There's a so-called "snowflake" effect going on in high school sports these days -- especially in football. And it has many coaches now questioning what is and what is not acceptable.
A New Jersey coach was removed after parents complained he was too tough on their boys.
“When you're dealing with 400 kids in a high school football program with five or six times, you sometimes have to go there with verbal emotional passion,” says David Smith, Oklahoma University's defensive line coach in the late 80s and former head coach Klein Oak High School.
“Some people think you're being too hard on them, but I've just got a passion for it and I want them to feel the same passion”
Smith now runs private training and consulting firm called STRATUS – South Texas Athletic Training-U.S. He says today's student athletes are nothing like 30 years ago.
“So many of them will come across with 'hey, I've seen this on the Internet and you can't do this' or 'you can't make me do this.'”
Coaching tactics that were acceptable then are no longer allowed.
“You've got to have music on. You've got to have water at the all the stations. You've got to have grass cut right and locker rooms groomed right. You have to have them motivated by other ways than just you physically doing something because you can't.”
Nor should you, says Smith. However, he says it starts with parents, adding some student athletes simply refuse to follow instructions or even say 'yes sir' and 'yes ma'am.'