Have you ever had to take the drastic step of kicking a kid off of your team? Unfortunately, when dealing with people, this will have to happen sooner or later. Some kids make choices not to follow team protocol, the things that you have spelled out, which are black and white. Some kids just do really “dumb” things sometimes.
I had to boot a kid from my program in my second year as a Head Coach. It wasn’t a fun situation to be involved in, and I actually remember losing sleep over it. This was back in 2004, eight years ago! I literally remember tossing back and forth in my bed, and thinking about the repercussions on this kid, on his family, on our team, in our school. BUT, I knew it was the right decision. As you read the letter I sent his folks, I’m sure you will see why I had to do it. Anyhow, this is just a sample letter. Let me know your thoughts about it, and if you have one, I would love to see it! Fortunately, I’ve only had to use this type of letter once!
October 19, 2004
Dear Mr. and Mrs. (name removed to protect the guilty!),
This letter is to inform you that (name) has been removed from our football program effective immediately.
This decision has been made because of three infractions that have taken place during this season. The first was the incident in which he abused school property/lockers in the locker room. The second was hitting and “picking on” some of our players. He met with Principal (name) and I about harassing other players. The third was from a situation yesterday in which he harassed an eighth grade football player in the locker room by hitting him with a towel and shoving him into a locker leaving bruise marks on his back.
As stated in the Athletic Handbook, participation in athletics is a privilege, not a right. (Name) signed a “Pledge To My Team” back in August in which he has continued to violate. I have attached that Pledge here. Mr. (Principal), (name) and I met this morning and I informed him of this decision. Coach Kemmis and I came to this decision earlier this morning.
We will miss (name) on the football team the rest of this year. He is a good football player and we respect his work ethic at practice. However, at this point, he has become a liability to our football program.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at cfore@linfield.com or (951) 676-8111 ext. 1311.
Thank you
Chris Fore