Gary Edwards column: Early discipline helps later in life

By: Gary Edwards/FMU men's basketball coach | SCNow
Published: December 14, 2007

What do Michael Vick, my daughter and a Francis Marion men’s basketball player have in common?

All used poor judgment and were disciplined in one way or another this past week.

My daughter has played varsity basketball since the eighth grade and was looking forward to beginning her senior season in style. I guess she was also looking forward to a party thrown at a friend’s house over the Thanksgiving break.

There was alcohol served at this party, and Casey’s school has a rule about that. She was suspended from playing in the first six games of the season. She cried, and her mother was upset.

I had a player walk out of practice this week. He is a good guy who has made wonderful progress academically this semester, but at times he gets frustrated on the basketball court.

As soon as he walked out, he knew he made a mistake and was very apologetic. I am not letting him play in our game this afternoon against Florida Christian.

I am not letting him play because I want him to understand there are consequences for the bad choices we make in life. I want him to understand that now while he is still young and perhaps the consequences are not so severe.

Don’t tell my wife, but after talking with my player and comforting my daughter, I felt a bit of sadness for Michael Vick.

As a youngster, did Vick ever have to pay a price for making bad decisions? Or like many of our star athletes, was he coddled and forgiven and allowed to play because he could run faster than most and pass a football with accuracy?

I would guess he’s been in trouble before, and I would also guess his coaches figuratively bailed him out.

A guy didn’t just all of a sudden become a blockhead. He has probably been a blockhead for years but, hey, it was OK because he was a great player. Let’s give him $70 million and look the other way.

The problem is the day will come when that blockhead does something really stupid like electrocute a dog. And that crosses the line and society says, “whoa, we can’t allow that.”

So a guy who has been given a free pass his entire life is in trouble up to his chin strap and probably doesn’t understand why.

That is why I applaud the officials at my daughter’s school, and I will also give myself a little pat on the back. Because it is better to sit out a game when you are young than to spend 23 months in jail when you are suddenly very old.