How would you react if you were this kids coach? Sprints to front of XC race to take selfie?

For those of you that think this is no big deal, I wonder if you would be ok with your runners giving the middle finger to spectators of a race cheering for other athletes. After all, it's not really hurting anyone and I'm sure the kids doing it would think it's hilarious and all in good fun. That is the justification some seem to be providing.

Every team is different and has it's own set of ethics. What is appropriate behavior for members of one team may not be for another team. I think it's reasonable to expect all teams to include in their ethics the idea that all rules of the sport should be followed. In states where electronic devices of any type are prohibited during competition, this kid's actions would clearly be a violation of those ethics and it would be appropriate for there to be consequences for this.

Where there is no such explicit banning of this behavior by the rules of the sport, then the issue comes down to how the action fits, or doesn't fit, with the other ethics of the team. I would expect this athlete was well aware of his team's ethics and how his actions fit, or didn't fit within them. I am sure there are teams where this kind of behavior would be no big deal.

This would be a big deal, however, on teams that I have coached but I think the kid would have known that and probably not done it. I have had many screwballs over the years that have done silly, crazy things but they have a pretty good idea of when it's ok to be silly and when it's not.

In situations where an athlete is purposely acting outside the bounds of the team's normal ethics, there is more going on than simply having "fun". To ignore that only asks for more extreme behavior in the future, behavior that becomes less "fun" as it becomes more extreme.

For this particular kid, it sounds like the behavior, in the context it occurred, was probably within acceptable bounds of his team. I may not like it, but that's irrelevant.

There is a time and place for horseplay. Clown around in a road race, but once you put on the jersey to represent your school, damn well show some respect and be serious. I would bench the kid for a few meets.

Jonathan Gault wrote:

If I were this kid's coach, I'd be disciplining him somehow. Would anyone take a selfie during the middle of a basketball game? A football game?

It's bush-league behavior and it makes the sport look like a joke. Maybe a punishment of sitting out a few meets wouldn't make that much of an impact on someone who is inclined to take selfies during races, but I wouldn't stand for that kind of behavior on my team.

Tell him he's ok to do it in any future races providing he also take a selfie of himself winning the race

A selfie is to me the definition of selfishness and very well illustrated by this kid, but take it as a bit of fun with my proviso for future races

This kid deserves to be punished, probably miss the next meet. I don't think runners on my team would do this but who knows, I've seen some interesting behavior in my days. I see this as an arrogant and selfish act. The only goal in a race is to run fast...and anything that interferes with that should be minimized.

I'd talk to the seniors. Tell them I had my own idea of how to deal with this act. I would tell them they could deal with it, or I would. But, their way better be one that is not a slap on the wrist.

I would not get too worked up. It is a different world today, just like it was when we ran compared to when our coach ran. I responded better to a coach who talked to me and told me why he was punishing me.

Too many were obvious they had favorites.

Trollus Maximus wrote:

There is a time and place for horseplay. Clown around in a road race, but once you put on the jersey to represent your school, damn well show some respect and be serious. I would bench the kid for a few meets.

This is kind of how I feel. When you put on a team jersey, that means something to me. There are plenty of other situations where you can d!ck around and I couldn't care less.

Wow, I hope YOU don't have kids.

This kid just disrespected every other kid in the race, his coach, and his teammates.

No one made him join the team.

When you do, you should do so with the understanding of what it means to be on a team.

Being on the team clearly does not mean anything to this kid.

Let him join football and take a selfie during a game and see what his teammates do to him.

don't have kids wrote:

[quote]Not Cool Bro wrote:

Humans have become so intelligent that they no longer need to exert their bodies in order to capture food. A modern human can go his/her entire life without exercising, without major consequence.

Yeah except diabetes, obesity, heart failure, early death etc. Especially since those who neglect exercise rarley consider healthy diets as well.

Kicked off the team. Obviously not taking running seriously. If I got kicked off my tea for throwing a party (See: http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=6011141 ), then this idiot should be kicked off too. I was at least fast/a good runner.

Control freaks get a life.

The kid took a photo and it ended up in RW, good for him.

runkeller wrote:

This kid deserves to be punished, probably miss the next meet. I don't think runners on my team would do this but who knows, I've seen some interesting behavior in my days. I see this as an arrogant and selfish act. The only goal in a race is to run fast...and anything that interferes with that should be minimized.

My intention would be to stop the behavior without resorting to a ban as a first resort. The main problem is dropout from athletics not whether someone loses point in some tin pot kids race

I also don't understand why runners are referred to as HS runner. The age of the runner should be provided as there is a big difference between someone who is 13 and 16. Same at university freshman etc and all these terms when there can be a big age variation - just give the age

J.R. wrote:

Control freaks get a life.

The kid took a photo and it ended up in RW, good for him.

Not a control freak. Representing your school means something. The kid can do whatever he wants when he doesn't have that name on his chest.

Hingle McCringleberry wrote:

I was at least fast/a good runner.

No you weren't.

My second marathon was at Disneyworld. Half the field stopped to take selfies with Disney characters.

Randy Oldman wrote:

My second marathon was at Disneyworld. Half the field stopped to take selfies with Disney characters.

How many of those people were competing for a team in a scored event?

J.R. wrote:

Control freaks get a life.

The kid took a photo and it ended up in RW, good for him.

george oscar bluth wrote:

Not a control freak. Representing your school means something. The kid can do whatever he wants when he doesn't have that name on his chest.

He got a photo with the school's name in RW, which is more than most people do.

Besides that, it is the young man's choice how he lives his life.

Not the choice of some bully, whether in the school or on the internet.

I've seen you troll on here so I know it is a waste of time to explain how obvious it is that having a code of conduct policy while wearing a team jersey is not comparable to controlling his life.

This actually happened this past November in the D3 South Region Championships in Atlanta, GA. A kid who's team had come all the way from Texas sprinted to the front of a championship race that would determine national qualifiers and took a selfie with the field behind him. A lot of coaches were pissed and many complained afterwards. The kid was DQd. On Monday, all the coaches got an e-mail from his head coach saying the kid had been talked to by the coaches and Athletic Director and that their program had been reprimanded by the NCAA. We were not given the specifics of what that means exactly, but it was obvious it was taken as being seriously disrespectful to the other teams/athletes and the sport in general. As another coach in the region, I took it to be yet another example of just how far out of control this generation has gotten with "selfies" and social media that someone would think about doing that in a race, let alone a championship one that your team had come from Texas to Atlanta for. Could you imagine a collegiate basketball player, football player, soccer player, etc... taking a "selfie" in the middle of game? Probably only a matter of time at the rate we're going.

I saw a guy do that at a meet last year. I think it's funny. Early in my coaching career I would have flipped out and cussed this kid out. Later in my coaching career I would have laughed.