate the system . Just follow the last names listed on the executives , from the pee wee itself down to the “selected” tier 1 or “A” coaches and more important, the assistant coaches . In some cases the executives are actually giving themselves these teams ,regardless of their child’s ability. You don’t need to search that hard to see who is influencing who to ensure their agenda is pushed .
This year specifically has been the worst . Many children ages 8-15 have been emotionally damaged by this association.