Haim G. Ginott, A school teacher.

When you type his name in your search address, that’s what you will be met with.Haim G. Ginott was a school teacher, and much more - he was also a child psychologist, a psychotherapist, and a parent educator. In this session, we are going to make him also a youth sports coach. 

Next, you will be met with this statement of his beliefs about what he is as a teacher:

“I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.”

― Haim G. Ginott, Teacher and Child: A Book for Parents and Teachers

Reflections on Haim Ginott’s Statement

As the Coach, 

How do you feel about the statement?

What is your responsibility to each of your individual players?

What is your responsibility to your team? 

What is your responsibility to the parents/guardians of your players?

Above all - What is your responsibility to your own growth as you interact with your players and the parents of your players?

Our Thoughts and Feelings About Our Responsibilities

We have really enjoyed sharing our thoughts and feelings along with those of Rudolph Dreikurs and Haim Ginott. Early in our book, Grassroots Coaching, we gave the reader a metaphor on the relationship between our players and our team from Rudyard Kipling’s Second Jungle Book. 

The Wolf and the Pack

Now this is the Law of the Jungle;

    as old and as true as the sky.

And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper;

    but the Wolf that shall break it must die.

As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk;

    the Law runneth forward and back.

For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf;

    and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.

                         – Rudyard Kipling 

We also presented relevant beliefs on how we work with our players and their parents/guardians in our book, Grassroots Coaching:  

Belief #2 - As the coach, I act as a caring guide and resource person who is committed to assisting each player in growing as a learner, as a ballplayer, and as a unique person.

Belief #8 - Mutual respect is always appropriate and essential. I must present the model for this by having respect for each of my players and for myself. Also as part of this modeling, I must be an example of other values I subscribe to, such as honesty, good sportsmanship, and fairness.

Belief #9 - Parents are partners with me in helping children grow and learn in this game.

These are on Pages 15 and 16 in the book and there is a complete listing and discussion of all nine beliefs in our March 1, 2022 blog.

These are on Pages 15 and 16 in the book and there is a complete listing and discussion of all nine beliefs in our March 1, 2022 blog. 

The last words on this blog belong to Haim Ginott:

Responsibility cannot be imposed onto you from outside. It can only grow from within fed and directed by values absorbed at home and in the community. 

Never deny or ignore a player's feelings. 

Treat only the player’s behavior as unacceptable, not the player.

Do not mention the problem unless you’re going to do something with the player about it. 

We state the problem and a possible solution. We say nothing other than we can handle this together.