The incident of volleyball coach caught on video slapping players must be observed in full context
A screenshot of the video where a volleyball coach allegedly slapped two of his players.
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Universiti Malaya Sports Development Senior Professor Dr Mohd Faithal Abu Hassan said many coaches use 'physical touches' like slaps and others as a way to tell the players to ‘wake up’.
Mohd Faithal stated that we need to look at the situation as a whole to ascertain whether the coach was acting violently or if it was just a way to alert the player to the game situation.
“Judging by the reaction of the two players who were slapped in the video, in my opinion, it was not a form of violence, in fact, the other players were also seen reacting normally, even though some players were seen comforting the said players," he told Sinar Daily on Monday.
He also said that that kind of physical touch is something that usually happens if the coach is an 'old school' coach, in contrast to the modern sports coaching approach, where coaches are exposed to a lot of sports science approaches such as sports psychology.
Mohd Faithal stated sports science exposure for coaches is very important to ensure incidences like this doesn't happen.
“In modern sports, the coach's behaviour, whether physical or verbal, is no longer appropriate. If coaches who got good sports science education, they will be able to control the players better.
“The teaching and learning process in training will be smoother and this process will give coaches and players or teams alike a sense of responsibility for their team's performance.
Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Mass Communication senior lecturer Ahmad Faisal Mohd Fiah who also agreed that overall context of the situation must be observed.
He said the act is unacceptable if taken literally but it is also important to know what actually happen or transpired.
"It didn't look like real slap, although it's unlikely that many people will accept this.
"Hopefully, no party will take advantage of this incident since the players may accept the coach's way, and they may even feel affected by how people shared the videos and the talks around the issue,” Ahmad Faisal said.
He also said perhaps the coach might be too eager with the game, and the action is spontaneous to improve the players' morale.
“Still, if it is done with feelings of hatred to the point of causing injury, it is absolutely unacceptable, but that is not seen in the context of the viral video.
Meanwhile, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Sports and Recreation Lecturer Associate Professor Dr Mohamad Nizam Nazarudin said the unexpected incident could happen due to the intense match situation and the coach’s action is related to his failure to control his emotions and stress.
Mohamad Nizam said there are many methods to control the match outcome and this kind of physical use of force should not happen especially to school students and women.
Coaches should instead use psychological methods to motivate and focus on their players' games, he added.
He stated coaches must adhere to the coaching code of ethics at all times and need to behave with dignity in relation to emotions, language, attitudes and actions.
“Coaches need to protect the principles of enjoyment, safety and development of all athletes, in addition to the players themselves, the coach also needs to respect the ability of the opponent as well as the consideration of the referee, officials and opposing coaches," he added.
Mohamad Nizam also said that every team need to be monitored by officials or provide an easy method for players to submit complaints if there are coach actions that are out of bounds to prevent this incident from happening again.
“Coaches who fail to comply with this code of ethics or violate discipline must be suspended immediately, and an investigation committee must be established, also, the appointment of coaches in the future also should consider their personality and psychological aspects,” he said.
Recently, a video went viral showing an individual alleged to be a coach slapping two female volleyball players in a match on Dec 16.
It was reported that both players are under 14 years old and are competing for the 2022 Malaysia B14 Youth Volleyball Championship in Johor.
