Drawing the line as a football coach

Ask a high school senior: What makes a good coach?

“Someone who understands they can be hard on you,” said Palmer Ridge High School senior Bailey Rosenstrauch. “But they’re a good friend. Someone who can make a good man out of you as well as a player.”

It’s a balancing act – take Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney for example.

Swinney was named the NCAA’s Coach of the Year despite a very public outburst during the ACC Championship Game.

Rosenstrauch said in a situation like this the player can feel powerless.

“I’d probably try to stand up for myself,” said Rosenstrauch. “But then again having an authority figure above you doing that to you is kind of an awkward situation where you may feel threatened or kind of scared.”

Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr once told Coach Vince Lombardi “Yell at me all you want, just don’t do it in public.” Times have changed, but even he understood there were lines coaches just shouldn’t cross.

“It’s not a matter of choosing something in the moment,” said Palmer Ridge Head Coach Tom Pulford. “It’s just being who you are and being consistent, and doing what you do out of love and passion for helping kids get to the next step.”

That’s the key: coaches are here to teach and mentor the players.

Coach Tom Pulford leads his team with that in mind.

“The more that I can pull kids in and give them that power as long as they’re not abusing it, that’s a very good thing for us,” said Coach Pulford. He also said that seeing Swinney lose his cool was a blunt reminder.

“I try to make sure I learn from it and keep that in the back of my mind when my emotions start to bubble up,” said Coach Pulford.