College coaches - what's your team drinking policy? How do you address alcohol?

"Our drinking team has a track problem"

I'm not a coach, but I have a lovely story one of my friends recently told me about his team.

After the NCAA championships, his team had done astonishingly well. Like it was really amazing; they'd exceeded their predicted placing by a ton, had a couple of all-Americans, and all sorts of other good things. They took a day or two to recover before heading back.

And then, the night the team got back to their college, they threw a rager. Not just some small party, but the kind of thing where people can get seriously hurt. They also invited the entire track team--throwers, jumpers, sprinters, you name it--and those guys know how to party. Also, keep in mind that most of the XC guys didn't run at nats--the 8th - 20th guys were all finishing up their end of season break. Indoor track preseason workouts started the next day for them.

The coach knew about the team's drinking/partying habits, and knew that there would be a serious party that night. So he gave them one stipulation: you can do whatever you want tonight, no questions asked, but if you don't show up for practice tomorrow at 7 AM, you're off the team for indoor. And you're sure as hell not competing in any of the fun meets in outdoor.

Oh, and then he made them do mile repeats at 7 the next day.

Social drinking, is by its very definition a peer driven activity. If the senior athletes on a team are responsible, the younger ones would follow their example. I don't think draconian measures will work with an already entrenched culture of binge drinking. How many coaches here actually sit down and talk to their athletes about things other than running? You cannot be distant or disengaged from a young person's life and expect to guide (not control) their outcomes.

Of course, there is always the option of cutting an athlete based on pure metrics. This is not wrong either. It really depends on your situation and outlook as a coach. If your job is constantly on the line, you may be forced to take unpleasant decisions.

So to answer the original query, is there a solution to curb drinking? Possibly, via personal engagement. Is there a set formula? I think not, as drinking is often a symptom of more serious underlying issues.

My policy is simply this regarding alcohol and all other things:

"By choosing your actions, you are also choosing your consequences. Your place on this team and your scholarship (if it applies) are privileges not rights. If you make a choice (alcohol) and it negatively impacts your academic or athletic performance, or represents our program poorly, then the privilege can be removed. Nobody in this room is fast enough for me to lose my career over. Choose wisely."

I am upfront with my policy. If you are under 21, no drinking. If you are over 21 you may enjoy an adult beverage (but not to excess) so long as it meets the following conditions:

1. Not in a 24 hour window before and organized practice

2. Not 48 hours before competition.

This effectively allows one day a week in which alcohol may be enjoyed. I further state that we are all responsible for our actions and anything that brings shame on you, your family, the University or the team will be dealt with. If you are willing to do the action, you have to accept to consequences of the action.

But long time high school coach, and worked with kids that competed in college. Also ran in college.

Ran in a different era, when drinking age was younger so almost everyone on campus was legal. Yes, we drank too much and it probably affected team performance. Most of us did not drink much during the week, maybe a beer or two in 6 days, but post-meet parties were the thing to do.

I was a top 5 runner on a decent team but we stayed out late (2 to 3 AM), usually drinking, almost every weekend (except when we were on the road). I'd usually do those Sunday 15-16 milers hung over and off of 5 hours of sleep. That had to have had effect. However, did run my best college XC race after staying out fairly late (home by 12:30 in bed by 1), drinking a few beers (3-4), and dancing.

Our coaches hardly ever (maybe never) mentioned drinking. More than half our team had similar patterns to mine, if not consuming more at parties and probably more during the week.

In today's world at the college level you'd think that a policy of no drinking on road trips, and no under age drinking during the season would be the minimum. Ultimately, it's the athlete's choice and if they make bad choices it's going to affect their performance. Ultimately it should be up to the coach's discretion, along with some peer pressure.

.............................. wrote:

My policy is simply this regarding alcohol and all other things:

"By choosing your actions, you are also choosing your consequences. Your place on this team and your scholarship (if it applies) are privileges not rights. If you make a choice (alcohol) and it negatively impacts your academic or athletic performance, or represents our program poorly, then the privilege can be removed. Nobody in this room is fast enough for me to lose my career over. Choose wisely."

Writing as a parent, I would say this policy as a general principle is excellent, but it is too simple. It ignores what a previous poster is saying about peer culture. I know from my kids (at two different D1 schools) that the track team, which is made up of otherwise perfectly decent young adults who are by definition disciplined athletes, often prides itself on "hard partying" which, given the college scene, means binge drinking. Although I would of course, prefer my kids abstain entirely, I know for a fact its not going to happen. Its the celebration of really heavy drinking as part of a team culture that really worries me.

To say "I won't lose my job over your drunken behavior--I'll kick you off the team" works in individual cases, and maybe gets rid of the kids who have a really serious problem, but does little to address this problem of team culture. I think its incumbent on the coach to continually preach moderation as a part of individual responsibility and good choices--otherwise, the coach is going to lose his job, regardless. Again, I write from experience. In 3 years I have seen 2 coaches at my kids schools fired as a result of team misbehavior. Unfair to the coaches? Yes, but I think the coaches did bear some responsibility in not continually addressing this issue.

My coach had this "official" policy in college:

Summer: I really don't care.

Above 21: More or less, do what you want.

Under 21: If I don't know about it, I can't do anything about it.

No drinking within 48 hours of a meet whatever your age.

