Two words. Line drills.
For most, the lingo is uncharacteristically foreign, particularly if having never participated in organized team sporting activities. For me, the nomenclature remains an electrifying buzz word associated with serious implications, particularly within the context of weaponizing the practice. To be clear, I am not a proponent of eradicating such drills from athletics rather graciously revisiting the tradition with new insights and perspective. After all, if players are trained to uphold the exact same drills that the father of modern basketball, James Naismith, established in the year 1891, one may presume that a set of fresh eyes is warranted.
During my beloved athletic tenure at the University of Cincinnati (UC) line drills consisted of sprinting the full length of a college basketball court twice within twenty-six seconds or less. Certainly, in a perfect world, a well-conditioned student-athlete would be capable of accomplishing such task within the prescribed time constraint.
However, I charge you to peel the onion a few layers deeper. At UC, line drills were referred to as suicides or 26s. If a bad pass was made or a turnover occurred, a member of the coaching staff would often shout, “Give her a 26!” during practice drills, served with a hefty dose of explicative language. One-hundred and eighty minutes affords much time to collect a host of infractions. In fact, I would know this having established a new team record, tallying thirty-six demerits during one intensely horrendous practice session.
"I don't believe that there is a disagreement here versus a chasm in perspectives."
A good friend once proclaimed, “Coaches coach and players play” during one of our many sports related conversations. I honestly pretended to understand his intent yet was relegated to more questions than answers. Each division one athletic team establishes designated times for cardiovascular conditioning, strength training and the like, which is reported to compliance representatives for record; the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) also tracks such data.
Therefore, if a player is instructed to remain in the gymnasium after a three-hour practice to run line drills for an additional hour of undocumented training, I call foul! This scenario presents a loophole within the system of checks and balances that is often exploited to break the Spirit of players in an effort to force them to acquiesce to the culture or traditions of the organization. If I may be candid, the majority of division-one NCAA basketball players are Black, irrespective of gender. A society that has witnessed (and endured) the systematic breaking of Black bodies since its inception has fallen victim to splitting hairs regarding the efficacy of such practice.
I don't find punitive drills problematic.
A. True
B. False
C. It's complicated
When discussing this conundrum with well-intended colleagues, I am often reminded that "Running is good for basketball players." In response to such declaration, I humbly challenge this generalized belief by offering “Says the person with the black leather whip in hand!” At what point do we begin to ponder that which is Godly for their bodies and souls beyond the hazing, regardless how innocently or strategically deployed?
To be fair, the perspective of my collegiate coaching staff was limited; two decades plus of hindsight and sports research certainly illustrates such. I occasionally ponder if they were aware that the unregulated time spent post-practice running punishment drills would proceed an Achilles tear, two great toe osteotomies and total ankle reconstruction before the age of forty-two for their hall of fame player. Moreover, our teammates were plagued with frequent episodes of plantar fasciitis, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears and a host of what we now refer to today as overuse injuries. To discuss the mental health ramifications that we endured would require an entirely separate stint of research.
For quite some time I have marveled at the elite skillset of coaches who can pull a player aside, explain the misstep and demonstrate the correct performance of the task. The practice is comparable to a fundamental military euphemism "see one, do one, teach one." Throughout my basketball career, I found this approach much more effective and actually quite reassuring that the focus was skill perfection versus punitive. Additionally, evidence-based research demonstrates that coaches also gain a deeper understanding of concepts during the act of teaching, demonstrating and verbalizing ideas to others; a win-win scenario for all stakeholders.
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