Rights and Responsibilities in Action

Here are two scenarios illustrating the use of Rights & Responsibilities:

Tim the Terror - The action may be related to the behavior of the player(s).

When Tim misused the bat, he was not told to run three laps or to do 100 pushups – the action was related to the transgression.

Tim has just struck out on a called third strike and he is certain that the umpire is blind and out to get him. He throws his bat on the ground into the backstop and heads for the dugout muttering unkind words.You meet Tim before he gets to the dugout and you say, “Tim, what is the correct way to deal with your bat when you are done using it?”

“What?”

“What should you do with your bat when you aren’t using it?

“I should put it in the bat rack.”

“Okay, go do that now.” And he does that.

“Good. Now, since you broke the 5th and 11th R & R, you will not be allowed to use that bat until you have a session with Coach Romero. He will do that with you after the game.” “That’s not fair – I won’t be able to bat the rest of the game.” “That’s correct. You may play your left field position on defense but a pinch hitter will bat in your place.”

Teresa the “Different” Person - The action may be related to the interaction of the team members.

You are well along in the golf season. Teresa Guzman’s family has moved into your school district and Teresa is joining your high school golf team. You can’t say that she has become a member of the team because the young ladies from this high-class suburban school haven’t responded very well to her or welcomed her as a new team mate. Was it her golf bag that didn’t shout out PING? Was it her golf attire that didn’t have a label proclaiming to be an ADIDAS or a NIKE? And the golf balls she’s practicing her putting stroke with are not TITLEISTS or CALLAWAYS. What they do see is that she has a pretty good swing – getting good distance with that out-of-date Wilson driver. And it is obvious that she listens to you and takes your advice on things, such as helping her improve her putting stroke.

First, you must treat her exactly the way you treat everyone else – no better; no worse.

This would be a good time to have a session to introduce Rights and Responsibilities to a new team member. You could say, “We have a new member and it really would be good for all of us to review our Rights and Responsibilities standards with her.”