Disciplinary action in a team is not new, but usually it occurs when there has been a significant breach of team protocol such as drinking alcohol excessively, missing curfew, or inappropriate behaviour towards the public, the opposition, or the team.
What do you do with a bunch of fully grown men who refuse to do their homework?
In an article in a Littlies magazine, Diane Levy provides struggling parents with advice on how to deal with tyrant toddlers. If captain Michael Clarke and coach Mickey Arthur continue to have problems disciplining the rest of the team, maybe they should take on some of this advice.
The terrible tantrums and defiance most parents face from their toddlers is due to their ''individuation'' - where they discover they have different opinions from those of their parents, different ideas of what should be happening next, and different ideas of what they want.
Isn't this exactly what is happening between the ''fun police'' of Clarke and Arthur when faced with the ''different'' attitudes and behaviours of Watson, Johnson, Pattinson and Khawaja?
Levy's first piece of advice to parents/coaches is to give up on guilt. It is almost inevitable that our behaviour will get out of control when met with insubordination.
Clarke and Arthur must take more breaks, seek more support and gain more skills if they want to avoid ''flipping out'' again and suspending the whole team!
Second, stop thinking about this rebellious stage as a phase they will grow out of and try to focus on the good behaviour your child/athlete exhibits as well. Maybe, as children, these grown men were never made to do their homework or academic challenges, and just ran off to play cricket with their mates instead?
Third, observe your child/athlete and determine what makes them tick and how their needs change as the day progresses. Did Arthur and Clarke set this task for these four athletes because they knew they'd never deliver? Did they expect a lot from these cricketers who needed a bit of alone time to lick their wounds after their first two test defeats? Had the athletes emotionally down-aged as a result of the mounting pressure they were experiencing?
Fourth, don't expect your child/athlete to play/do their homework on their own. In many cases, children and emotionally challenged adults need company. If the homework was a group activity, would there have been more compliance?
The fifth piece of advice from Levy is to cuddle grumpy children/athletes. Get down to their level, open your welcoming arms and, in a voice dripping with empathy, ask, ''Do you need a cuddle?''
Tip No 6: when nothing is working, try to shift the mood. Tell the athlete how wonderful they are and engage with them in a fun way that will put both the coach and athlete in a better mood.
The seventh piece of advice is one Arthur and Clarke are already familiar with and that is to ''stop bad behaviour''. Don't tolerate bad behaviour and develop a ''swoop and scoop'' policy: scoop them up and pop them in the spot of your choice, saying, ''You know you're not allowed to do that. I'll be back to see if you're ready to behave.''
Arthur did just that and placed them in the naughty chair and they're not too happy about it. If the child/athlete is contrite or neutral, they're ready to rejoin the team. If they're distressed, they may need a cuddle before they can rejoin, but if they ignore you or are cheeky, they're not ready to come back into the fold of the team environment. Watson looks like he might need a little more time out.
The eighth tip is to ensure that both the parent and child have a rest. Arthur provided the players with a break from cricket in the physical sense but not the mental sense and maybe that was the issue. Did the players need a complete break from the demands of cricket?
Last but not least, parents/coaches should make a point of looking at their angelic children/athletes as they sleep to remember how frivolous all this conflict is and that ''tomorrow will be a better day''.
Mind you, it would be a bit creepy if Arthur sneaked into the rooms of his players to look at them while they're sleeping.
