Coaching for social change: developing athlete values through institutional leadership

College coaches / athletes and social education and awareness. College and university coaches are in an ideal position in terms of having an influence on how athletes behave and what values they adhere to. In USA Today Jarrett Bell reports on an NFL player with the Baltimore Ravens, Chris Canty, who has attended seminars on domestic violence. Canty has in fact become a speaker in other seminars, along with CBS sportscaster James Brown and the co-founder of "A Call To Men," Tony Porter. Canty said in the article that coaches can have a great impact on the attitudes and values of players. "It's different than with a teacher," he said. "A lot of times a coach can be more effective" because of the more passionate aspect of competitive sports, and closeness that coaches have with players (Bell, 2013).

TWO: Methods used to facilitate changes in athletes' attitudes and values. One proven method is to relate to coaches, train coaches and help them learn to approach their players on a social change basis. Recently there was a seminar on domestic violence in Charlotte, North Carolina, with 400 coaches in attendance. Kenya Fairley, the program director for the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, said "The more men who are involved, the better. They are able to relate to each other ways that go beyond what we can do" (Bell, p. 2). She added, if they are "spreading that message to raise awareness and deter domestic violence from occurring, it's very positive" (Bell, p. 2).

THREE: Benefits the university program can realize by being socially progressive. Certainly when male athletes graduate from a university program, if they have been coached and taught social values by a true mentor like the late Dean Smith, coach of the Tar Heels, they will be role models when they graduate. In other words, every coach has a duty to teach values along with the fundamentals of sports. Universities can gain prestige by graduating quality student athletes, who go out into the world as exemplary individuals because they learned more than winning and losing -- they learned respect for others.

Subtopic Two

ONE: Push- pull marketing in athletics. First of all, push marketing is a strategy of promotion in which a school (or business) takes their wares (or opportunities in the case of colleges and universities seeking to attract talent) directly to the public. Typically in push there is the marketing of the brand, and marketing the benefits available by joining up with the company or university. Direct recruiting is a form of push marketing -- going to the athlete's home or school to coax him to attend; or sending him an email, a phone call, or having a representative from the existing team contact him. A university may be pushing the fact, for example, that: a) 94% of its athletes graduate with a degree; b) there is a long and impressive list of majors is available; c) student-athletes have access to state of the art fitness facilities; d) the school has an athletic media room (team meetings, video screen for studying game-related film); and e) that the school has integrity and really cares about student and athletes.

Pull marketing in athletics includes: a) a website devoted to athletics; b) the use of social media (Facebook; Twitter; Instagram; Blogger; YouTube) pulls people in; and c) press releases on schools' athletic successes.

TWO: Target Market -- finding the "right fit" for an athlete who wants to be part of a quality program. The university or college can target outstanding high school athletes (in every sport the university offers) through several recruiting strategies. The outstanding juniors and seniors in high school (in particular near the university or in the state where the university is located) should be approached in several ways. Representatives of the university should attend athletic events the high school prospect is playing in, and talk to the student athlete after the game. The university should hold special information and entertaining "High School Nights" which show the prospect how meaningful it is to be part of the university; at these nights, well-known former university players (now in professional sports) should be on hand to make an impression and encourage recruits to attend that university.

The coaches in the various university sports should be in touch with high school students that are potential recruits, and coaches should definitely be in touch with high school coaches who have talented players in their respective sports. In fact there should be "coach's nights" (social mixers) on the university campus during which high school coaches can be treated to great food, fun, and informational sessions with university coaches. Moreover, the university should offer free skill camps at the high schools nearby, in order to help high school student athletes hone their talents and skills, and also, of course, to focus on what the university brings to the table vis-a-vis the future careers of the high school athletes.