John H Armstrong

Steve Alford Clamps Down on Social Media

Steve Alford learned to play and coach collegiate basketball from the legendary Bobby Knight. Alford was a star in the heyday of Indiana University basketball at a time when Knight was at the top of his game. Alford learned a great deal from Knight. A recent Alford decision shows this influence in a profound way.

I actually saw Steve Alford coach at the NCAA Division III level in his first gig. He coached a small school in Indiana that knocked Wheaton College out of the tournament on our home court in a season (in the early-1990s) when Wheaton made the NCAA tournament for the first time in many years. My nephew was a star on that team. (Wheaton has since been to many NCAA tournaments and several years ago lost a heart-breaker to Washington University, St. Louis, on the Wheaton court. Washington U. won the tournament. That Wheaton team, led by the best Wheaton player ever, Kent Raymond, could have been the best team in the nation! It certainly was one of the two best.) After a small college coaching stint Alford was then off to Iowa, where he clearly had mixed success on the court in the very demanding Big Ten. I thought his stay at Iowa would be long and fruitful but it was not. His rigid style and approach did not work well in the end. Now he is the head coach at the University of New Mexico, certainly not a household name in Division I basketball.

Alford’s name surfaced a few days ago regarding social networking. I found the story interesting for a number of reasons. It is safe to say that Alford hates it. In fact he hates it so much that he does not allow his players to Tweet at all. And he only allows them to Facebook if their posts are monitored by his basketball staff. He is so consistent, for which you must respect him, that his own son, a walk-on freshman on the team, must abide by the same rule.

Alford told the Albuquerque Journal that any violation of his “code of conduct” could result in disciplinary action and after a third violation of his Twitter/Facebook rules the player could lose his scholarship. Wow, that is pretty serious determination to have this his own way. On most teams the question is how often you can get a DUI or drug charge dropped and still play. In most cases the answer is “several.”

If you’ve followed the development of social media in sports you had to guess that some coach would eventually institute such draconian measures. It is not surprising to me that Steve Alford decided to do it. He is, well, a lot like his mentor Bobby Knight. Which means he is rigid and reactionary to social change and any disagreement with his own views of things like social networking and its value or role in social life.

Understand that Bobby Knight won and won big, at least until he lost it. He self-imploded more than a few times. I don’t know about Steve Alford’s personal style of coaching but in this case he sounds more like Bobby Knight than most successful modern coaches, including the very good ones who have high ideals and standards for their players. As much as I personally would want to control what my young players did off the court I would not take these measures in the modern context. Alford might win this battle but I believe it will cost him a war. It seems to me that he believes his personal view of social media is not only right but that he is willing to allow it to become an issue as to who he will even recruit to play for him. He might be right about this decision (I doubt it) but there seems to be no clear way that this will allow him to relate to modern young men who play basketball and grew up using this technology. These kids grew up in this media culture, for better and for worse. Coach Alford seems determined to force them to conform to his own culture, from another era, if they are to play for him. I think he reveals, by this decision, that his increasing loss of touch with modern kids has taken an unfortunate turn. Controlling social media is a good idea. A good coach would take the time to teach his players what he expects of them in terms of off-court behavior. But a good coach cannot control the social life of his student-athletes. We have more than a few instances where this new expression of “free speech” has harmed young athletes and their teammates. Banning it altogether, however, will likely harm only one person – Coach Steve Alford.

Encouragement: The Key to Freedom and Hope

I believe you cannot encourage a person too much. You might mislead them by false words of so-called encouragement but you cannot over encourage a person with honest and loving words. I thought about this last week when my 13-year old granddaughter was playing in a soccer tournament that included three games on a windy, cold Saturday (May 28). Her team has been pretty successful over the years but recently has met with some discouragement and a few defeats.

As I watched these 13-14 year old girls play hard I also watched them fail to move the ball down the field and get shots on their opponent’s goal. Finally, late in the second half trailing 2-0, a hard, strong, straight kick was made on the opponent’s goal but it sailed quite high. The coach gave what we call a “Bronx Cheer.” It was insincere and even cynical. She was frustrated and took it out on her team. I was embarrassed and annoyed. I knew right there and then that this was not a good coach and thus I understood why this talented team was underperforming.

I played several sports as a teen. I was never great at any of them though I understood them all very well. I still believe I can coach but I was not a great athlete. One thing stands out in my experience of playing and coaching. The coach who yelled at me and put me down made me play much worse. The coach who encouraged me and taught me got the most that he could out of me. I think there is a parable in this about life in general.

The late John Wooden, probably one of the greatest coaches ever, once said that his key to success was to “find a player doing something right and tell him.” I have always felt this was the way to motivate. I know yelling at some players can help them in some cases but most of the time a true coach finds a better way to lead their team.

Barnabas was a good brother who encouraged believers. I have always felt the church could never get enough encouragement. I resolved long ago to attempt to be the best Barnabas that I could be. I try to find people doing the right thing and tell them as faithfully as I know how. Try it. You will find it works to lift up others and help them grow in whatever it is they are attempting to do in life.

A Fool for Christ

Some of you may have noticed that the former NBA player Manute Bol died, at the age of 47, a few weeks ago. The sports world paid little attention. Bol was not known for stardom but for being a physical freak. He stood 7 feet, seven inches tall and weighed 225. He was both the tallest and thinnest player in the NBA. He averaged only 2.6 points per game over the course of his career, though he did excel at shot blocking given his towering presence.

Bol earned $6 million playing basketball. When his fortune was used up the Sudanese native became a humorous spectacle in order to raise more money. He was hired to be a horse jockey, a hockey player and a celebrity boxer.

Wall Street Journal writer Jon A Shields, assistant professor of government at Claremont McKenna College, noted that “Bol agreed to be a clown. But he was not mocked for his own personal gain as so many reality-television stars are. Bol let himself be ridiculed on behalf of suffering strangers in the Sudan.” You see, Manute Bol was a radically committed follower of Jesus Christ. He raised money to help his neighbors in Sudan and thus gave his life to obey the first and second great commandments. While doing relief work in Sudan Manute Bol contracted a painful skin disease that ultimately contributed to his death. Bol literally gave his life for others.

Obituaries, and ESPN commentators, described Manute Bol as a humanitarian, not a Christian. But this is not unusual. The same sports journalists describe men like David Robinson, A.C. Green and Dwight Howard as “good guys” rather than as Christians. I am not surprised. These men, like Manute Bol, are willing to let their light shine in the dark world of the NBA where martial infidelity is common and consumption seems to be the shining glitter the sport offers, specially to previously poor black athletes.

Jon Shields noted, in his Wall Street Journal article about Bol’s passing, that “he was a fool for Christ.” What a great witness to leave behind. Eternity will notice even if the sports world did not. In the passing of Manute Bol another witness to Jesus Christ died a martyr’s death and the world was not paying attention. Why should we think they would?