The catch to this rule was the first monday in October until the final meet of XC was dry season where nobody, even of-age people, were allowed to drink. Halloween was an unofficial exception, because it was right after the conference meet.

That was the "official" policy, mostly because the girls coach was/is a tyrant who tried to control ever aspect of their lives and in the business of equality he went along with it. Also, no coach is going to actively encourage underage drinking.

In reality, he ran for the team as well and knows how people are, and he's told trusted athletes that he really has the mindset of "whatever your age, if it doesn't affect your or anyone else on the teams' running, it doesn't affect your schoolwork, and I don't get an incident report on my desk, I'm not going to tell adults how to live their lives. You know what the consequences could be." If it was found out you went out and got blasted the night before a meet though, he'd be rightfully pissed off.

XCTF Coach wrote:

I am upfront with my policy. If you are under 21, no drinking.

This may be your policy, but I guarantee you your athletes not adhering to it.

The policy is always treat your body like a temple. You get out what you put in. If you want to really improve as an athlete then you need to monitor your whole lifestyle.

Do kids drink? Yes

Do the top kids drink? Yes

The difference is how often the top kids drink compared to the average kid. Maybe after a particular heavy week have a beer and unwind. After NCAA's they might have a beer or three and unwind. they celebrate, but they have to be smart and we are going back to work tomorrow. After fall exams they might have a beer and unwind. Most importantly when you go home for holidays be smart.

Its the walk on kids who live it up and that's why most of them will stay as walk ons.

You're not going to be elite if you are always drinking, staying up late, etc and that is the truth. Sprinters and hurdlers can't because it is sure to disrupt your reaction and coordination. Distance runners can't because it messes with your sleep, digestive system efficiency.

On day one you provide this information. If they are serious they will live a clean life. If not then they won't improve and contribute.

I'm unsure as to what our official policy was, but I assume it was: Under 21, no drinking. 21+ drinking fine as long as you show up to practice.

Reality: Lots of drinking, top guys would abstain for all of XC season or at least the postseason. Team was not happy with top 7 XC guys drinking during the post season. During track it was a little more lax, but still very little during post season, especially scorers. Don't ask, don't tell policy from the coaches

My coach would provide beer money for team parties and would hang around for the first hour or so. Nearly everyone was under 21.

My coach pretty knew we would drink, he just let it be known that if it ever affected our ability to race and/train that it could affect your scholarship. If you decided to be a college party guy more than runner, he was fine with that, however he was going to spend his $$ on someone that wants to be a runner.

Off season we could do whatever, but we were expected to dial it down significantly during the season is all he asked.

Always seemed reasonable.

I try to lead by example, ie. I don't drink. I tell them what is right CONSISTENTLY, NOT what is wrong. I don't humiliate people when they mess up- but I make sure that I can help them learn from their mistakes. Any Coach that makes rules with regards to alcohol consumption is a hypocrite AND setting themselves up for failure. Part of college is young people learning how to grow up, its not a monastic existence- they learn with alcohol by messing up.

You want these people to graduate and move on to be able to thrive in highly social conditions- not like a Frat King- but also not like a kid who locked themselves in their dorm room. Go to convention- the worst man-children are also the same coaches who are strict about alcohol.

I was kicked off the XC team for getting arrested twice in three months for public intoxication. Coach was nice enough to let me stay on scholarship so I could stay in school and figure out what I wanted to do.

We are all a summation of our experiences. Live and learn.

Alan

Drinking is illegal for those under 21. So, under 21, you drink, you are off the team.

Over 21? If it affects performance, it is a problem.

My teams (both as an athlete and now as coach) were 100% Moslem. Thus, we don't have this issue.

I coached at a party school for a decade. The school was well known locally to be a great experience and you bet I knew that when recruiting kids. My policies were lax. If you didn't get in trouble and your performance was fine, I didn't care. 3 of my athletes died in a drunken car wreck shortly after XC season ended. I was fired because it was determined I provided the culture for this to happen. America has softened quite a bit. A result of that is that kids simply don't know how to handle their booze, and thus they do things like die in drunken car wrecks.

1. I am an alcohol enthusiast. I am up front about this. Alcohol is a central part of my life, as it is in our society, rightly or wrongly.

2. HOWEVER, I am old and therefore not currently trying to truly maximize my physiological performance level.

3. Alcohol consumption is incompatible with high performance athletics.

4. I put a lot of time and thought and self into being a good coach.

5. Booze is like your true best friend. It'll always be there for you.

6. Your athletic ability is on a clock and that clock is closer to expiring now than when I started typing.

7. All that said, any of you ever heard of having like, FOUR beers over the course of 2-3 hours rather than fourteen? Learn to drink like an adult if you are gonna compromise your performance rather than a goddam teenage alcoholic. And don't do it on hard days.

8. At some point this is an adult decision. I am here to help guide you to adulthood, but since I'm not bullshitting you, please don't bullshit me and waste my time.

Age is 18 in UK & it always amazes me that it's still 21 in USA.

After all you can join the army, get married, smoke and buy a gun!

In answer to the question, how are you going to know if they are drinking? As long as they are turning up for training on time and not obviously wasted I would ignore it. Mixing drinking with running or racing is where it becomes a problem training wise ie where it affects either time wise

You are only young once and most people are going to want to have some fun at college but its deciding the point where it is too much or interfering with training/racing