Uniform Rules

I had one of those puzzling experiences at the meet on Tuesday.

I have to preface this by saying that I was at the meet as an official, not as a coach. I used to coach for Newton North (and might do so again), but on this particular day, I had been very careful to avoid wearing any Newton school colors, or anything else that would call into question my role. After watching the finish of the boys mile, I was busying myself by reading out times for the stragglers. One of those stragglers was Andrey Tenne, who was on his way to running about a 6:45 for the mile. I had noticed Andrey at the start of the race, standing in the second row. Andrey, as usual, wasn't sporting a thread of school-issued clothing. He was wearing some long pair of basketball shorts and his usual shirt. Andrey has Asberger's syndrome, and is very particular about what he wears. Newton North coaches long ago gave up trying to get Andrey to wear anything other than his own shirt and shorts (and sometimes jacket and pants).

So while I was waiting for Andrey to reach the finish line, the head official came over to me and started berating me for Andrey's presence in the race. Mo was there and can confirm that the official was really ticked off and lectured me for 20-30 seconds on the importance of the uniform rule, and the importance of meeting minimum standards, etc. He also claimed that he hadn't seen Andrey at the start of the race, and was questioning whether he had even started with the others.

It was one of those moments when there was so much to say, that I ended up not saying a word. I wanted to explain about Andrey, but then I remembered that I wasn't even a Newton North coach and so it wasn't my responsibility or place to be on the receiving end of the head official's diatribe. I also felt particularly annoyed by the official's suggestion that Andrey hadn't actually started at the correct time or run the correct distance. You can say a lot about Andrey, but he is always there at the start and he always runs four laps. Mo was greatly amused by my befuddlement, as I stammered to get any words out.

Interestingly, later in the meet, another Newton North runner ran the 800 with non school-issued shorts. He asked the head official whether it was ok, and the official said "yes," and allowed him to run. Later on, that same runner changed his shorts for the relay.

I found myself thinking about this again today, and wondering about uniforms, and the uniform rule. I know that every coach spends a lot of time worrying about the uniform rule, and emphasizing the importance of following it. Almost every big meet begins with a pronouncement by the head officials that "The Uniform Rule Will Be Strictly Enforced." I guess there would be chaos if there wasn't a uniform rule, but I also think that the REAL issue is a little deeper, a little subtler.

I credit Peter Martin with the idea that the real issue is to impress upon the athletes that the uniform is the manifestation of belonging to the team. Ideally, that uniform should feel special, and should inspire not only a desire to wear it, but a desire to live up to it. I think we, as coaches, parents, officials, etc., can help make that the case, by focusing not so much on the "strict enforcement" side of the issue, although that side will never completely go away, but more on the team-building and team support that leads to a regard for the symbols of that team, including the uniform.

I guess what I'm saying is, that if you want your team members to feel special wearing the uniform, you start by making them -- including those who run 6:46 miles -- feel special about being on the team.